Kokhene Scratchpad

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VaptuantaDoi
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Kokhene Scratchpad

Post by VaptuantaDoi »

All my a priori langs are supposedly spoken on a planet called Kokhene, which I'll describe in more detail later. This scratchpad will allow me to add info for languages which aren't in the major families (linked below) or general world-building stuff. Don't expect anything too fancy or formal though, this is just a scratchpad. As always comments and questions welcomed.

Major families (currently all spoken on the continent of Rodgezhua, subject to updates):
Some isolates (further isolates will mostly be presented here):
Non-human languages:
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Re: Kokhene Scratchpad

Post by VaptuantaDoi »

This is an idea which came to me when I was thinking about Babm. Say Babm was found spoken as a natlang somewhere by an Earth linguist - how would they possibly go about analysing it? Then I attempted to derive proto-Babm, then evolve a sisterlang (obviously with a vertical vowel system) from there. And yes, this does mean Babm is a cannon natlang on Kokhene. This is assumed to simply be a massive coincidence.

Describing Babm

I think the neatest way of describing Babm in terms of a phonemic inventory is with the following 6 consonants and 5 vowels.

/t d k/
/n/
/r/
/h/

/i u e o a/
+ length

If we derive /i o/ from /i̯a u̯a/ (and e < i), this explains the behaviour of the consonants much better. As such, here are the "allophonic" rules of Kokhene-Babm:

/t/
/t/ → [p] /_e (clearly this reflects p < tʷ < tˤ < t' < tʔ < tk < tj < tʲ, and /e/ < *i makes this all perfectly reasonable).
/t/ doesn't occur before /i u a/, which can be explained with i < i̯a < ɟi̯a < ci̯a < t͡si̯a < *ti̯a, and similarly for /tu/, while before /a/ we can have *t → kˤ → ʔ → Ø /_a, mirroring the behaviour of /d/, and having been involved in the chain shift *tɑ kɑ → ka kˤa → ʔa kʷa → /aː wa/.

/d/
/d/ → [​b] /_o (o used to be *u̯a)
→ [ɡ] /_a (a < *ɑ)
→ [v] /_i (obviously representing historic *ð < *dz [:P])
→ [j] /_u (clearly this was also *ð < *dz)

/k/
/k/ → [w] /_a (in this case pharyngealisation is at play; *k → kˤ → kʷ → w /_ɑ)

/h/
/h/ → [f] /_u
→ [​s] /_e (explained clearly by /e/ < *i̯a)
→ [z] /_i,o (voiced by the following glide, zi zo < zi̯a zu̯a < si̯a su̯a < çi̯a çu̯a < *hia hua)

/n/
/n/ → [m] /_u
→ [l] /_e
absent before /i o/, so we can assume it must've been lost before glides, something like *nu̯a ni̯a → ŋʷa ɲa → w̃a j̃a → u̯a i̯a → o i.

/r/
/r/ only occurs before /a/, which is a bit perplexing; perhaps we can explain this as onsetless *u̯a i̯a → wɑ jɑ → wˤɑ jˤɑ → ʕɑ → ʁɑ → rɑ; then *u̯a i̯a restored from the loss of *n.

Hence:

Code: Select all

   i  u  e  o  a
t  –  –  pe to –
d  vi yu de go ba
k  ki ku ke ko wa
h  zi fu se so ha
n  –  mu le –  na
r  –  –  –  –  ra
(I could even stick [ra] into /ta/ but i cbf)


Reconstructing proto-Babm

From all of this information, we can safely reconstruct proto-Babm (or should I say *du̯aʔadu̯anu), with what turns out being a rather lovely little inventory:

*t d k (ʔ)
*n
*h

*i u a iː uː aː
*i̯a u̯a i̯aː u̯aː

The glottal stop probably only existed to prevent vowel hiatus. *a was probably back [ɑ], and *i̯a u̯a may derive from earlier *ia̯ ua̯. Here's some example words:
Spoiler:
cefd /koeːhude/ "white" < *ku̯aʔihudi̯a
v /di/ "1sg" < *di̯a
y /du/ "2sg" < *du
htaj /hatoaːhi/ "book" < *hatu̯aʔahi
rboit /radooːiːto/ "parent" < *u̯adu̯anu̯aːʔi̯atu̯a
qw /kuka/ "what" < *kuka
bcet /dokoeːto/ "person" < *du̯aku̯aʔitu̯a
hdat /hadeto/ "house" < *haditu̯a
bodn /dooːdena/ "flower" < *du̯aʔu̯adina
gof /daoːhu/ "to fly" < *danu̯aːhu
Sound changes from proto-Babm to Babm:
u̯a i̯a → ʕɑ → ra /%_
t → Ø /_[i̯a,u,a]
n → Ø /_[u̯a,i̯a]
ʔV(ː) → Vː
i(ː) i̯a(ː) u̯a(ː) → e(ː) i(ː) o(ː)
ʔ → Ø


Bobom, a sisterlang

This just begs making a sisterlang with a vertical vowel system.

Sound changes:
Spoiler:
Ø → ʔ /#_
i̯a u̯a i u → ʲɐ ʷɐ ʲɨ ʷɨ
ɨː ɐː → iː oː
ʔ ʔʷ ʔʲ → ʔˠ ʔʷ ʔʲ → ɰ̰ w̰ j̰
h hʷ hʲ → x xʷ ç
kʲ → c
tʷ dʷ nʷ → p b m
dʲ → ɟ
syncope of even-numbered short vowels
ɰ̰ w̰ j̰ → Ø w j /_[coda]
ɰ̰ w̰ j̰ → k’ ɓ t’ /_
x xʷ ç → Ø /[w,j]_
tʲ → s
p → f (I hate /p/)
some cluster reduction probably
word-final codas tend to assimilate in round/palatal-ness to the syllable onset, but not if the onset is plain
coda glottalised stops deglottalised
*ku̯aʔihudi̯a > qoeyij /kʷɐjɨɟ/ [ˈkʷœ.jiɟ]
*di̯a > je /ɟɐ/ [ˈɟɛ]
*du > bu /bɨ/ [ˈbu]
*hatu̯aʔahi > xopk'ez /xɐpk’ɐç/ [ˈxɔp’k’ɛç]
*u̯adu̯anu̯aːʔi̯atu̯a > b'obmooyfo /ɓɐbmoːjfɐ/ [ˈɓɔbmoːjfɔ]
*kuka > quq /kʷɨkʷ/ [ˈkʷukʷ]
*du̯aʔadu̯anu > bobom /bɐbɐm/ [ˈbɔ.bɔm]
*du̯aku̯aʔitu̯a > boqt'up /bɐkʷt’ɨp/ [ˈbɔkʷ’.t’up]
*haditu̯a > hecpo /xɐcpɐ/ [ˈxɛc.pɔ]
*du̯aʔu̯adina > boqjig /bɐkʷɟɨnʲ/ [ˈbɔɡʷɟinʲ]
*danu̯aːhu > domoohu /dɐmoːxʷɨ/ [ˈdɔmoːxʷu]

Bobom Phonology

/b t d c ɟ k kʷ/ <b t d c j k q>
/ɓ t’ k’/ <b' t' k'>
/f s ç x xʷ/ <f s z x h>
/m n nʲ/ <m n g>
/j w/ <y w>

/iː ɨ oː ɐ/ <ee i~ui~i~u oo e~oe~a~o

Code: Select all

    ˠ     ʲ     ʷ
ˠ [ɨ ɐ] [i ɛ] [u ɔ]
ʲ [i ɛ] [i ɛ] [y œ]
ʷ [u ɔ] [y œ] [u ɔ]



