Lenian languages

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The Lenian languages are a polyphyletic cultural grouping of related languages that descend from Tapilula but exclude branches that acquired divergent characteristics. Included branches are:

  1. Hipatal, including all of
    Fojy and its children:
    Western Fojy
    Central Fojy
    Dreamlandic and its children
    North Dreamlandic
    South Dreamlandic (sometimes "East")
    HP-1
    HP-2
  2. Subumpamese languages, including all of
    Kava
    Central Subumpamese
    Eastern Subumpamese
  3. Paleo-Pabappa, and its children
    Paleo-Pabappa A (Punsam)
    Paleo-Pabappa B (Pombi)
    Paleo-Pabappa C (Pipapi)
    Paleo-Pabappa D (Northern Mountains Dialect)
  4. Olati, culturally Western Subumpamese but genetically Andanese, and its children
    Olati A
    Olati B
    Olati C
    Olati D


By contrast, the Lenian languages exclude Thaoa, Tarise, and Gold, even though these three branches descend from Tapilula and Tapilula is the most recent common ancestor of all the Lenian languages. Since Pabappa and Poswa are Gold languages, they are not Lenian languages despite their culture and geographical spread.


Proto-Hipatal (0) to HP-1 (2600 AD)

This language is spoken in tropical rainforests of a chain of larger islands. It is one of the few groups to contain people who live more than a mile away from the seashore.

The original consonant inventory was 

Rounded bilabials:     pʷ  bʷ  mʷ  mbʷ mpʷ     w
Spread bilabials:      p   b   m   mb  mp     (Ø)         
Alveolars:             t       n   nd          l
Rounded alveolars:     tʷ      nʷ  ndʷ     
Velars:                k   ḳ   ŋ   ŋġ      h   g
  1. The high central vowel ə shifted to match the next vowel in the word. This also included the labialization of the initial consonant; thus, for example, /təpʷu/ > /tʷupʷu/.
  2. The voiceless aspirated velar stop k shifted to h unconditionally. Ejectives and labialized forms were unaffected by this change.
  3. The labialized consonants lʷ gʷ shifted to w .
  4. The labialized alveolars tʷ nʷ ndʷ shifted to kʷ ŋʷ ŋġʷ.
  5. Schwa disappeared between a nasal and a following stop or fricative; if there was a fricative, it became a stop.
  6. Initial schwas disappeared.
  7. The ejective stops ḳ ḳʷ shifted to k kʷ.
  8. Any remaining schwa ə shifted to i.
  9. The rounded vowel o shifted to a unconditionally. /u/ became unrounded, but there was no change in spelling.
  10. The mid vowel e shifted to ə unconditionally.
  11. The prenasalized voiced stops mbʷ mb nd ŋġ ŋġʷ shifted to the double nasals mmʷ mm nn ŋŋ ŋŋʷ.
  12. The voiced velar sounds ŋ g disappeared to Ø Ø.
  13. The voiced sounds mʷ bʷ ŋʷ merged into w; then m b shifted to b (an approximant, not a stop). Thus the only nasal remaining in the language, besides the inherited geminates, was /n/.
  14. Double nasals were reduced to singles.

Thus the consonant inventory of HP-1 was 

Rounded bilabials:     pʷ      w    
Spread bilabials:      p   m   b       
Alveolars:             t   n   l    
Palatals:                      y 
Velars:                k   ŋ  (Ø)  h
Labiovelars:           kʷ

The vowel inventory was /a i u ə/, with the labialized stops /pʷ kʷ/ appearing before all four vowels. There were syllabic nasals /ṁ ṅ ŋ̇/. The voiceless fricative /h/, the only fricative in the language, was highly variable in pronunciation, often being labialized or palatalized or both.

HP-1 (2600 AD) to Pamā

This branch shifts all of its labialized consonants to pure labials, and then grows new labialized consonants from sequences like /awa/ and /ua/.

The original consonant inventory was 

Rounded bilabials:     pʷ      w    
Spread bilabials:      p   m   b       
Alveolars:             t   n   l    
Palatals:                      y 
Velars:                k   ŋ  (Ø)  h
Labiovelars:           kʷ

The vowel inventory was /a i u ə/, with labialized consonants appearing before all four vowels. There were syllabic nasals /ṁ ṅ ŋ̇/.

HP-1 (2600 AD) to Nannapànnu

This branch shifts all consonants forward in the mouth.

The original consonant inventory was 

Rounded bilabials:     pʷ      w    
Spread bilabials:      p   m   b       
Alveolars:             t   n   l    
Palatals:                      y 
Velars:                k   ŋ  (Ø)  h
Labiovelars:           kʷ

The vowel inventory was /a i u ə/, with labialized consonants appearing before all four vowels. There were syllabic nasals /ṁ ṅ ŋ̇/.

  1. The alveolars t n l shifted to f m w.
  2. The velars k ŋ h shifted to č ň s.
  3. Labialization was lost.


HP-1 (2600 AD) to Lākaha (4400 AD)

The original consonant inventory was 

Rounded bilabials:     pʷ      w    
Spread bilabials:      p   m   b       
Alveolars:             t   n   l    
Palatals:                      y 
Velars:                k   ŋ  (Ø)  h
Labiovelars:           kʷ

The vowel inventory was /a i u ə/, with labialized consonants appearing before all four vowels. There were syllabic nasals /ṁ ṅ ŋ̇/.

  1. The velars k ŋ h shifted to č ñ š unconditionally.
  2. Labialization was lost.
  3. The sequences àa àə ə̀a shifted to ā. Then ăa ăə ə̆a shifted to â, and ə̀ə ə̆ə shifted to ə̄ ə̂.
  4. The postalveolar fricative š shifted to s.
  5. The sequences ìa ìə ùa ùə (where the first vowel has a high tone) shifted to èa ìe òa ùo.
  6. The vowel sequences ìi ùu became ī ū.
  7. The vowel sequences ĭə ŭə (equivalent to /iə̀ uə̀/) shifted to yè wò.
  8. Before a vowel, remaining i u shifted to y w.
  9. The vowel sequences ài ăi àu ău shifted to ē ê ō ô.
  10. The vowel sequences ə̀i ə̆i ə̀u ə̆u shifted to ī î ū û.
  11. The sequences ky ŋy ty ny sy ly shifted to č ň č ň š y.
  12. The sequences tw nw sw lw shifted to p m f w. All other consonants preceding /w/ shifted to labials.
  13. Remaining post-consonantal /w/ and /y/ were deleted.
  14. The sequences èa ìe òa ùo shifted to ya ye wa wo. (Tone may have been influenced by surrounding syllables.) Meanwhile ùi ìu shifted to wi yu.
  15. All sounds preceding a /w/ again became labials.
  16. All post-consonantal /w/ and /y/ were deleted.

