User:Cedh audmanh/PIE daughterlang sketch

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This is a sound change sketch for a daughter of Proto-Indo-European projected by cedh_audmanh. Currently the language is thought to have been spoken during the first millennium BC in the southernmost reaches of the Ural mountains (hence the incipient Uralic-style vowel harmony), but this may be subject to change. If you have any comments regarding the plausibility of this project or certain details of it, please write it down at the talk page for this article. Thank you!

  • NB: In the reconstruction used for this language, the traditional PIE palatovelars *ḱ ǵ ǵʰ are regarded as allophones of the plain velars. Accordingly, they are all transcribed as <k g gʰ> in the list of sound changes given below.

Diachronic developments

Laryngeals

All vowels followed by a laryngeal were lengthened. Also, *e ē were coloured into a ā adjacent to *h₂, and into o ō adjacent to *h₃.

  • Vowel colouring:
    • *e ē → a ā / h₂_, _h₂
    • *e ē → o ō / h₃_, _h₃
  • Vowel lengthening:
    • VH → Vː / _C, _#

In contrast to most other Indo-European languages, not all prevocalic laryngeals were deleted. Word-initially and between vowels *h₂ h₃ were preserved in the form of velar fricatives, with *h₃ retaining its labialization.

  • Prevocalic laryngeals:
    • *h₂ h₃ → ɣ ɣʷ / V_V
    • *h₂ h₃ → x xʷ / #_V

In clusters with a consonant, laryngeals were deleted, but *h₂ h₃ caused frication in preceding voiceless and voiced aspirated plosives. Additionally, liquids adjacent to a laryngeal were velarized, with the velarized trill later turning into an uvular ʁ.

  • Laryngeals in clusters:
    • *p t k kʷ → f s x xʷ / _[h₂,h₃]V
    • *bʰ dʰ gʰ gʷʰ → v z ɣ ɣʷ / _[h₂,h₃]V
    • *r l → [rˠ lˠ] → ʁ ł / H_, _H

Syllabic *h₁ h₂ were generally reflected as a, and syllabic *h₃ became o. Word-initial laryngeals before a consonant were only retained in otherwise monosyllabic words; *h₁ in word-initial position became ə instead of a.

  • Syllabic laryngeals:
    • *h̥₁ h̥₂ h̥₃ → Ø / #_C (in words with more than two syllables)
    • *h̥₁ → ə / #_C
    • *h̥₁ h̥₂ h̥₃ → a a o

In all other positions, laryngeals were dropped:

  • *h₁ h₂ h₃ → Ø

Vocalisation of syllabic sonants

The syllabic sonants of PIE developed an epenthetic schwa at the same side of the sonant that would contain the full-grade vowel of the syllable.

  • Ø → ə / _R̥ ~ R̥_
  • R̥ → R

Voiced plosive merger

PIE voiced aspirated stops *bʰ dʰ gʰ gʷʰ became fricatives in postvocalic position before another plosive, and intervocalically when post-tonic. In all other positions they merged with the plain voiced stops.

  • *bʰ dʰ gʰ gʷʰ → v z ɣ ɣʷ / V_[+plosive], "(...)V_V
  • *bʰ dʰ gʰ gʷʰ → b d g gʷ

The satem change

All non-labialized velar consonants (this includes both plain and palatalized velars in the traditional reconstruction) became postalveolars before PIE *j i ī e ē.

  • *k g x ɣ → č dž š ž / _[j,i,ī,e,ē]

Assibilation of dentals

Dental stops *t d became alveolar affricates c dz before *j i ī.

  • *t d → c dz / _[i,ī]
  • *tj dj → c dz

Vowel shift

PIE *u ū fronted to y ȳ in all positions. This caused a pull shift by which *o ō raised to u ū, and *e ē lowered to a ā. The PIE diphthongs *ei ēi eu ēu oi ōi ou ōu also raised to become the monophthongs i ī y ȳ y ȳ u ū respectively. PIE *ai āi au āu were unchanged in quality, but lost their length distinction. The reduced vowel *ə that had appeared adjacent to earlier syllabic sonants raised and fronted to merge into short i.