So yep, that's how come Babm has a sister lang with over three times as many consonants and implosives, and ejectives and a vertical vowel system. This would fit nicely in some random place in a continent (maybe Ačirânua) where I can make a family out of it.
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Re: Kokhene Scratchpad

Post by VaptuantaDoi »

Astronomical context

A long time ago (the best part of four years now), I was really into exoplanets and making planetary systems. I discovered recently a table of a ten-planet system which I have appropriated from past myself to use in the present:

Code: Select all

Body       | Species    Type       Orbit       Period  T eq.   Mass         Radius      Gravity  Notes
           |                       A.U.        days    K                                g
–––––––––––+––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-----------------------------------------------
FX82+771A  | Primary    K4V        –           –       4,945   0.6733Msun   0.7198Rsun  ?        Habitable zone is 0.525AU to 0.757AU 
–––––––––––+––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-----------------------------------------------
FX82+771b  | Satellite  T.H.Sub-T. 0.3891      108.04  400     0.00214Me    0.13117Re   0.124    Day=72.03 days. Mostly iron/nickel, low silicates.
           |                       (e=0.085)                                                     No moons or atmosphere. No tetonics.
–––––––––––+––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-----------------------------------------------
FX82+771c  | Satellite  T.H.Sub-T. 0.4792      147.67  370     0.18779Me    0.5923Re    0.536    High in silicates. No moons or atmosphere, but 
           |                       (e=0.0001)                                                    faint dark ring system just beyond Roche Limit.
           |                                                                                     No tectonics.
–––––––––––+––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-----------------------------------------------
FX82+771d  | Satellite  T.W.Sub-T. 0.598       205.85  290-330 0.65433Me    0.8694Re    0.861    Small iron core with silicate crust/mantle. No
           |                       (e=0.325)                                                     moons or atmosphere. Tectonic activity, vulcanism
           |                                                                                     and tidal stress heating. Not habitable although
           |                                                                                     usually within C.H.Z.
–––––––––––+––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-----------------------------------------------
FX82+771e  | Satellite  T.W.Sub-T. 0.684120    304.531 250     0.2265112Me  0.5907322Re 0.65     Reasonably large nickel/iron core with silicate
(Kokhene)  |                       (e=0.013)                                                     crust. One large moon (0.296Re), atmosphere = 25"
           |                                                                                     (65% N2, 31% O2, 3% Ar). Day=25.828hr. Unusually
           |                                                                                     strong tectonic activity due to iron-rich mantle
           |                                                                                     heating by uranium decay. Water covers 88% of
           |                                                                                     surface, leaving 60,700,000m2 land. Inhabited.
–––––––––––+––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-----------------------------------------------
FX82+771f  | Satellite  T.C.T.     1.1684      520.1   200      1.677Me     1.2308Me    1.11     Silicates with high-carbon mantle and small lead/
           |                       (e=0.04)                                                      nickel/iron core. One moon (0.0902Re), thin (2")
           |                                                                                     atmosphere (90% H2O, 8% CO2, ½% C2H5OH, ½% O2, ½%
           |                                                                                     N2, ½% H2). Day=46.502hr. Strong tectonics.
–––––––––––+––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-----------------------------------------------
FX82+771g  | Satellite  T.C.Sub-T. 1.952       868.9   165-195  0.000447Me  0.0795Re   0.071     Mostly a rocky mantle with high-ice crust and very
           |                      (e=0.227)                                                      small high-metal core. Five moons (464, 286, 77,
           |                                                                                     8m), rarified atmosphere from ice sublimation (5";
           |                                                                                     97% H2O, 2% CO2, ½% NH4, ½% N2). No tectonic
           |                                                                                     activity, cryovulcanism present, occasional
           |                                                                                     impacts. Microbial life.
–––––––––––+––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-----------------------------------------------
FX82+771h  | Satellite  G.C.Sub-J. 4.7713      2,123.9 105     94.4Me       7.99Re     1.48      Small rock/ice core (0.5Re), very thick atmosphere
           |                       (e=0.000)                                                     (primarily H2 and He). At least 20 moons (2577,
           |                                                                                     2341, 1466, 877, 577, 568m etc.)
–––––––––––+––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-----------------------------------------------
FX82+771i  | Satellite  G.C.Sub-J. 9.5425      4,247.8 70      25.4Me       5.7498Re   0.772     2:1 orbital resonance with h. Small metal/rock/ice
           |                       (e=0.000)                                                     core (0.7Re), thick atmosphere (primarily H2, He
           |                                                                                     and CH4). At least 18 moons, large ice ring system
           |                                                                                     and distant dust ring (0.25A.U.)
–––––––––––+––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-----------------------------------------------
FX82+771j  | Satellite  T.C.Sub-T. 15.728      7,001.7 50      0.0347Me     0.31151Re  0.31      Rocky silicate core with ice mantle and thin
           |                       (e=0.002)                                                     liquid water upper mantle, thin ice crust and
           |                                                                                     silicate dust coating. One moon (0.138Re),
           |                                                                                     extremely thin (0.48") atmosphere (80% H2O, 20%
           |                                                                                     N2) formed by sublimation. No tectonics, very
           |                                                                                     active cryovulcanism, rare impacts.
I'll have to check my maths again when I can be arsed, but other than that I'm happy to snag this entire system. The smaller surface area makes it a lot easier for me too. Here's a very basic map of Kokhene, subject to change:

Image

The main focus of the planet is the pseudo-continent of Rodgezhua, shown below:

Image

I'll update it later with names for all these places, but that's a relatively final geographical map of the place.
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Re: Kokhene Scratchpad

Post by WeepingElf »

Planet f has alcohol in its atmosphere!? (Also, ammonia is NH3, not NH4.)
... brought to you by the Weeping Elf
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Re: Kokhene Scratchpad

Post by DesEsseintes »

WeepingElf wrote: 24 Feb 2023 10:19 Planet f has alcohol in its atmosphere!?
Sounds like a fun planet.
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Re: Kokhene Scratchpad

Post by VaptuantaDoi »

It appears that 2018 me is not as smart as I hoped he would be. I'll have to get round to fixing that some time.
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Re: Kokhene Scratchpad

Post by VaptuantaDoi »

Possible inventory for proto-Northeast Coast Tumbleweed:

/p t̪ t̺ ʈ c k kʷ/ *p th t rt ty k kw
/pʰ t̪ʰ t̺ʰ ʈʰ cʰ kʰ kʷʰ/ *p‘ th‘ t‘ rt‘ ty‘ k‘ kw‘
/p’ t̪’ t̺’ ʈ’ c’ k’ kʷ’/ *p’ th’ t’ rt’ ty’ k’ kw’
/m n̪ n̺ ɳ ɲ ŋ ŋʷ/ *m nh n rn ny ŋ ŋw
/m’ n̪’ n̺’ ɲ’/ *m’ nh’ n’ rn’
/l̺ l̪/ *lh l
/l̪’ l̺’ ʎ’/ *lh’ l’ ly’
/ɹ̪ r̺ ɻ j ɰ w/ *rh r rr y e w
/ɹ̪’ r̺’ ɻ’ j’ ɰ’ w’/ *rh’ r’ rr’ y’ e’ w’

/i~e/ *i
/a~ə/ *a

/m̩ n̪̩ n̺̩ ɳ̩ ɲ̩ ŋ̩ ŋ̩ʷ/ *m̥ n̥h n̥ rn̥ n̥y ŋ̊ ŋ̊w
/l̺̩ l̪̩/ *l̥h l̥
/ɹ̪̩ r̺̩ ɻ̩ i ɨ u/ *r̥h r̥ rr̥ ẙ e̥ w̥

Or alternatively a collapsed system of syllabic resonants
/m̩ n̩ ɲ̩ ŋ̩ ŋ̩ʷ/ *m̥ n̥ n̥y ŋ̊ ŋ̊w
/l̩/ *l̥
/ɹ̩ i ɯ u/ *r̥ ẙ e̥ w̥

With a Sotho-like shift of *ⁿT ⁿD*Tʰ T’ and subsequent devoicing of *T. I kinda like this, it gives me PNC vibes. Here's some numbers - all in Class I:

1. *wapat’
2. *rhatyan’
3. *rhaty‘aty’
4. *rhart’ŋ̊
5. *rhany’anh’
6. *rhathl̥h
7. *rhatyaty‘
8. *wawakw
9. *waly’ap
10. *rhathw̥

There should probably still be laminal harmony but it would be between *p vs. *th etc. so I doubt it would last long.