The circumflex is an ad-hoc symbol for a long low tone. However, it may make sense to retain the circumflex vowels as sequences, as there are other sequences that would arise at morpheme boundaries.

HP-1 (2600 AD) to Hahakànna

The original consonant inventory was 

Rounded bilabials:     pʷ      w    
Spread bilabials:      p   m   b       
Alveolars:             t   n   l    
Palatals:                      y 
Velars:                k   ŋ  (Ø)  h
Labiovelars:           kʷ

The vowel inventory was /a i u ə/, with labialized consonants appearing before all four vowels. There were syllabic nasals /ṁ ṅ ŋ̇/.

  1. Before a vowel, i shifted to y.
  2. Labialized consonants defeated any following /y/.
  3. The velar sequences ky ŋy hy shifted to č ň š. The alveolar sequences ty ny ly also shifted to č ň ł.
  4. Labialization was lost.
  5. The postalveolar fricative š shifted to s.
  6. The sequences py my by shifted to č ň y.

Thus the consonant inventory was 

Labials:              p   m   b   w
Alveolars:            t   n       l   s
Palataloids:          č   ň       ł   
Velars:               k   ŋ           h

HP-1 (2600 AD) to Tākapi

The original consonant inventory was 

Rounded bilabials:     pʷ      w    
Spread bilabials:      p   m   b       
Alveolars:             t   n   l    
Palatals:                      y 
Velars:                k   ŋ  (Ø)  h
Labiovelars:           kʷ

The vowel inventory was /a i u ə/, with labialized consonants appearing before all four vowels. There were syllabic nasals /ṁ ṅ ŋ̇/.

  1. Single nasals metathesized across a vowel to form clusters with the next consonant. These all became homorganic; here, a /w/ behaved as a labiovelar, thus the resulting cluster was /ŋw/.
  2. The clusters ŋw ŋh nl shifted to ŋʷ h l. /mb/ remained.
  3. Double nasals shifted to singles.
  4. The syllabic nasals ṁ ṅ ŋ̇ shifted to um un uŋ unconditionally.
  5. The sequences aa aə əa , on all tones, merged as ā. əə shifted to ə̄.
  6. Any h bordering an /i/ in either direction shifted to s.
  7. The sequences ii uu shifted to ī ū if the first tone was high; otherwise they shifted to yi ʷu.
  8. Any low-tone i before a vowel became a palatal approximant y.
  9. The sequences ty ky ny ŋy sy ly shifted to č č ň ň š ł. (/hy/ > /sy/ earlier.)
  10. Labial and labialized consonants swallowed a following y.
  11. The approximant lʷ shifted to w. The alveolars tʷ sʷ nʷ changed in a split shift to kʷ hʷ mʷ.


Thus the consonant inventory was 

Rounded bilabials:     pʷ  mʷ  bʷ  w    
Spread bilabials:      p   m   b  (Ø)   
Alveolars:             t   n   l       s
Palatals:              č   ň   ł   y   š   
Velars:                k   ŋ      (Ø)  h
Labiovelars:           kʷ  ŋʷ          hʷ

The four-vowel inventory remained, but there were many more long vowels and vowel sequences than there had been before. The falling diphthongs were /ai au əi əu/.

Proto-Hipatal (0) to HP-2 (???)

This branch of the family is confined to smaller islands where the sea can be heard from any point on the island. The initial phonology was slightly different from that of Tapilula, generated by the following sound shifts:

  1. Before a low tone, the fricatives h g were fortified to kʷ ḳʷ. Before a high tone, they disappeared. Thus the language became entirely free of fricatives.
  2. Before a low tone, the lateral approximant l shifted to r.

At this stage the consonant inventory was 

Rounded bilabials:     pʷ      mʷ  w     
Spread bilabials:      p       m   b       
Alveolars:             t       n   l   r
Rounded alveolars:     tʷ      nʷ       
Velars:                k   ḳ   ŋ  (Ø)        
Labiovelars:           kʷ  ḳʷ

There were six vowels, /a e i o u ə/, of which the last was a high vowel, not a true schwa. There were two tones. After a low tone, the stops were sometimes pronounced as fricatives in quick speech, but there was no phonemic contrast. The prenasalized stops /mbʷ mb nd ndʷ ŋġ mpʷ mp/ all occurred in root-initial position, but no classifiers began with a prenasalized stop, so very few words with initial prenasals were used. These are considered allophones of a homorganic nasal followed by a stop; however, they are of mixed origins.

The sequences /ʷe ʷi ʷo ʷu/ occurred, with the latter two being the most common.

If the labialized consonants are treated as clusters, the phonology reduces to 

Bilabials:             p       m   w   b       
Alveolars:             t       n   l   r
Velars:                k   ḳ   ŋ
  1. The consonants t n l r k ḳ ŋ become palatalized to č ň y y č č ň before any /e/ or /i/.
  2. Labialization was eliminated.