  • *u ū o ō e ē → y ȳ u ū a ā
  • *ei ēi eu ēu oi ōi ou ōu → i ī y ȳ y ȳ u ū
  • *āi āu → ai au
  • *ə → i

As a result of this vowel shift, the allophonic distribution of plain and palatal velars was disturbed, and palatalization had become phonemic before a ā y ȳ i. Because consonant alternation within a single paradigm was not permitted in PIE while a vowel interchange was possible, either a palatal or a velar phoneme was generalized for each lexeme. These were usually taken from the most frequently occurring variant, i.e. those found in the nominative and accusative cases for nouns, and those found in the 3sg present and/or aorist for verbs. Unlike Balto-Slavic and Indo-Iranian, however, the vowel shift had not caused a merger of PIE *a ā and *o ō, and so the eventual distribution of palatal vs. velar sounds ended up slightly different compared to other satem languages.

RUKI

The vowel shift had also considerably expanded the environment for the RUKI sound law by increasing the number of high vowels. By this change, *s z became postalveolar š ž after the segments r u K i and y, where K is a cover term for PIE *k g x ɣ, and u i includes au ai. If preceded by a monophthongal vowel, the voiced fricative *z rhotacised to a postalveolar approximant ɹ instead, which then quickly merged into ʁ.

  • *s → š / [r,u,K,i,y]_
  • *z → ž / [r,K,ai,au]_
  • *z → [ɹ] → ʁ / [u,i,y]_

Consonant voicing

All fricatives came to be voiced before vowels word-initially, intervocalically, and adjacent to a voiced plosive or liquid. In all other positions they were pronounced voiceless. Word-finally, plosives and affricates were also devoiced. These rules have remained productive until modern times.

  • F → [+voice] / #_V, V(L)_V, [+plosive +voice]_V
  • F → [-voice] / (elsewhere)
  • P → [-voice] / _#

Loss of labialisation

*i ī ai a ā were rounded to y ȳ öy o ō adjacent to labiovelars and before intervocalic *w ɣʷ, which subsequently merged into v. All other instances of *w were then lost adjacent to u ū y ȳ. Labiovelar obstruents were reanalysed as plain labials when followed by a consonant, as clusters of a velar obstruent plus v in intervocalic position not preceding a rounded vowel, and as plain velars elsewhere.

  • *i ī ai a ā → y ȳ öy o ō / Kʷ_, _Kʷ, _wV
  • *w ɣʷ → v / V_V
  • *w → Ø / [u,ū,y,ȳ]_, _[u,ū,y,ȳ]
  • ʷ → v / V[+velar]_[+vowel -rounded]
  • [+velar +labial] → [-velar] / _C
  • [+velar +labial] → [-labial]

Umlaut

*a ā u ū underwent i-umlaut to e ai y ȳ if the next syllable contained i ī, and *a ā also underwent u-umlaut if the next syllable contained u ū. In addition to this, stressed *u ū o ō au umlauted to y ȳ ö öy öy if the next syllable contained y ȳ.

  • *a ā u ū → e ai y ȳ / _$[i,ī]
  • *a ā → o au / _$[u,ū]
  • *u ū o ō au → y ȳ ö öy öy / "_$[y,ȳ]

Syncope

Unstressed short vowels in non-initial open syllables were generally lost if a two-consonant cluster consisting of a nasal or liquid followed by an obstruent could be formed. Syncope of such vowels was also likely between two single obstruents or word-finally. Where syncope did not occur, this was usually motivated by a trend to avoid certain types of clusters; for instance, no clusters containing two fricatives of different POA were created, and affricates could only be the second component of newly-formed clusters. On the other hand, clusters of sibilant plus plosive counted as single segments for the purposes of syncope. The last vowel of a word - if it was both short and unstressed - was usually syncopated even in closed syllables, provided it was preceded by a sonorant and followed by an obstruent. If several adjacent syllables were liable to syncope, vowels immediately following the main stress were most likely to be dropped first.