Edit: and proto-Rtandaea Peninsula Tumbleweed:

/p t̪ t̺ ʈ c k q qʷ/ *p th t rt ty k q qw
/b d̪ d̺ ɖ ɟ ɡ/ *b dh d rd dy g
/ᵐp ⁿ̪t̪ ⁿ̺t̺ ᶯʈ ᶮc ᵑk ᴺq ᴺqʷ/ *mp nth nt rnt nty ngk nq nqw
/ᵐb ⁿ̪d̪ ⁿ̺d̺ ᶯɖ ᶮɟ ᵑɡ/ *mb ndh nd rnd ndy ngg
/m n̪ n̺ ɳ ɲ ŋ/ *m nh n rn ny ng
/w ɹ̪ ɾ̺ ɻ j ɰ ʁ ʁʷ/ *w rh r rr y e re rw
/l̪ l̺ ɭ/ *lh l rl
/ᵇm ᵈ̪n̪ ᵈ̺n̺ ɖɳ ᶡɲ ᶢŋ/ *bm dnh dn rdn dny gng
/ᵇʙ ᵈ̪ɾ̪ ᵈ̺r̺ ɖɽ ᶡj ᶢɰ ᴳʀ ᴳʀʷ/ *br drh dr rdr dyr gr rgr rgrw
/ᵈ̪l̪ ᵈ̺l̺ ɖɭ ᶡʎ ᶢʟ/ *dlh dl rdl dly gl

/i o a/ *i o a
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Re: Kokhene Scratchpad

Post by VaptuantaDoi »

Some absolutely hideous Vimā verb stems:

Code: Select all

+---------+----------+----------------+
|Present  | Future   |  Meaning       |
+---------+----------+----------------+
| fədaš   | fənəš    | ‘hunt’         |
| fədərta | fənəθə   | ‘die’          |
| fəpə    | fkəf     | ‘drink’        |
| fəšæ    | fkər     | ‘argue’        |
| fəša    | fkər     | ‘fall down’    |
| fəšō    | fkən     | ‘get’          |
| fəθa    | ftər     | ‘buy’          |
| fuvi    | fəžu     | ‘sell’         |
| ləmə    | āθmo     | ‘vomit’        |
| mərkaθ  | mərəθ    | ‘hiccup’       |
| məzəza  | ōsin     | ‘rest’         |
| məzu    | ōsin     | ‘arise’        |
| məθa    | ātər     | ‘go’           |
| nəfə    | āpo      | ‘climb’        |
| rəba    | aməl     | ‘wander’       |
| rəfæ    | afəz     | ‘board a boat’ |
| rəfō    | rəfən    | ‘enter’        |
| rəlō    | ašlən    | ‘run’          |
| rəmə    | aməv     | ‘join’         |
| rəməf   | aməf     | ‘fly’          |
| vəbā    | əməl     | ‘see’          |
| vəba    | əmər     | ‘show’         |
| veməθ   | uməθ     | ‘hurt’         |
| vəpə    | əθef     | ‘find’         |
| vərə    | əre      | ‘combine’      |
| vərkoθ  | əreθ     | ‘run’          |
| vəžō    | əžen     | ‘sleep’        |
| vəθa    | vəθər    | ‘fail’         |
| vəθō    | əθi      | ‘embrace’      |
| θəpə    | təf      | ‘hesitate’     |
| θəzu    | θezovə   | ‘believe in’   |
| θəθar   | tar      | ‘grind’        |
| θuθan   | ton      | ‘wear out’     |
+---------+----------+----------------+
While these look suppletive, they're actually regularly derived from proto-Trintinic (with about 7,000 years of sound changes). I'm interested to see what rules yous can discern from this mess. For example, here's the devlopment of 'run':

Proto-Trintinic: ​ ​ ​ *tétem ~ *tetém
Proto-East Bank: ​ *rérem ~ *rerém
Proto-Sorawic: ​ ​ ​ ​ *rárm̥ ~ *r̥rám
Pre-Old Soraw: ​ ​ ​ ​ *rə́lm̥ ~ *ŕ̥kləm
Old Soraw: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ RELǪ ~ AKLEM
Old Vaymic: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ RELǪ ~ AKLEN
Middle Vimā: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ rĕlō ~ ăklĕn
Vimā: ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​rəlō /ɹəlɒː/ ~ ašlən /ɐšlən/
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Re: Kokhene Scratchpad

Post by VaptuantaDoi »

Tribrachid reproduction

This is an idea I've had which conflicts with some of what I've mentioned previously, and not being a biologist I'm not entirely sure how realistic it is, but nematodes do it so it must be fine. And this supplants all the previous information about tribrachid reproduction. This system was closely inspired by the nematode worm caenorhabditis elegans, so check that out for some precedent.
Tribrachids are androdioecious; the species consists of two sexes, males and hermaphrodites. The vast majority of the population are hermaphrodites, and reproduce parthenogenetically, making (mostly) clones of themselves; there also exist a number of males who can mate with hermaphrodites and produce non-clonal offspring. However, hermaphrodites cannot reproduce with other hermaphrodites, as they lack sexual organs for insemination.
Hermaphrodites produce a limited supply of both sperm and oocytes, meaning that parthenogenetic reproduction is less productive than male-hermaphrodite reproduction. This supply of gametes is produced entirely before sexual maturation, in contrast to males which continue to produce sperm cells until their death. Males' sperm is preferentially used over self-produced sperm, although both can be stored simultaneously and it is possible, if rare, for a single egg clutch to contain both clonal and non-clonal offspring. Self-insemination only results in the production of around 40 eggs, whereas insemination by a male can produce up to 100. Additionally, males are more sexually active, have much larger territories, are more intelligent and live longer than hermaphrodites; as a result, they mate dozens of times in their lives with numerous other individuals in contrast to hermaphrodites who reproduce clonally only a few times. This means that despite the small number of males, their offspring are almost equal in number to those of hermaphrodites.


Sex determination

Sex is determined by the number of X chromosomes in the offspring; either two are present, resulting in an XX hermaphrodite, or one is present, resulting in an XO male; there are also 30 autosomal pairs, a similar number to octopuses. Tribrachids can thus be described as XO sex-deterministic; this is a feature shared with some higher animals on earth like a few bat and fish species. Either type of reproduction can produce male offspring, based on seemingly random nondisjunction of the X chromosome in parthenogenetic reproduction, or through fertilisation by male XO sperm; as a result, male offspring are more likely in male-hermaphrodite reproduction (~0.5%) than in parthenogenetic reproduction (~0.1%). There is also a small chance (~0.005) that the X chromosome is copied twice, producing XXX-chromosome offspring which are hermaphroditic although with some associated phenotype divergences and disabilities. XXXX and O types are likely also possible due to the high mutation rate, but most likely these result in failed embryos as they are not seen in adults.