Tapilula (0) to Proto-Dreamlandic (1900)

The original consonant inventory was 

Rounded bilabials:     pʷ      mʷ  mbʷ mpʷ     w
Spread bilabials:      p   b   m   mb  mp     (Ø)         
Alveolars:             t       n   nd          l
Rounded alveolars:     tʷ      nʷ  ndʷ     
Velars:                k   ḳ   ŋ   ŋġ      h   g


Shared changes

  1. Before a low tone, the fricatives h g shifted to kʷ kʷʕ. Before a high tone, they disappeared.
  2. The dependent phonemes kʷ kʷʕ shifted to p pʕ if bordering any /u ə/ in either direction, and otherwise to k. Note that /o/ did not trigger this shift.
  3. Before a low tone, the lateral approximant l shifted to r. This did not affect the dental form (if there was one).
  4. Before a high tone, the voiceless stops pʷ p t tʷ k became the fricatives hʷ f s hʷ h. This did not apply to the emphatics.
  5. Voiceless prenasalized sequences were reanalyzed as nasal + fricative. Voiced prenasalized sequences were reanalyzed as nasal + stop. Thus they were no longer phonemic. Nevertheless, they continued to occur in the syllable onset rather than splitting between the onset and the preceding coda.
  6. aə>ā.
  7. The emphatic stops pʕ ḳ shifted to pp kk except in absolute initial position.
  8. The voiceless alveolar stop t affricated to c before the high vowels [i ə u].
  9. The vowels a e i all shifted to palatalized forms ya ye yi. If one of the non-labialized consonants p m f t n s k ŋ h l r preceded, it became palatalized to pʲ mʲ fʲ č ň š ć ń ś ł ŕ. But palatalization of /l/ was not marked in spelling. Meanwhile, the long vowels ā ē ī shifted to yā yē yī (not *yaya, etc).
  10. The rounded alveolars tʷ nʷ became kʷ ŋʷ.
  11. The high central vowel ə shifted to i.
    Note that this shift opens up a three-way contrast of /t/~/č/~/k/ before [i], and the following shift adds [ə] and [a]. However, there was only a two-way contrast before [u]. This may be seen as related to the labialized phoneme /kʷ/ and might even trigger the loss of /u/ in some daughters.
  12. The mid vowels e o shifted to ə a. This did not affect, and was not affected by, whether the previous consonant was labialized or not; the respective allophones shifted in tandem.
  13. Tones were eliminated.
  14. Syllabic consonants were resolved as sequences of /i/ + consonant, and assimilated to the place of articulation of a following consonant.
  15. The root-initial geminates pp ppʲ ćć kk shifted to singletons p pʲ ć k if there was another heavy syllable in the word.

Thus the vowel inventory at this time was /a i u ə/, and the consonants were: 

                       CONSONANTS                 VOWELS

Rounded bilabials:     pʷ  mʷ      w              a i u ə
Plain bilabials:       p   m   f  (Ø)             a i u              
Spread bilabials:      pʲ  mʲ  fʲ  y              a i   ə
Alveolars:             t   n   s   l   r          a i u               (/ta ci cu/)
Postalveolars:         č   ň   š  *l  *r          a i   ə             (/ča či čə/)
(Palatals:             ć   ń   ś    )             a i   ə
Velars:                k   ŋ   h                  a i u
Labiovelars:           kʷ  ŋʷ  hʷ                 a i u ə

Thus the full set of four vowels was contrastive only after rounded consonants. However, /l/ and /r/ break this rule. There was also a sequence /mfʷ/.

Note that there is still the c problem.

Proto-Dreamlandic (1900) to Mimalebra

This language is spoken along the north coast of Dreamland, in its second largest city, which served as the capital for periods of time.

  1. The labiovelars kʷ ŋʷ hʷ shifted to pʷ mʷ fʷ unconditionally.
  2. After a labialized sound, the vowels a ə merged as o.
  3. After a palatalized sound, the vowels a ə merged as e.
  4. The sequence ta shifted to ra.
  5. The voiceless coronals t č ć shifted to s .
  6. The velar sounds k h all merged together as s. Meanwhile ň ń ŋ merged as n.
  7. The palatalized labials pʲ mʲ fʲ became f m f.
  8. Labialization was defeated.

It is likely that the prenasals, and perhaps the geminates, remain stops throughout all these changes, and therefore the language lacks /t/ but still has /nd/. This, then, could denasalize and in some environments devoice.

Proto-Dreamlandic (1900) to Tata-B

This is the language spoken in Tata, and later adopted by the Matrix political party, both when they were dominant and when they were defeated. Thus, the Matrixes did not use the language of the Raspara party from which they had split.

  1. After any palatalized sound, the vowels a ə merged as e .
  2. The velar sounds č ć š ś all merged together as š. Meanwhile ň ń merged as ň. The labiovelars were unaffected.
  3. The palatalized labials pʲ mʲ fʲ became h m h.
  4. The fricatives f fʷ changed to h hʷ unconditionally.
  5. Any remaining ə became o.
    note the the old shift of /ə/ > /e/ would still not generate /ke/ because there was never a /kə/.
  6. Labialization was removed before /i/.
  7. The labiovelars kʷ ŋʷ shifted to k ŋ.


Proto-Dreamlandic to Proto-North Dreamlandic (3700 AD)

These languages were spoken in colder climates, rubbing up against Thunder and Moonshine settlements. The speakers were generally of blonde hair and blue eyes, perhaps even more so than the stereotypically blonde Thunderers.

Initial phoneme inventory: 

Rounded bilabials:     pʷ  mʷ  fʷ  w              a i u ə
Plain bilabials:       p   m   f  (Ø)             a i u              
Spread bilabials:      pʲ  mʲ  fʲ  y              a i   ə 
Alveolars:             t   n   s   l   r          a i u               (/ta ci cu/)
Postalveolars:         č   ň   š  *l  *r          a i   ə             (/ča či čə/)
(Palatals:             ć   ń   ś    )             a i   ə
Velars:                k   ŋ   h                  a i u
Labiovelars:           kʷ  ŋʷ  hʷ                 a i u ə


  1. The dorsal sounds č ć k all merged together as č. Meanwhile š ś h merged as š and ň ń ŋ merged as ň.
    This shift might be split into two: one shared with East Dreamlandic, the other unique to North. This could allow /č/ to be retained as a separate phoneme (or lost, but with the t>s shift rather than here).
  2. The labialized sounds kʷ ŋʷ hʷ came to be spelled tʷ nʷ fʷ.
  3. The alveolar stop t shifted to s before /i/ or /u/. (It did not occur before the schwa.)
  4. prenasals became voiced.
  5. Fricatives occurring after a nasal shifted to voiced stops.
  6. The spread labials pʲ mʲ fʲ shifted to p m b unconditionally.
  7. The labial fricatives fʷ f shifted to w b in all positions.
  8. The palataloids č š ň y shifted to plain alveolars t s n Ø. They had velar allohpones before /u/&palatals before /i/.
  9. Newly created vowel sequences of /u/ + any other vowel were padded with an intervening w. Thus, no new labialized consonants were created.