  • [+vowel -long -stress] → Ø / V[N/L]_[(s,š)P/F][V/#]
  • [+vowel -long -stress] → Ø / V(N/L)C_#
  • [+vowel -long -stress] → Ø / V(s,š)P_FV, VF_[c,č,P]V (with some exceptions)

Minor vowel changes

Falling diphthongs *ai öi au monophthongised to e ö o in closed syllables. Short unstressed *i y u lowered to e ö o if followed by a dorsal liquid ʁ ł. After this, all long vowels were shortened.

  • *ai öi au → e ö o / _CC, _C#
  • *i y u → e ö o / _[ʁ,ł] (unstressed)
  • Vː → V

Vowel harmony

In all words containing at least one of y ö öy and stressed on a front vowel, *u o au assimilated in frontness to become y ö öy as well. In all other words, y ö öy unrounded to i e ai.

  • *y ö öy → i e ai / "[u,o,au](...)_, _(...)"[u,o,au]
  • *u o au → y ö öy / [y,ö,öy](...)_, _(...)[y,ö,öy]

Simplification of clusters

Clusters of nasal + obstruent assimilated to the POA of the obstruent. Cluster-final fricatives fortified into affricates if preceded by a postvocalic nasal or liquid. Coda *ʁ dropped out if followed by a consonant, and prevocalic *j was lost from all clusters containing a postalveolar phoneme. Prevocalic velar fricatives preceded by a consonant merged into ʁ.

  • *n → m / _[+labial]
  • *m → n / _[+consonant -labial]
  • n → [ŋ] / _[+velar] (allophonic)
  • [+fricative] → [+affricate] / V(N/L)_
  • *ʁ → Ø / _C
  • *j → Ø / [+postalveolar]_V
  • *x ɣ → ʁ / C_V

Stress shift

Word stress became fixed on the first vowel within the root.


Phoneme inventory

Consonants

    labial         coronal         palatal         dorsal    
plosive p · b t · d k · g
affricate (pf) c č (kx)
fricative v s š x
nasal m n
    liquid/semivowel l · r j ł · ř


  • The phonemic status of the labial and dorsal affricates pf kx is uncertain. In word-final position after another consonant they do behave as unitary segments, but do not contrast with simple fricatives. In all other positions it might be more suitable to analyse them as clusters.
  • The coronal and palatal affricates c č (phonetically [ʦ ʧ]), however, are clearly phonemic because unlike any other obstruent cluster they can appear in word-final position after a vowel, contrasting with both plosives and fricatives.
  • All fricatives can be allophonically voiceless [f s ʃ x] (in coda position, following a voiceless plosive, or when geminate) or voiced [v z ʒ ɣ] (in all other prevocalic positions). The two sibilants are transcribed with the "voiced" graphemes z ž in voiced clusters, and as s š elsewhere. The labial fricative is written v unless as part of the labial affricate pf, and the dorsal fricative is always written x.
  • Some dialects pronounce x as [h] in word-initial position.
  • Adjacent to front vowels, x may become fully palatal [ç~ʝ]. Dialects that have this usually render tx kx dx gx as [c cç ɟ ɟ] before front vowels.
  • ł is a velarized or pharyngealized alveolar lateral [ɫ]. It contrasts with l only before vowels, with coda laterals always being velarized except before m or coronal consonants.
  • ř is an uvular trill or fricative [ʀ~ʁ]. Some dialects have merged ř x into an uvular phoneme that is a trill before vowels and [χ] elsewhere.
  • n assimilates to [ŋ] before a dorsal consonant.

Vowels

    front         central         back    
    high i · y u
mid e · ö o
low a


DIPHTHONGS: ai öy au [æɪ œʏ ɒʊ]

  • u o au alternate with y ö öy in a vowel harmony relationship. i e a ai are neutral.
  • All vowels have tense allophones [i y u e ø o ɑ] in open syllables and lax allophones [ɪ ʏ ʊ ɛ œ ɔ ɐ] in closed ones.
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