Evolution

The way anrodioecy evolved is uncertain, as it is not particularly widespread in Kokhenean invertebrates, and fossil records of tribrachids tend not to exist due to their lack of bones. In their distant past they were likely male-female structured, with males having XY chromosomes. However, the Y chromosome was eventually lost; this meant that males could be produced through random nondisjunction of the X chromosome, as well as through fertilisation by male XO sperm. Later, parthenogenesis evolved, perhaps caused by the thinly spread proto-tribrachid population bringing in a reduced likelihood of finding a mate. Once tribrachids became more social as their intelligence developed, the behavioural dimorphism, and further physical dimorphism, developed. Whatever the path it took, the origin of this arrangement seems to be at least 2,000,000 years in the past; the closest relative to tribrachids, the naanyi (pl. vaanyi), display an almost identical system (although they are much smaller and less intelligent, more akin to a cuttlefish). Vaanyi split off from tribrachids (or rather, they both developed from octobrachius malocclusus) around 1.7 to 1.9 MYA, and it is unlikely to have been a separate development.
Despite males making up a very small part of the population, only around one in two hundred individuals, they seem to be necessary for the long-term survival of the species. If males are isolated from an area, the population of the next generation is much reduced due to the slowed rate of reproduction. The next generation will contain some males through X-chromosome nondisjunction, who will shore up the population again, although it may take several generations to reach the seemingly stable ratio of between 1:220 and 1:200 males to hermaphrodites. A small enough population of hermaphrodites only may not be able to produce any males in one generation due to the low survival rate of foetal and larval tribrachids; this will most likely result in the eventual extinction of the population, although the arrival of a single male can reverse population decline even if only a handful of hermaphrodites remain.


Sexual dimorphism

As mentioned previously, males are quite strongly distinguished from hermaphrodites; this is seen physically, behaviourly, and also culturally. The most obvious physiological difference is in the possession of a penis that allows them to inseminate hermaphrodites, although their testes are internal and not visible. They are also physically larger by around 20% on average, and have between 30 and 40% more neurons, which could possibly an adaptation for the increased social interaction involved in their reproduction. They also tend to have longer and more flexible tentacles; as a result, or possibly a cause, their language is notably different to that of females, displaying a wider range of phonemes. Again this could be tied in to their reproductive behaviours.
Androdioecious reproduction has had profound results on tribrachid society as well as on their biology. It provides males with higher status and makes them very desirable mates; rather than the usual situation of males having to attract a female mate, hermaphrodites are the ones who must tempt the males. However, males are also much more transient, with individual males spending little time in one area. The prototypical tribrachid male is a rambler who travels over a large territory ranging several dozens of miles along the coastline; he carries a small number of tools and supplies in the fruit shell of a coconut-like plant and only remains in an area long enough to get laid. While in a populated area, the hermaphrodites will provide him with food and shelter, but in between he must hunt his own food. His territory is not permanent or even very well-maintained; other males will move in once he has left, or sometimes even at the same time. In some areas, males will band up into small groups for safety from predators and increased hunting ability.
Linguistically and culturally males also have significant influence; not only do they bring in new genes to an area, they also bring in new customs, technologies and linguistic practices. Most linguistic and cultural isoglosses follow closely the movement of males through various areas; for instance, the building of knapped stone tools spreads out in an almost fractal-like pattern along the central Rodgezhuan coast, reflecting the movement of males throughout the area over a few centuries. Likewise, dialect maps spread out along lines parallel with the coast, rather than forming distinct areas like humanoid or re languages.
It's tempting to project human conceptions of sexism onto tribrachids, given how they appear on the surface to be extremely patriarchical. However, the ethics of this are very debatable. Tribrachids display a much greater degree of sexual dimorphism, especially behaviourly speaking, than humans, and they have much smaller and less developed populations. It is difficult to even find a parallel in terms of technological development; tribrachids have no centralised government or religion, no cities, and almost no infrastructure. However, they have had writing for a very long time, millenia at least; long enough to have spread to the entire tribrachid population, and likely much longer than humanoids have. They are also able to construct quite advanced tools and use them extremely proficiently. It may be that biological differences are so great that there is no concept of "sexism" in tribrachid society; the higher status of males in society is negated by their transience, and may even be necessary for the continuation of the species. An all-hermaphrodite society would eventually perish through the lack of genetic diversity, and males are simply so rare that the species cannot afford not to treat them so highly.
Last edited by VaptuantaDoi on 21 Jan 2024 08:40, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Kokhene Scratchpad

Post by VaptuantaDoi »

SCL

SCL, short for Subordinate Clause Language, is a project where I'm trying to naturalistically develop a system with syncretism between the morphosyntax of standalone head clauses (HCs) and subordinate clauses (SCs), in opposition to that of matrix clauses (MCs; head clauses which have a subordinate clause). This is analogous to how ergative languages syncretise S and O roles in opposition to A roles. The development of a system like this requires a few things to meet my criteria:
  1. Some marking must be grammaticalised on HCs and on SCs, but never on MCs
  2. The verb of a MC must be marked by a feature that does not occur on HCs.
  3. Ideally, nouns would be allowed to act as heads of HCs and MCs.

Preliminaries: proto-SCL and modern SCL

I'll begin with a quick sketch of the two stages, which allows me to visualise and flesh out examples. Proto-SCL has the following phonology:

/b t k ʔ s h m n j w/ <*b t k ʔ s h m n y w>
/i u e o a/ <*i u e o a>
(C)(y,w)V(N)

And for Modern SCL:

/b t ɟ k ʔ s ʃ m n ɲ j w/ <b t j k ʔ s x m n ñ y w
/i ɨ ə ɔ æ/ <i ɨ e o a>
/i˩ i˥/ <i í>
(C)V


1: Marking on HCs and SCs

Generally, any marking that SCs have also appears on MCs, with two exceptions (thanks crey for telling me about these): switch-reference and relative tense markers (henceforth SR and RT). Luckily, HCs can also act something like SCs in multiphrasal constructions, e.g. cause-result, sequential etc., tail-head linkage. The latter of these is the most interesting, as clauses in tail-head linkages are generally stripped down significantly, i.e. MCs would be very rare in this position. Proto-SCL had two relative tense adverbs, *ni "before" and *syu "after"; these were common in SCs:

​ ​ ​ ​ *ye mehe ku byo aʔihi swe syu...
​ ​ ​ ​ 3SG know COMPL 1SG there be after
​ ​ ​ ​ "He knew that I was going to be there..."

And they were also common in tail-head linkage constructions, especially on the repeated partial clause:

​ ​ ​ ​ *...ye mehe ni, byo aʔihi wahim
​ ​ ​ ​ 3SG know before, 1SG there arrive
​ ​ ​ ​ "... he knew (it) already, and (then) I arrived there."

Switch-reference could also be marked in subclauses through the adverbial *hi "over there", originally a distal demonstrative in contrast to medial *aʔihi. This was again most common in SCs:

​ ​ ​ ​ *ye mehe ku ye aʔihi swe hi.
​ ​ ​ ​ 3SG know COMPL 3SG there be SR
​ ​ ​ ​ "He1 knew that he2 was there."

And it was also quite common in multiphrasal HC constructions:

​ ​ ​ ​ *ye ye bwasa, ye nyam-be hi.
​ ​ ​ ​ 3SG 3SG get, 3SG hit-PASS SR
​ ​ ​ ​ "He gets it; and it (*he) is pounded."

As modern SCL developed, the SR marker was grammaticalised, as were the two RT adverbs. These were infrequent enough in MCs that they were eventually prohibited in that position.

​ ​ ​ ​ Yi mé-kɨ yi ʔí sa-xɨ́.
​ ​ ​ ​ 3SG know-MC 3SG there be-REL.FUT.SR
​ ​ ​ ​ "He1 knew that he2 was going to be there."