Thus the remaining consonant inventory was 

Rounded bilabials:     pʷ  mʷ      w      mbʷ 
Plain bilabials:       p   m           b  mb
Plain alveolars:       t   n   s   l   r  nd
Rounded alveolars:     tʷ  nʷ             ndʷ

And the vowel set was still /a i u ə/. Unlike East Dreamlandic, the three-way allophony between alveolar-palatal-velar was triggered by the following vowel.

If both labialized consonants and prenasalized consonants are analyzed as clusters, the phonology would be 

Bilabials:       p   m           b   
Alveolars:       t   n   s   l   r

Which is similar in form to Pabappa. Here, /nd/ is analyzed as a cluster of /nr/, since there is no independent /d/. Western dialects of this language may strip even further by shifting /t d/ > /p b/ before [u] (or at least before [w]), and merging with /s/ before [i] and possibly also [ə]. This would leave an intact /t/~/s/ phoneme only before [a] (and possibly [ə]), which would be unstable. If the remaining contrast also collapsed, it would be seen as /t/ regardless of the dominant allophone. Also, this could be triggered by having /s/ > /0/.

This language persists as a substratum when the PMS feminists take over the area and start building fortresses on hills. A sprachbund forms in which all of the languages have small consonant inventories, often with no independent dorsals, and have the vowel setup /a i u ə/, with or without tone. This vowel system and the tendency for small consonant inventories remain stable in the area for more than 5000 years after the formation of North Dreamlandic.

Proto-North Dreamlandic (3700 AD) to Tata-C

This language was spoken in Tata but was not closely related to Tata-A.

  1. The coronals tʷ nʷ ndʷ shifted to pʷ mʷ mbʷ.
  2. The sequences tu nu ndu shifted to pu mu mbu.
  3. The sibilant sequences sʷ su si shifted to w u ti.
  4. Remaining s r shifted to p b.
  5. Palatalization was removed.


Thus the remaining consonant inventory was 

Rounded bilabials:     pʷ  mʷ  w  mbʷ 
Plain bilabials:       p   m   b  mb
Alveolars:             t   n   l  nd

The plain /b/ was often an approximant, and was sometimes borrowed as /v/, whereas the prenasals were always true stops.

Proto-North Dreamlandic (3700 AD) to Mysticeti (~6000 AD)

This branch elides nasals but then shifts prenasalized consonants to bare nasals. It was associated with whaling and its people may have traveled far out of their homelands to hunt whales. Possibly spoken on Lan Island. However, it may also be spoken well inland by people who did not participate in the whale hunts.

  1. The alveolars t n shifted to p m when bordering a /u/ in either direction.
  2. Stops became prenasalized when following a nasal consonant across a vowel. Thus, for example, -map- shifted to -mamp-. /r/ did not shift to */nd/, though, even though [d] was an allophone of /r/.
  3. Before a high vowel, the sequence əw shifted to uw.
  4. The sequence aw əw shifted to ow ow. iw shifted to uw.
  5. The labial approximant w disappeared to Ø. This did not affect labialized consonants.
  6. The alveolars n r disappeared to Ø Ø between vowels. This caused sporadic word-initial deletion as well because of the CV classifier prefixes that anchored some roots but not others.
  7. The labialized nasal mʷ shifted to w.
  8. The prenasalized sequences mbʷ mb nd ndʷ shifted to plain nasals mʷ m n nʷ.
  9. The voiceless prenasalized stops mpʷ mp nt ntʷ became voiced to mbʷ mb nd ndʷ.
  10. The vowel sequences aa ii əə uu shifted to long vowels ā ī ə̄ ū.
  11. The vowel sequences ai əi au əu shifted to ē ē ō ō. aə əa merged as ā.
  12. After a labialized consonant, the schwas ə ə̄ became o ō.
  13. Remaining ə ə̄ shifted to e ē.
  14. Palatalized consonants appeared from /i/ + vowel.
  15. The sequence mə shifted to m, thus creating more prenasalized sequences. Because these were not restricted to occurring before stops, the prenasals were no longer phonemic. NO!
  16. The sibilants s sʲ (from /si/) shifted to f s unconditionally.

Wōm language

Borrows consos from both PMS and Kava/Thunder. May even borrow tones by seeing à as a closed syllable and ā as a sequence. t & tʷ become true alveolars, not flexible, which means that loaning /k kʷ/ from PMS actually reduces the amt of [k kʷ] in the language by a lot.

Proto-Dreamlandic (1900) to Central Fojy (Nepiki)

                       CONSONANTS                 VOWELS

Rounded bilabials:     pʷ  mʷ  fʷ  w              a i u ə
Plain bilabials:       p   m   f  (Ø)             a i u              
Spread bilabials:      pʲ  mʲ  fʲ  y              a i   ə
Alveolars:             t   n   s   l   r          a i u               (/ta ci cu/)
Postalveolars:         č   ň   š  *l  *r          a i   ə             (/ča či čə/)
(Palatals:             ć   ń   ś    )             a i   ə
Velars:                k   ŋ   h                  a i u
Labiovelars:           kʷ  ŋʷ  hʷ                 a i u ə

This branch might be a single language. If /kp/ exists, it survives the voicing change.

  1. The voiceless bilabials pʷ p pʲ became the voiced bilabials bʷ b bʲ.
  2. The geminates pp tt shifted to p t. (Probably others also do.)
  3. Labialization was defeated, leaving no effects on the vowels.
  4. The velar fricative h strengthened to x.
  5. The bilabial fricatives f fʲ shifted to h ś.
  6. The palatalized labials bʲ mʲ shifted to y ń.
  7. The affricates c č ć shifted to s š ś.
  8. The true palatals ś ń merged into š ň .
  9. Prenasalized stops and fricatives were both changed into plain voiced stops.

Thus the consonant inventory was 

Labials               p  b  m     w
Alveolars             t  d  n  s  l  r
Palataloids                 ň  š  y
Velars                k  ġ  ŋ  x
Postvelars                     h (Ø)

The vowels were /a i u ə/. The palataloids / ň š /were never followed by /u/.

