Zamanic

Zamanic is a fictional branch of the Indo-European family that is an ongoing joint project of Jörg Rhiemeier and Juho Pystynen. It is part of the League of Lost Languages.

Proto-Zamanic developed out of the easternmost part of the Corded Ware horizon and is most closely related to Balto-Slavic, though it also shows some affinity to its former southern neighbour, Iranian. An early stage of Zamanic may be the source of some Indo-European loanwords in Uralic such as *aja- 'to drive' and *porćas 'pig'. The language was later in turn influenced by Uralic and Turkic languages.

The name "Zamanic" is derived from the reconstructed self-designation *zaman < PIE *dhǵhom-on- 'human being'.

Phonology

Zamanic is a satem group (i.e. PIE palatovelars developed into palatals and later into sibilants, and the labiovelars merge with the plain velars) with the RUKI rule (i.e., *s was backed to *š after *r, high vowels and velars).

Sound changes

List of suggestions, not (yet) in chronological order.

Merger of voiced aspirates and plain voiced stops

• Dʰ > D

"Thorn" clusters

• TK > K (dental is lost)

Satemization

• ḱ > ć, later > s
• ǵ > dź, later > z

• kʷ > k
• gʷ > g

RUKI rule

• s > š /(i,u,r,k)_

Laryngeals

• Syllabic laryngeals become *i before a high vowel in the next syllable, otherwise *a
• VH > V: (as usual)
• Other laryngeals are lost (as usual)

Syllabic resonants

• R. > iR

Palatalization

• k > č /_V[+front]
• g > dž /_V[+front]
• kj > č
• gj > dž
• tj > č
• dj > dž

Accent

• Retracted to first syllable.

Assorted vowel changes

Short vowels:

• i > ь (ultrashort lax front vowel)
• u > ъ (ultrashort lax back vowel)
• e > ä
• o > a

Long vowels are shortened.

Vowel harmony

• V > [+front] /first vowel is [+front]
• V > [-front] /first vowel is [-front]

This remains a synchronically productive process in some languages. The vowel classes are:

• Front: i e ä ö ü ь
• Back: ï ë a o u ъ

Second accent shift

• Accent shifts rightward to next full vowel is the first syllable contains a yer.

Cluster reduction

• pr > f
• br > v
• tr > č
• dr > dž
• sr > š
• zr > ž
• kr > č
• gr > dž

• pl > f
• bl > v
• tl > č
• dl > dž
• sl > š
• zl > ž
• kl > č
• gl > dž

• sp > f
• sf > f
• st > s
• zd > z
• sĉ > ŝ
• sk > x

• C > 0 /C_#

Morphology

The Zamanic languages are morphologically fusional, like the Balto-Slavic languages, with some agglutinating traits that evolved under the influence of their Uralic and Turkic neighbours.