Although they occurred most often in tail-head constructions in proto-SCL, these were reinterpreted as revisions of the previous phrase with additional information:

​ ​ ​ ​ Yi yi mé-ni. Jo ʔí mé.
​ ​ ​ ​ 3SG 3SG know-REL.PAST | 1SG there arrive
​ ​ ​ ​ original: "He knew it. [He knew it (already)]tail, and then I arrived there."
​ ​ ​ ​ reinterpretation: "He knew it. He *already* knew it.remedied phrase I arrived there (afterwards).

Hence criterium (1) is established; the markers 'switch reference' (marked as high tone on the preceding vowel, with ablaut); 'relative past' -ni and 'relative future' -xɨ occur only on SCs and HCs, being prohibited from MCs.


2: Marking on MCs distinct from HCs

This is quite an easy one to accomplish; simply rebracketting of a complementiser; starting off as a particle weakly attached to the SC:

​ ​ ​ ​ *byo mehe ku ye aʔihi swe ni
​ ​ ​ ​ [1SG]A know [COMPL 3SG there be before]O
​ ​ ​ ​ "I know that he had been there."

Then a shift to an enclitic attached to the matrix clause; for this to be a verbal marker SOV word order is required:

​ ​ ​ ​ *byo mehe=ku ye aʔihi swe ni
​ ​ ​ ​ [1SG]A know=COMPL [3SG there be before]O
​ ​ ​ ​ "I know that he had been there."

And finally, assimilation into a verbal suffix in modern SCL, glossed as MC (matrix clause):

​ ​ ​ ​ Jo mé-kɨ yi ʔí sa-ni
​ ​ ​ ​ [1SG]A know-MC [3SG there be-REL.PAST]O
​ ​ ​ ​ "I know that he had been there."


3: Nouns as heads of SCs and HCs

This is the trickiest of the three processes. The idea is that MC verbs are more 'verb-like' than HC=SC verbs; hence in some circumstances nouns can be used as heads of non-MC clauses. There's something vaguely similar in Indonesian (again thanks to crey for this) where a possessive phrase acts as a subordinate clause:
Creyeditor wrote: 28 May 2023 16:13 Kata-nya, mereka baru makan.
word-3.POSS, they just ate
~ 'They say, they just ate.'

Rupa-nya, mereka baru makan.
similarity-3.POSS, they just ate
~ 'It seems that they just ate'.
However this is unfortunately the wrong way round, with the MC being nominalised; so while it's a dope construction it can't be transferred into SCL. Instead, I'll have to work through the convergence of two processes; nominalised subclauses and zero-copula constructions. It's within the realms of possibility that these are similar in proto-SCL; with nominalised subclauses taking possessive markers syncretous with free pronouns, and zero-copula constructions formed with free pronouns:

​ ​ ​ ​ *byo kyota-be ku ye ʔasyu-he
​ ​ ​ ​ 1SG surprise-PASS COMPL 3SG.POSS swim-NOM
​ ​ ​ ​ "His swimming surprised me."

​ ​ ​ ​ *ye nehom
​ ​ ​ ​ 3SG man
​ ​ ​ ​ "He is a man."

​ ​ ​ ​ ?*byo kyota-be ku ye nehom
​ ​ ​ ​ 1SG surprise-PASS COMPL 3SG.POSS man
​ ​ ​ ​ "His being a man surprised me."

In modern SCL, these would be reinterpreted as the same construction, allowing for drift in both directions.

​ ​ ​ ​ Jo xotɨ-be-kɨ yi nó.
​ ​ ​ ​ 1SG surprise-PASS-MC 3SG man
​ ​ ​ ​ "His being a man surprised me."

​ ​ ​ ​ Yi ʔɨxá.
​ ​ ​ ​ 3SG swimming
​ ​ ​ ​ "He is swimming"

As a result nominal heads can occur in complementary distribution to the matrix clause marker -kɨ. Arguably in this case, -kɨ is a verbaliser, and matrix clauses alone take verbal heads, with non-matrix clauses taking nominal heads.


Miscellanea

There's a few minor things that I feel are worthy of remark. Firstly, relative clauses; currently these function the same as SCs, but are nested within the MC rather than being attached at the right edge:

​ ​ ​ ​ Jo nó yi tɨ ña mé-kɨ.
​ ​ ​ ​ 1SG [man [3SG 2SG hit]RC]O know-MC
​ ​ ​ ​ "I know the man who hit you."

SR is useful for disambiguation here:

​ ​ ​ ​ Nó yi yi ñá o jo mé-be-kɨ.
​ ​ ​ ​ man 3SG 3SG hit.SR by 1SG know-PASS-MC
​ ​ ​ ​ "I know the man who he it." (*"I know the man who hit him.")

Adverbial clauses simply pattern as SCs in an oblique role; as such they can be preposed or postposed:

​ ​ ​ ​ Jo ʔɨxá jo tɨ maʔé-kɨ
​ ​ ​ ​ 1SG swim 1SG 2SG see-MC
​ ​ ​ ​ "As I was swimming, I saw you."

Imperatives are distinct from normal HC=SCs in that they cannot take RT or SR markers; however unlike MCs they do not take the matrix marker -kɨ. They also do not require a subject pronoun:

​ ​ ​ ​ Yi ña!
​ ​ ​ ​ 3SG hit
​ ​ ​ ​ "Hit him!"
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Re: Kokhene Scratchpad

Post by VaptuantaDoi »

Inspiration is at a relatively low point atm, so I've decided to speedlang a proto-language for some random place on Kokhene. Rather than include lots of examples and lexicon here, after finishing the speedlang I'll do the 100-sentences translation challenge to work out any kinks in the grammar. I ended up taking quite a lot of inspiration from Barupu and other Skou languages. I'm pretty happy with it to be honest.

Phonology

The consonant inventory is mostly copied from a phonology I posted in the random phonology thread a while ago:

Code: Select all

 ɸ   t~ɾ   s   k~x
 b    d    dʒ   ʔ
 m    n
 w         j
Or more traditionally, and with a preliminary romanisation

/b d dʒ k ʔ/ <b d j k '>
/m n/ <m n>
/ɸ s/ <f s>
/w ɾ j/ <w r y>

That's a reasonably large phonology for my tastes. And it even has nasals in it! /t~ɾ/ is basically [ɾ] everywhere except word-initially before close vowels where [t] is more common. /k~x/ is in free variation. /b d/ are often imploded slightly.

Vowels are simply /i u e o a/ with diphthongs /ai̯ au̯ ei̯ eu̯ oi̯ ou̯/. I'm taking tone from another random phonology I made:
VaptuantaDoi wrote: 09 Jun 2023 01:03 Tones H, Ø
  • H → L following H
  • Ø → H following H, unless preceding L
  • Ø → M
  • M → L after M
Syllable structure is C(w,j)V(m,n). Roots tend to be only one or two syllables, occasionally reaching as many as three.

Where vowel hiatus would occur, assimilation took place. If either or both vowels had H tone, that was maintained; otherwise Ø tone resulted.

Code: Select all

          1st vowel:
        I  U  E  O  A
     I  i  i  ei̯ oi̯ ai̯
     U  i  u  eu̯ ou̯ au̯
2nd: E  i  o  e  e  ai̯
     O  e  u  e  o  au̯
     A  ja wa ja wa a
We need a name for the language, so let's call it /dʒwákon/ which I'll romanise as Jwákón for the time being.


Morphology

Lang is primarily head-marking, with highly complex verbs and morphologically simple nouns.