There should be some vowel changes here, but note the lack of a new null consonant. The next stage of the language comes under influence from Baeba, which had lost its velars.

  1. The velars k ġ ŋ x shifted to č ǯ ň š before the front vowel /i/.
  2. The velars k ġ ŋ x shifted to p b m h before the rounded back vowel /u/.
  3. All velar consonants were deleted in initial position; in word-medial position, any remaining velar or postalveolar consonants became alveolars. (/t d/ may have already had palataloid allophones.)
  4. The voiced stops b d ǯ disappeared between vowels.
  5. Before a vowel, i disappeared and palatalized any preceding consonant. hʲ shifted to š.

Thus the final consonant inventory was 

Labials               p  b  m     w
Alveolars             t  d  n  s  l  r
Palataloids                 ň  š  y
Dorsals                        h

It is possible that /h/ will redevelop into /k/ in some positions, unlike languages further east which lack dorsals even allophonically.

Proto-Dreamlandic (1900) to Western Fojy

These languages are spoken in the tropical regions of the far west, where there is no significant change in the weather throughout the year, even in rainfall.

This is the only branch of the family not to lose its dorsal under influence from Baeba. However, labial consonants are more frequent here than in Central.

Note that the schwa of the parent language is a mid vowel, not a high vowel. 

                       CONSONANTS                 VOWELS

Rounded bilabials:     pʷ  mʷ  fʷ  w              a i u ə
Plain bilabials:       p   m   f  (Ø)             a i u              
Spread bilabials:      pʲ  mʲ  fʲ  y              a i   ə
Alveolars:             t   n   s   l   r          a i u               (/ta ci cu/)
Postalveolars:         č   ň   š  *l  *r          a i   ə             (/ča či čə/)
(Palatals:             ć   ń   ś    )             a i   ə
Velars:                k   ŋ   h                  a i u
Labiovelars:           kʷ  ŋʷ  hʷ                 a i u ə


  1. After a labialized consonant or dental, the rounded back vowel u shifted to ɨ. The front vowel i also shifted to ɨ in any context.
  2. All remaining u shifted to ə. Thus the vowel system became vertical.
  3. The voiceless non-sibilant fricatives fʷ f fʲ h hʷ shifted to w p pʲ Ø w.
  4. The palatalized labials pʲ mʲ shifted to p m.
  5. The voiceless fricative s shifted to h. (What about š and ś ?)
  6. The geminates pp tt shifted to f s.
    This will need to change yet again.
  7. The vowel ɨ shifted to a fricative before another vowel, thus creating affricates.
  8. premasals > plain voiced stops
  9. i>0 in nonfinal slabs (use yers,etc) ...not if preceded or follwed by vowel
  10. many shifts of clusters. /ɨ/ survives and can come from ɨɨ. The language divides into many daughters here, solely because of the instability resulting from this change.

Thus the vowel system was /a ə ɨ/ and the consonants were at least 

                       CONSONANTS                  

Rounded bilabials:     pʷ  bʷ  mʷ      w               
Plain bilabials:       p   b   m   f                  
Alveolars:             t   d   n   s   l   r                         
Postalveolars:         č   ǯ   ň                 
Palatals:              ć   ʒ́   ń   ś   y   
Velars:                k   ġ   ŋ   h                  
Labiovelars:           kʷ  ġʷ  ŋʷ


An analysis without voiced stops is possible, since the voiceless stops are aspirated and cannot precede /h/ in a cluster.

Proto-Thaoa (1085) to Paleo-Pabappa (~1678 AD)

See Paleo-Pabappa for a six-vowel language also spoken here.

Initial phoneme inventory: 

                       PLAIN                         LABIALIZED
Bilabials:             p   b   m   f   v                     mʷ      w  
Alveolars:             t   d   n       l             tʷ  dʷ  nʷ            
Postalveolars:         č   ǯ           y                       
Velars:                k       ŋ   h   g   ḳ                 ŋʷ  hʷ  gʷ

Note that the inherited /h/ sound was a true /h/ in the onset, but variable in the coda.

  1. All consonants adjacent to an /u/ in either direction became labialized.
  2. The voiced coronal obstruents d ǯ merged as r.
  3. The labialized obstruents tʷ dʷ gʷ shifted to pʷ w w.
  4. The voiceless postalveolar affricate č shifted to s.
  5. The labialized nasals mʷ nʷ ŋʷ merged as mʷ.
  6. In syllable-final position, the voiced velar fricative g disappeared and lengthened the preceding vowel. This often occurred in the second element of a diphthong.
  7. f fʷ shifted to h hʷ.
  8. The voiceless ejective ḳ shifted to k.

Thus the consonant inventory was 

Rounded bilabials:     pʷ  mʷ  w   hʷ  
Spread bilabials:      p   m   b         
Alveolars:             t   n   r   s   l 
Palatals:                              y  
Velars:                k   ŋ   g   h

The language had the same four-vowel inventory as Gold, with no changes at all separating the two languages.


Paleo-Pabappa (1678) to Puroupwa (2672 AD)

This language derives its name from the Paleo-Pabappa word oroupʷa "limestone", as it is spoken in a mountainous area filled with many steep limestone cliffs.

Paleo-Pabappa (1678) to Pombi (2672 AD)

This language will need a new name.


Paleo-Pabappa (1678) to Pipaippis (3200 AD)

The starting date is very vague because the four languages split apart slowly.

  1. Frics became stops after a high tone.
  2. The schwas ə ə̄ changed to u ū unconditionally.
  3. All labialized consonants change to plain bilabials.
  4. Voicing distinction disappears entirely. This was actually triggered by a new voicing of stops after low tones, but because this change removed the last remaining environment that could host a minimal pair, there was no longer any phonemic contast.
    NOTE ON POLITICS: This is 1900 AD.
  5. Prevocalic sequences pi mi fi shifted to t n s (with no following glide). Thus the prevocalic glide /j/ was completely eliminated except in isolation.
  6. Intervocalically, bʷ b ž g shifted to w Ø y Ø.
    Note, there is no /ž/ at present because the source language was changed.