Verbs form two classes; "strong" and "weak". Strong verbs are a small closed class of mostly monosyllables which display word-initial consonant mutation to mark object agreement. They can begin with one of three consonants, /k ʔ Ø/. These mutate as follows, agreeing for object person and gender, but not number (and not very well with person either):

Code: Select all

Obj.   Verb type:
       k-   ʔ-   Ø-
3m     k-   ʔ-   Ø-  
2/3f   s-   dʒ-  j-
2/1m   ɸ-   b-   m-
1f     t-   d-   n-
(This is very Skou-inspired)
All verbs in this class are transitive of course. Weak verbs are an open class and include intransitives and ambitransitives; they do not have object agreement. Weak roots must begin with a consonant. Other than this isolated instance of nonconcatenative morphology, the verb slot template is as follows:
mood-subject P/N/G-ROOT-valency-aspect-proximity-tense-positionals
A maximal verb for gawking purposes:

Ebèmánʔèkeʔèmnemén.
e-b-<m>án-ʔé-keʔem-n-em-én
OPT-2SG.M.SUBJ-<1M.OBJ>shoot.at-APPL.COMIT-INCHO-PROX.OBJ-PAST-WALKING

"You wanted to start shooting over there with this from horseback."

Mood is indicated by vocalic prefixes; these are obligatory except in nominalised forms

Realis: í-
Irrealis: o-
Optative: e-
Imperative: é-

Subject agreement is again quite deponent; it consists of single consonants, and marks person, number, and gender, with a great deal of syncretism.

1sg.m -ɸ-
1sg.f -n-
1pl.incl./2sg.f -j-
1pl.excl. -t-
2sg.m/3pl.f -b-
3sg.m/3pl.m -k-
3sg.f -dʒ-

Before a consonant, the non-1sg.f forms generate a zero-tone echo vowel.

Valency is marked by suffixes of C or C(C)V.

Applicatives
- Indirect object: -kí-
- Instrumental object: -dʒwa-
- Locative object: -b(o)-
- Comitative object: -ʔé-
- Ablative object: -de-
- General oblique object: -ɸa-
Passive: -n(o)-
Reciprocal: -te-
Reflexive: -w(o)-
Autobenefactive: -tou̯-
Causative: -né-

These cause asimilation of any preceding nasal coda.

Aspectually there is a range of distinctions; firstly a basic imperfective/perfective one:

imperfective: Ø, -an
perfective: -we

Then also some more specific aspects:

habitual: -bjé
iterative: -so
inchoative: -keʔèm
terminative: -ɸwisú

Proximity markers define the relative distances of the subject and object:

subject closer than object, or proximal transitive subject: -de
object closer than subject: -n(a)
distal intransitive subject: -ʔjo

Only one tense is marked; the past -em; the future is generally expressed through the irrealis.

Finally there are positionals; these describe whether the subject is:

seated: -two
lying down: -e
walking/riding a horse: -én
running: -sa
falling, rolling down a slope, etc.: -se


Nominals fall into two genders; masculine (m) and non-masculine (f). The former is used for male human or animal referents, and some plant species, while the latter is used for everything else.
For nouns, there is only a single morphological marker, the 1sg possessive -ɸi.

Noteworthy are the free pronouns, which have distinct possessive forms:

Code: Select all

       SING   PLUR        POSS
1.m    ɸun    méintá      méi
1.f    nabwò  ɸaukwèn     pwo
1+2        ná             nánà
2.m    sái    mem         dʒéi
2.f    inkwù  kotwa       ʔwo
3.m    dʒi    dʒíkùbái    ʔúbèi
3.f    ém     bankwókwè   ʔwókwó
Note that méi is usually 1pl because -ɸi can be used for 1sg.
Adjectives mark gender; their underlying roots are always vowel-initial, and they take either masculine k- or feminine b-. Perhaps they used to be verbs.

Other word classes include adverbials, adpositions, conjunctions and ideophones. The latter of these are extensive and display some unusual phonological characteristics, including long vowels (dʒwuː "animal noise"), repeated consonants separated by schwa (kəkə̀kəkéː "clapping") and otherwise non permissible onsets (ɸnaɸnà "laughter", skímskìm "noise made when sharpening blades"). However, they still mostly behave like words e.g. tonally.

Syntax

Jwákón is predominantly head-initial and VSO:

Íkiʔéi̯wèn jábá nwakái̯m.
í-k-<ʔ>éi̯-we-én jába nwakái̯m
REAL-3SG.M.SUBJ-<3M.OBJ>see-PFV-DIST.OBJ-PAST-STANDING man horse

"The man, while moving, saw the horse far away."

Oblique arguments are highly dispreferred; it is much more common to use one of the applicative forms even if this means using two clauses:

Íkisónwé ɸwásé, íkisónkìwe kwú.
í-k-<s>ón-we ɸwáse, í-k-<s>ón-kí-we kwú
REAL-3SG.M.SUBJ-<3F.OBJ>give-PFV book, REAL-3SG.M.SUBJ-<3F.OBJ>give-APPL-PFV woman

"He gave a book. He gave (it) to the woman."
= "He gave a book to the woman."

Topics can be fronted along with a disambiguating preposition, e.g. agentive dʒo, accusative one, dative .

Onè nwakái̯m íkiʔéi̯wèn jábá.
one nwakái̯m í-k-<ʔ>éi̯-we-én jába
ACC horse REAL-3SG.M.SUBJ-<3M.OBJ>see-PFV-DIST.OBJ-PAST-STANDING man

"The man, while moving, saw said horse far away."

Noun phrases tend to be head-initial, but take prepositions:

Code: Select all

preposition NOUN demonstrative adjective possessor
Swe ɸwásé kjo bokáʔé ɸo kwú.
swe ɸwáse kjo b-okáʔe ɸo kwú
INSTR book DIST F-new GEN woman

"Using the woman's new book over there."

Serial verb constructions are common; only the first verb tends to take non-obligatory markings.

Ídʒòkojùɸasèmtwo ídʒitém ídʒíde ɸwém.
í-dʒ-wókoju-ɸa-so-em-two í-dʒ-tém í-dʒ-<Ø>i-de ɸwém
REAL-3F.SUBJ-shout-APPL.OBL-ITER-PAST-SEATED REAL-3F.SUBJ-pound REAL-3F.SUBJ-<3M.OBJ>scoop-APPL.ABL sago

"She shouted at, pounded and scooped out sago."

Verbs can be nominalised by dropping the otherwise obligatory mood prefixes. Nominalised verbs do not take TAM marking; an object can be postponed and a subject can be introduced as a genitive argument. Complement subjects take non-masculine agreement, and are generally fronted as a topic.

Dʒo kánkì nódʒà ɸo jábá ídʒwùmkónèkeʔèmem kwú.
dʒo k-<Ø>án-kí nódʒá ɸo jába í-dʒ-wúmkó-né-keʔem-em kwú
AGT 3SG.M.SUBJ-<3M.OBJ>shoot.at-APPL.IND.OBJ dog GEN man REAL-3F.SUBJ-be-CAUS-INCHO-PAST woman

"The man's shooting the dog saddened the woman."
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Re: Kokhene Scratchpad

Post by VaptuantaDoi »

I'm very happy with Jwákón. So much so that I'll make it a primary language family of Ačirânua (the big continent on the left), although without an enormous time depth. Here's a preliminary family tree of the Jwákón languages:

Code: Select all

         Proto-Jwákón
              |
         +----+------+
         |           |
      Eastern        |
      Jwákón    Jwákón proper
         |           |
     +---+---+       |
     |       |       |
    EJ1     EJ2      |
                +----+---------+
                |              |
            Highland         Plains
             Jwákón          Jwákón
                |              |
            +---+---+    +---+-+-+---+
            |   |   |    |   |   |   |
           HJ1 HJ4 HJ8  PJ1 PJ2 PJ6 PJ7
           HJ2 HJ5 HJ9      PJ3     PJ8
           HJ3 HJ6          PJ4     PJ9
               HJ7          PJ5     PJ10
                                    PJ11
                                    PJ12
                                    PJ13
This gives us 24 descendants; I'll aim to flesh out at least one from each branch.