Pipaippis (3200) to Haswaraba (8773 AD)

As described currently, this language far outlasts the extinction of all other Paleo-Pabap languages, and may need to be cut down at a very early stage.

The consonant inventory was 

Bilabials:             p   m   w 
Alveolars:             t   n   l   r
Palataloids:           č   ň   y   
Velars:                k
  1. All word-final vowels became short.
  2. Tones were eliminated.
  3. Before any /i/, the consonants p m t n l r k shifted to pʲ mʲ č ň ł ř ć.
  4. Before any /u/, the consonants p m t n l r č ň k shifted to pʷ mʷ tʷ nʷ w bʷ kʷ ŋʷ kʷ.
  5. The short vowels a i u ə all merged as a.
  6. The long vowels ā ī ū ə̄ shifted to a i u ə.

Tapilula (0) to Proto-Subumpamese (???)

The consonant inventory of Tapilula was 

Rounded bilabials:                     hʷ  w
Spread bilabials:      p       m   b   f  (Ø)
Alveolars:             t       n   d       l
Rounded alveolars:     tʷ      nʷ  dʷ         
Velars:                k   ḳ   ŋ   ġ   h   g
  1. The aspirated velar stop k became č before the vowel /i/. If another vowel followed, the /i/ disappeared. This happened even if the /i/ was accented.
  2. When a "velaroid" consonant (/k ḳ ŋ h g l/) followed an accented high tone vowel, the vowel metathesized, leaving a closed syllable. Thus, for example, /àli/ > /ail/. These closed syllables were all high-toned, and are thus written without tone marks. Thus, for example, aa implies àa. Later, daughter languages introduced tone contrasts and independent sequences.
  3. A schwa before another vowel in any syllable disappeared. Thus əa əe əi əo əu əə shifted to a e i o u ə. This happened in both open and closed syllables.
  4. The sequences iu and ui shifted to ə̄.
  5. The double-vowel sequences aa ee ii oo uu əə shifted to the single vowels a e i o u ə in closed syllables only.
  6. The sequences ii uu əə (which now occurred only in open syllables) shifted to əi əu ə.
  7. The sequences ie uo shifted to i u in open syllables only.
  8. The remaining double-vowel sequences aa ee oo, which occurred only in open syllables, shifted to the long vowels ā ē ō.
  9. The sequences ai ei oi merged as ei; the sequences au eu ou merged as ou.
  10. The vowels /u i e/ caused adjacent consonants, in both directions, to become labialized, palatalized, and prepalatalized. The last shift applied only to velars. Labialization and palatalization could stack.
  11. The sequences ìa ìo ìə shifted to ī.
  12. The sequences ùa ùo ùə shifted to ū. ə̄ also shifted to ū.
  13. The sequences ei ou, in both open and closed syllables, shifted to ē ō.
  14. Syllable-final h shifted to x.
  15. Any fw>hw,then f>h
    Note on politics: Vuʒi split off here.
  16. The three syllabic nasals ṁ ṅ ŋ̇ all merged to ən.
  17. The velar ejective ḳ became q. Then kq qk shifted to qq.
  18. The cluster xhʷ became xʷ.
  19. All tones on unstressed syllables are released by spreading the tone of the accented syllable across the word.
    In a two-syllable root, the unstressed syllable acquires the opposite tone from the accented syllable.
    Classifier prefixes and auxiliary verbs all become low tone.
    In compounds, there is no sandhi.
  20. The fricative śʷ s̀ʷ shifted to s. Then ś s̀ became š.
  21. The nasals ń ǹ shifted to ň. Then mʷ nʷ ňʷ ŋʷ all merged as m.
  22. Voiced palatal stops and fricatives all merged as y.
  23. The sequences iy ey, on any tone, shifted to ī ē. <---QUESTIONABLE. most of this would have been from ĭg.
  24. Labialized palataloids shifted to velar. lʷ łʷ > w.
  25. The labialized alveolar stops tʷ dʷ shifted to pʷ bʷ.
  26. Unaccented final short schwas were deleted. (In nouns, they were retained because they were not always final. Therefore, this shift applies mostly to inflections.)
  27. The sequences ʷe ʷi ʷə ʷu, on any tone, shifted to e i ə u. Thus labialization remained distinctive only before /a/ and /o/.

Thus the proto-Subumpamese language had the consonants 

Rounded bilabials:    pʷ  bʷ          w 
Bilabials:            p   b   m                   
Alveolars:            t   d   n   s   l             
Postalveolars:        č   ǯ   ň   š   ł           
Palatals:             ć               y
Prevelars:            c̀        
Velars:               k   ġ   ŋ   x   g
Labiovelars:          kʷ  ġʷ      xʷ  gʷ
Uvulars:              q           h              
Rounded uvulars:      qʷ          hʷ

All consonants were labialized before any /u/ and palatalized before any /i/. However, sequences like si~ši remained distinct.

Labialized consonants also occurred before i and ə. Thus, the six sequences were /wi yi wə ə yə wu/.


Proto-Subumpamese (~1700) to Kava (3138)

This branch originated in eastern Subumpam, but migrated by sea to a western area beginning in the year 2371 and was soon pushed out of its original homeland.

The consonant inventory was 

Rounded bilabials:    pʷ  bʷ          w 
Bilabials:            p   b   m                   
Alveolars:            t   d   n   s   l             
Postalveolars:        č   ǯ   ň   š   ł           
Palatals:             ć               y
Prevelars:            c̀        
Velars:               k   ġ   ŋ   x   g
Labiovelars:          kʷ  ġʷ      xʷ  gʷ
Uvulars:              q           h              
Rounded uvulars:      qʷ          hʷ


  1. The schwas ə ə̄ shifted to u ū.
  2. The mid vowels e o rotated to i ə.
  3. The high vowel i shifted to ə if touching a /q/ in either direction.
  4. Primordial hʷ w shifted to f v.
  5. All labialized consonants shift to bilabials.
  6. The lateral approximant l shifted to w.
  7. The postalveolar affricates č ǯ ň š ł became c ʒ n s l unconditionally.
  8. The palatals ć c̀ became č .
  9. The voiceless uvular stop q changed to k when syllable-final.
  10. Word-final č became s. čk čq etc > čč. Any other syllable-final č assimilates to the following consonant.
  11. Any heterorganic stop/aff after a stop turned into a fricative.
  12. The affricates c ʒ changed to s z when not after a high tone.
  13. Voiced stops became voiceless when occurring before a high tone.


Thus the final consonant inventory was 


Bilabials:            p   b   m   f   v   w         
Alveolars:            t   d   n   s       l  (c) (ʒ)             
Palataloids:          č                   y            
Velars:               k   ġ   ŋ   x   g
Uvulars:              q           h

Proto-Subumpamese (1700) to Pudop (2672)

The consonant inventory was 

Rounded bilabials:    pʷ  bʷ          w 
Bilabials:            p   b   m   f               
Alveolars:            t   d   n   s   l             
Postalveolars:        č   ǯ   ň   š   ł           
Palatals:             ć               y
Prevelars:            c̀        
Velars:               k   ġ   ŋ   x   g
Labiovelars:          kʷ  ġʷ      xʷ  gʷ
Uvulars:              q           h              
Rounded uvulars:      qʷ          hʷ

This is the language spoken in the capital district, Pudop, named after its cranberry harvest.

  1. The high central vowel ə changed to i unconditionally.
  2. Syllable-final nasals ŋ ň changed to match the place of a following consonant, and changed to n if word-final.
  3. the palatalized alveolar consonants č ǯ ň ł become plain alveolars s z n l. Then c̀ ć shifted to ś š
  4. Then, the stops k ġ shifted to ś y before any /e/ or /i/.
  5. All remaining affricates change to fricatives: c ʒ > s z .
  6. Labialization bleeds through clusters. e.g. kʷm > kʷmʷ. This means that it was no longer phonemic.
  7. Then, voiceless stops and fricatives became voiced after a low tone or a long falling vowel. ś x h hʷ > y g Ø w .
  8. The coda fricatives s š ś x all became voiced to Ø i i Ø. The silent ones lengthened a preceding vowel, and sequences such as /ii uu/ shifted to long vowels as well.
  9. The voiced stops d ġ ġʷ shifted to r g gʷ. However, stop allophones remained in some positions.
  10. Labialized consos in syllable final position become bilabials. Thus pʷ bʷ mʷ w > p b m w; kʷ ŋʷ > p m.
  11. Palatalization also bleeds though. This is sort of a compensatory shift to make up for the last one.
  12. The uvular stop q shifted to k.

Thus the final consonant inventory was 

Labials:              p   m   f   w   b     
Alveolars:            t   n   s   l   r   z             
Postalveolars:                š                   
Palatals:                     ś   y        
Velars:               k   ŋ   x   g
Postvelars:                   h

This was originally intended for a longer period; it might stop partway through.

Proto-Subumpamese (1700) to Eastern Subumpamese (2672)

  1. gʷ hʷ > v f.
  2. The high central vowel ə changed to i unconditionally.
  3. Syllable-final ŋ ň changed to match the place of a following consonant, and changed to n if word-final.
  4. pʷ bʷ mʷ w > p b m v. (Possibly /ə/ > /o/ when facing a labialized consonant before this shift.)
  5. ai (on any tone) became ē (perhaps not always long).
  6. The lateral approximant l shifted to w.
  7. Palatals č ć ǯ ň ł > c c ʒ n l.
  8. Velars (but not labiovelars) shifted doubly forward:
    c̀ k ġ ŋ x g > č č ǯ ň š ž. (Possibly velars remain in some positions, as in early Proto-Indo-European. This would best be explained as labialization.)
  9. The uvular stop q shifted to k. /h/ became /x/ in most positions, but the spelling remained.
  10. In syllable-final position, f c shifted to p t. (Thus /k/>/t č/, /h/>/s š/, even though the shifts were not related.)
  11. The labiovelars kʷ ġʷ shifted to p b.
  12. The fricative h shifted to k after a high tone.

Thus the Eastern Subumpamese consonant inventory was 

Bilabials:       p   b   m   f   v   w       
Alveolars:       t   d   n   s       l   c   ʒ             
Palataloids:     č   ǯ   ň   š   ž   y                   
Velars:          k       ŋ   h

Tapilula (0) to Pre-Olati (1300)

The Andanese/Gold dialect of Tapilula had the consonants 

Rounded bilabials:                     hʷ  w
Spread bilabials:      p       m   b   f  (Ø)
Alveolars:             t       n   d       l
Rounded alveolars:     tʷ      nʷ  dʷ         
Velars:                k   ḳ   ŋ   ġ   h   g
  1. The accent pattern involved in certain infixes with accented schwa switched to favor the following vowel. e.g. ăpo "field", apə̀ho "field (possessive) became /ăpo apəhò/.
  2. The "labial" vowel ə disappeared, syllabified nearby consonants or turned to i if the nearby consonants were not possible to become syllabic. Note that it never occurred after labialized consonants. Sequences such as /pəh/ collapsed to form aspirated consonants, though these behaved as clusters.
  3. The velar nasal ŋ changed to n in all positions.
  4. The stops p b t became w w k (the /t/ shift was allophonically [th > tx > kx > kh]) except when occurring:
    After an accented or high-tone vowel (but not before);
    In a consonant cluster of any kind; or
    In a monosyllabic word.
  5. tʷ dʷ nʷ > kʷ ġʷ ŋʷ.
  6. The labial fricative f shifted to hʷ.
  7. The labialized sounds kʷ ġʷ hʷ w changed to k ġ h g when they preceded a vowel followed by a labial consonant (including /w/).
  8. ŋʷ> ŋ.
  9. Tautosyllabic vowel sequences òi ài èi converged to ē. This did not affect syllable-straddling words like /tùya/. Likewise, èu àu òu in the same environment converged to ō.
  10. Duplicate vowel sequences àa èe ìi òo ùu shifted to long vowels ā ē ī ō ū. But the same sequences with the opposite tone pattern did not shift.

Proto-Olati (1300) to Olati-A (2672)

The Olati languages are known both as South Andanic and West Subumpamese. They are Andanic by genetics, but primarily Subumpamese (and partly Naman) by culture.