Eastern Jwákón is distinguished by two main features; firstly, the loss of weak verbs, and secondly the retention of coda nasals. There are only two Eastern Jwákón languages, which aren't very closely related, but are quite distinct from the main Jwákón languages. They're both less polysynthetic than Jwákón Proper, having less verb morphology and more noun morphology.
Jwákón Proper lost nasal codas and gained nasal vowels in the process, and also introduced a few extra verbal affixes. Highland Jwákón suprasegmentalised nasality, losing phonemic nasal consonants (cf. most of the Skou languages), gained some extra vowels and closed syllables. Plains Jwákón lost glottal stops, gaining an additional tone distinction, and lost the stop voicing contrast.


Óngwánin /ó.ᵑɡʷá.nīn/ (PJ *ónkwá​nin​, a geographical term) is an Eastern Jwákón language. Sound changes are in the spoiler below.
Spoiler:
Proto-Jwákón to proto-Eastern Jwákón:

t → ɾ /V_
k → x /_[i,u,j,w]
t → k /N_, #_
ɸ → h /_
s → t /_a
ai au → i u
eu oi → ja wa
w[j,w] j[j,w] → w j
ʔw ʔj → *ɓ ɗ → ᵐb ⁿd
dʒ → z
b → Ø /V_[w,j]
hw hj → p t
w → Ø /u_V
j → Ø /i_V
HL → HL.M
sw → xw

Code: Select all

 p   t       k   ʔ
 b   d
ᵐb  ⁿd
 m   n
     s       x   h
     z
     ɾ   j   w

 i      u
   e   o
      a
Tone rules are slightly different; rather than H → L /H_, HH → HL.M /_ applying from the left, e.g. *ái̯bwìn*îwin.

proto-Eastern Jwákón to Óngwánin

ɾ → Ø
d → l /V_
ʔV → Vʔ
z → l
p → ɸ
HL.M → L.M
h → Ø
xw x → kʷ h
lw → l
tj → s
j → Ø /C_
ʔC → Cː
hi → s /#_CV
sN sD → sT
kV[Ø tone] → Ø /#_
Nb N[t,d] Nk Nkʷ → ᵐb ⁿd ᵑɡ ᵑɡʷ
ei ou → ai au

Code: Select all

     t   k   kʷ
 b   d
ᵐb  ⁿd  (ᵑɡ)(ᵑɡʷ)
 m   n
 ɸ   s   h  (hʷ)
     l   j   w

 i      u
   e   o
      a
/ᵑɡ ᵑɡʷ/ can be analysed as /n/ + /k kʷ/ sequences, but /ᵐb ⁿd/ cannot. Tone rules are the same as proto-Jwákón, except instead of H → L /H_, Óngwánin has HH → LM. Orthography is IPA except /kʷ ᵐb ⁿd ᵑɡ ᵑɡʷ ɸ hʷ j/ <kw mb nd ng ngw f wh y>, /í ī ì/ <í i ì>. Dialect borrowing gives /hʷ~ʍ/ from PEJ *xw, some speakers use /ɸ/ instead (e.g. PJ *kwikénswíso "cucumber" > PEJ *xwikénxwíso > Óngw. /hʷikéᵑɡʷíso/ whikéngwíso.) Also some dialects drop initial zero tone high vowels so /ᵑɡ ᵑɡʷ/ are phonemic; hence 1pl. /ᵑɡʷen/ ngwen.

Verb slot template is mood-subj-ROOT-valency-aspect.

Mood:
> Realis: í-
> Irrealis: o-
> Optative/imperative: e-

Subject agreement:
> 1sg/pl -ni-
> 2sg -yi-
> 3sg.f -li-
> 3sg/pl.m -s-
> 3pl.f -bi-

Valency:
> Applicative: -hí-
> Instrumental applicative: -la-
> Passive: -no-
> Middle: -e-
> Causative: -né-

Aspect:
> Imperfective: -wo
> Perfective: -sa
> In motion: -én
> Stative: -e

Nouns have three genders; masculine, feminine, and neuter. Verbs and adjectives merge the neuter and feminine into one class, the non-masculine. The noun slot template is case-ROOT-possession-gender.

Case:
> Agentive: lo-
> Patientive: ne-
> Oblique: hí-

Possession:
> 1sg: -i
> 1pl.exc: -mái
> 1pl.inc: -nàna
> 2: -mbo
> 3m: -úbbài
> 3f: -mbókwó

Gender:
> Common unmarked; as are masculine and feminine on male and female animate referents respectively.
> Masculine: -kwé (< PJ *k-wé "close, near")
> Feminine: -wé

Pronouns are as follows:

Code: Select all

       SING  PLUR
1 exc  un    ungwèn
  inc        nàla
2         ingwù
3m        li
3f        ém
3c        lyan
Adjectives take k-, h- in the masculine and b- in the feminine.

Syntax is generally SVO, with OSV permissible with object fronting for topicalisation. Case marking is optional with semantic implications.

Lolábá ìlaisà nwakímí.
lo-lába í-lái-sa nwakím-i
AGT-man REAL-see-PFV horse-1SG.POSS

"The man saw my horse."
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Re: Kokhene Scratchpad

Post by Creyeditor »

I somehow missed a number of high-quality posts in this thread. I like them, especially the post on SCL. Keep up the good work [:)]
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Re: Kokhene Scratchpad

Post by Arayaz »

VaptuantaDoi wrote: 23 Feb 2023 13:18 This is an idea which came to me when I was thinking about Babm. Say Babm was found spoken as a natlang somewhere by an Earth linguist - how would they possibly go about analysing it? Then I attempted to derive proto-Babm, then evolve a sisterlang (obviously with a vertical vowel system) from there. And yes, this does mean Babm is a cannon natlang on Kokhene. This is assumed to simply be a massive coincidence.
Am I the only one who laughed my head off at this?
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Re: Kokhene Scratchpad

Post by VaptuantaDoi »

For some reason I just love Babm.

Code: Select all

   i   ʲu  u   ɜ   ɑ
b  bi  dzu bu  bœ  bɑ
g  dzi dzu dzu gɜ  gɑ
ʔ              ʔɜ  ʔɑ
m  mi  ɲu  mu  m̩   mɑ
ŋ  ni  ɲu  ŋu  ŋ̩   ŋɑ
l  dzi dzu lu  ɹ̩   lɑ
h  s̩       ɸ̩   hɜ  xɑ
/ʲu/ comes from earlier ɯ, i.e. /i ɯ u ə ɑ/, halfway between Ogami and Chacobo. And while we're at it, /b g ʔ m ŋ l h/ < /b g t,k m n,ŋ d p/. Romanisation would be:

/bi bu bœ bɑ/ ⟨B U P V
/dzi dzu gɜ gɑ/ ⟨T Q C K
/ʔɜ ʔɑ/ ⟨E A
/mi mu mɑ/ ⟨I O Y
/ni ŋu ŋɑ/ ⟨D Z G
/ɲu/ ⟨J
/lu lɑ/ ⟨W L
/hɜ xɑ/ ⟨H X
/m̩ ŋ̩ ɹ̩ s̩ ɸ̩/ ⟨M N R S F

/dzidzubahɜ/ tqvh
/ɲuŋ̩lugɜ/ jngwc
/mugɑʔɑm̩mudzimu/ okamoto
/biʔɑbim̩/ babm

So proto-Pseudo-Babm had the following inventory:

Code: Select all

i   ɯ u    p  t  k
  ə        b  d  g
    ɑ      m  n  ŋ
(C)V(V) syllables (ɑi ɑu)