  1. The labialized consonants kʷ ḳʷ ġʷ hʷ w shifted to p p b f v unconditionally.
  2. The aspirate clusters bh dh shift to p t.
  3. The velars k g ġ ŋ h shifted to č y ň š unconditionally.
  4. The sequences py by fy shift to t d s before a vowel.
  5. The uvular stop ḳ became k.
  6. Remaining aspirated clusters deaspirate.
  7. Before a vowel, the sequences ay ey oy shift to ē. iy uy shift to ī.

Thus the consonant inventory was 

Labials:     p   b   m   f   v       
Alveolars:   t   d   n   s       l
Palataloids: č   ǯ   ň   š       y
Velars:      k

And the vowel inventory was /a e i o u/, on two tones, and a long series.

Proto-Olati (1300) to Olati-B (2672)

This may be the same as the Yoy language.... note that Yoy is said to have preserved voiced stops, like Olati, and unlike the rest of Andanic.

The consonant inventory as of 1300 AD was 

Labials:        p       m   b      (Ø)
Alveolars:      t       n   d       l       
Velars:         k   ḳ   ŋ   ġ   h   g
Labiovelars:    kʷ  ḳʷ      ġʷ  hʷ  w

There were relatively few sequences of two or more consecutive vowels.

  1. The clusters bh dh ġh ġʷh gh shifted to p t k kʷ h. Then mh nh ŋh became mp nt ŋk.
  2. The voiced sounds g ġ ġʷ b shifted to Ø Ø w w. This set up a consonant gradation in which words with hiatus in their bare form developed an oblique form with -/k/- (generalized from a choice of k~p~h).
    NOTE: the /k/ alternant was almost certainly the rarest of the three by a wide margin. It should either be /p/ or /h/.
  3. Remaining aspirates disappeared.
  4. The voiced stop d shifted to r. It was still [d] word-initially.
  5. The labialized consonants kʷ ḳʷ hʷ shifted to p p f.
  6. Before a vowel, the sequences aw ew ow shifted to o. Then iw uw shifted to u.
  7. Before a vowel, the sequences ay oy uy shifted to e. Then iy uy shifted to i.
  8. The vowel sequences òe òi ài èi èe ìa shifted to ē. Then èo èu àu òu òo ùa shifted to ō. Lastly, àe èa àa òa ào shifted to ā.
    Note, the name of the language is properly /jōj/, hence it comes from an earlier triple sequence.
  9. The vowel sequences ùe ùi ìi ìe shifted to ī. Then ìo ìu ùu ùo shifted to ū.
  10. Before a high-tone vowel, the sequences ti ni ri li shifted to s n y y. Then, ki ḳi ŋi hi in the same environment shifted to č č n s.
  11. Remaining ḳ shifted to k .

Thus the consonant inventory was 

Labials:       p   m   f   w
Alveolars:     t   n   s   l   r
Postalveolars: č           y
Velars:        k   ŋ   h

Proto-Olati (1300) to Olati-C (2672)

It is possible that this is the language spoken in Vuʒi, assuming that Vuʒi's own language was lost in the wipeout.

The consonant inventory as of 1300 AD was 

Labials:        p       m   b   f   w
Alveolars:      t       n   d       l       
Velars:         k   ḳ   ŋ   ġ   h   g
Labiovelars:    kʷ  ḳʷ      ġʷ

There were relatively few sequences of two or more consecutive vowels.

  1. The voiced stops ġʷ ġ shifted to w g.
  2. The voiceless stops p t shifted to f s . This shift included the aspirate sequences /bh dh ph th/.
  3. The voiced stops b d shifted to p t unconditionally.
  4. After a low tone or word-initially, the voiceless stops k kʷ shifted to x xʷ.
  5. The voiceless ejectives ḳ ḳʷ shifted to k kʷ unconditionally. The combination of the above shifts and grammatical levelling created a consonant gradation where words with /p t k kʷ/ as the last consonant in the word shifted it to /f s x xʷ/ to form the oblique. By analogy, some words in which historical /p t k kʷ/ had become /f s x xʷ/ now reverted to /p t k kʷ/ in order to use the gradations.

Proto-Olati (1300) to Dakʷòhi (2672)

This is the language spoken in Dakʷòhi, which is the state labeled as Mania on some maps.

  1. The voiced sounds gʷ ġʷ ġ shifted to w w g.
  2. The voiceless stops p t shifted to f s . This shift included the aspirate sequences /bh dh ph th/.
  3. The voiced sounds b d g shifted to p t x unconditionally.
  4. The velars k ḳ g ŋ x shifted to č č y n š unconditionally. Note that this /x/ is distinct from /h/.
  5. The labialized consonants kʷ ḳʷ w shifted to k k v.

Linguistic characteristics

The Lenian languages retain the classifier prefixes of Tapilula and have generally simple rules of grammar. Even the most complex nominal morphology is simpler than that of Pabappa. Verbal morphology is highly variable; some languages are extremely simple, while others retain much of the early Tapilula system, which is, nevertheless, fairly simple by comparison to that of Gold and the Tarise-Thaoa supergroup.


History

Lenian languages began to decline around by year 1900[1] when settlers from AlphaLeap spread the Gold language into Paba. Shortly thereafter, Nama invaded Subumpam due to a famine, and after the famine was over, the Star Empire invaded Subumpam and occupied it for several generations. Then, yet another nation, Litila, also invaded Subumpam and crushed the native population. Subumpam was only rescued from their catastrophe when the Tarpabap people, speaking a Gold-derived language, invaded Subumpam one last time and completely drove out the native Lenian languages.

Meanwhile, by this time, Lenian languages had spread into colder climates and begun driving out the aboriginal Repilian tribes, but they were being chased around by other tribes also growing northwards, and these tribes happened to speak Gold and Tarise languages. AlphaLeap invaded Paba again in the 3800s, and the submissive Pabaps allowed them to use Paba as a base to invade a much larger range of habitats, eventually controlling more than half of the humanly habitable land on the planet. AlphaLeap did not hold their empire for long, but when it collapsed, it was to a new tribe of people calling themselves the Paaapa, who spoke the language that would soon evolve into Pabappa.

Notes

  1. ↑ or earlier
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