To Pseudo-Babm
ɑi ɑu → ɑ
ɯ → ʲu
t k g → dz / _ i ʲu u
t k → ʔ
p → h
n → ŋ
d → l
bʲ mʲ ŋʲ lʲ hʲ → dz ɲ ɲ dz dz
mɜ ŋɜ lɜ → m̩ ŋ̩ ɹ̩
hi hu → s̩ ɸ̩
ŋi li → ni dzi
i ʲu u ɜ ɑ → dzi dzu bu hɜ xɑ,ʔɑ


To Pseudo-Babm's sister

i ɯ → s̩ ɸ̩
ə → i
iNi iNu iNɑ uNi uNu uNɑ ɑNi ɑNu ɑNɑ → ĩ ũ ẽ ĩ ũ õ ẽ õ ã
ɑ ɑi ɑu → a e o
p g → h ʔ
V → V[+nas] / N_, _N
b d → m n / _V[+nasal]
m n ŋ → b d d
t → k /_s̩ ɸ̩
s̩ ɸ̩ → s h / V_, _V, _CV
various s̩ ɸ̩ wackiness
u ũ o õ → ɨ õ u õ
oral /e/ is realised as [ə] or merged with [ɨ] in most dialects

Code: Select all

 s̩       ɸ̩          t   k   ʔ
i ĩ  ɨ   u     b~m d~n
  ẽ  ə    õ         s       h
    a ã
To pseudo-Babm's other sister:
t,k d,g n,ŋ → c ɟ ɲ /_i, i_
ɯ → i
ə → o
ɑi → a /_c ɟ ɲ
ɑi ɑu → e
ɑ → a
b d ɟ g → ʋ l j ʔ
p c → ɸ s
i u e → Ø / VC_#
coda ʔ → Ø
coda Vm Vn Vɲ Vŋ → N̩
coda ʋ j → i̯ / e a o _
coda iC uC eC oC aC → i̝ u̝ ei̝ oi̝ au̝
i̝ u̝ → s̩ ɸ̩

Code: Select all

s̩     ɸ̩        t     k  ʔ
i     u     m  n  ɲ  ŋ
e  N̩  o     ʋ  l  j
   a        ɸ  s

Code: Select all

 Proto-PsBa    PsBabm       PsBabmSis   PsBabOthSis
               (Biabim)     (Hśkasmi)   (Wisawimo)
----------------------------------------------------
 *mɯnɑu        ɲuŋɑ         hɸnõ        mm̩
 *pɯbɑ         dzubɑ        hɸba        ɸiʋɑ
 *ɑugɑŋɯ       xɑgɑɲu       oʔãn        eʔŋ̩
 *bitɯŋɑ       bidzuŋɑ      hskɸnã      ʋisiŋɑ
 *tudɑiŋɯ      dzulɑɲu      tunẽ        tuln̩
 *tɑuɑ         ʔɑxɑ         toa         teɑ
 *ŋɑni         ŋɑni         nãns        ŋŋ̩
 *ɑiŋi         xɑni         ẽns         ŋ̩
 *ɯgə          dzugɜ        hi          iʔo
 *bɑpu         baɸ̩          bahu        ʋɑɸu
 *pəgɯ         hɜdzu        hih         ɸo
 *əgumə        hɜdzum̩       iʔĩ         oʔumo
 *igɑidɑigɯ    dzigɑlɑdzu   sedeh       ijɑjɑi̯
 *bipɑitukɑi   bihɑdzuʔɑ    hsetuke     ʋiɸɑsɸ̩
 *mətɑ         m̩ʔɑ          mĩta        motɑ
 *bɑumɑi       bɑmɑ         mõ          ʋɱ̩
 *bikɑbimə     biʔabim̩      hskasmĩ     ʋisaʋimo
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Re: Kokhene Scratchpad

Post by VaptuantaDoi »

Thinking of absolutely obliterating proto-Click with the following inventory:

Roots could either be trochees (ˈCV(C)V) or dactyls (ˈCV(C)V(C)V), the latter deriving from earlier trochee+trochee reduplicants.

Foot-initial consonants were:

Code: Select all

p  t
b  d
   s  x
Foot-medial consonants were:

Code: Select all

m  n
β  ɾ  ɣ
Combined with vowels /i e o ɛ ɑ/. Also there were a few clicks

Code: Select all

kǀʰ kǃʰ
ŋǀ  ŋǃ  ŋǁ  ŋǂ
    ŋ̊ǃˀ ŋ̊ǁˀ ŋ̊ǂˀ
These could be either C (but not both) in a trochee, or C1 in a dactyl. Most languages neutralised click MOA in trochee C2 position. Also the two VC sequences in dactyls had to be identical. Foot-medially, zero was more common than a consonant.
Spoiler:
piɣo
pɛɛi
ŋ̊ǁˀɑɣi
toɣoɣe
ŋ̊ǁˀiio
ŋǀɑɑ
soŋ̊ǂˀe
ŋ̊ǂˀei
xoe
ŋǁomomɛ
dɑnɑ
kǀʰɑɑi
tɛŋ̊ǂˀo
xɛnɛne
sikǃʰo
ŋǃoɾo
ŋ̊ǃˀɛo
ŋǂoɣo
sɑi
teɛ
tɛɣɛ
I might also make the foot system rigid for morphology, i.e. all morphologically complex words have to be made up of a whole number of trochees and/or dactyls. Perhaps something like the following, prefering dactyl+trochee to trochee+dactyl:

/ˈxɛnɛne/
/ˈdo-/ + /ˈxɛnɛne/ → /ˈdoɛˈdɛne/
/ˈxɑkǃʰɑ-/ + /ˈxɛnɛne/ → /ˈxɑɑɛˈdɛne/ (rather than */ˈxɑkǃʰɑˈxɛnɛne/)
/ˈxɑkǃʰɑ-/ + /ˈdo-/ + /ˈxɛnɛne/ → /ˈxɑnɑnoˈxɛnɛne/ or perhaps /ˈxɑɑˈdoɛˈdɛne/ (not sure on this one)

This might word well with foot tone too. Maybe H vs. L vs. F. vs. R:

/ˈxɛnɛne R/ → /ˈxɛ̀nɛ́nè/
/ˈdo- H/ + /ˈxɛnɛne R/ → /ˈdóɛ́ˈdɛ̀nê/
/ˈxɑkǃʰɑ- F/ + /ˈxɛnɛne R/ → /ˈxɑ́ɑ́ɛ̀ˈdɛ̀nê/
/ˈxɑkǃʰɑ- F/ + /ˈdo- H/ + /ˈxɛnɛne R/ → /ˈxɑ́nɑ́nòˈxɛ̀nɛ́nè/ or perhaps /ˈxɑ́ɑ̀ˈdóɛ́ˈdɛ̀nê/ (not sure on this one)

Edit: Or perhaps the dactyls could be surface-level only ...
|ˈxɛne - ˈxɛne R| → /ˈxɛ̀nɛ́nè/
|ˈdo- H + ˈxɛne - ˈxɛne R| → |ˈdo H - ˈxɛnɛne R| → |ˈdoɛ H - ˈdɛne R| → /ˈdóɛ́ˈdɛ̀nê/
|ˈpɑtu F + ˈxɛne - ˈxɛne R| → |ˈpɛnɛne F - ˈxɛne R| → /ˈpɛ́nɛ́nèˈxɛ̀nê/

Mmmm, I like this. It would even look good romanised

gɛnɛ́ne
dóɛ́dɛnè
gááɛdɛnè
gánánogɛnɛ́ne
gáadóɛ́dɛnè

gɛnɛ́ne
dóɛ́dɛnè
pɛ́nɛ́negɛ́nè

Oh yeah, me gusta mucho.
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