Phonology
Anthologica Universe Atlas / Universes / Some Stuff / Raqic / Raqic / Phonology

Phonemes



Consonants



LabialsDentalsAlveolarsRetroflexesPalatalsVelarsUvularsPharyngealsGlottals
Voiceless stopsptckqʔ ⟨ʾ⟩
Voiced stopsbdɟ ⟨j⟩ɡ ⟨g⟩
Ejectivespʼ ⟨p'⟩tʼ ⟨t'⟩tsʼ ⟨ts'⟩cʼ ⟨c'⟩kʼ ⟨k'⟩qʼ ⟨q'⟩
Voiceless fricativesθ ⟨ṯ⟩s ɬ ⟨ł⟩ʂ ⟨š⟩ɕ ⟨ś⟩χ ⟨x⟩ħ ⟨ḥ⟩h
Voiced fricativesð ⟨ḏ⟩zʁ ⟨ġ⟩ʕ ⟨ʿ⟩
Nasalsmn
Liquidsɾ ⟨r⟩ l
Semivowelswj ⟨y⟩


All consonants may be long, which are written as the short consonant but with the first character doubled. However, the long counterpart of /ɾ/ is /r/.

Vowels



FrontCentralBack
Closei iːu uː
Near-closeɨ
Close-mide eːo oː
Midə
Openæ æː


Long vowels can only occur in accented syllables and /ə ɨ/ can only occur in unaccented syllables.

Short vowels are written:

VowelsUnaccentedLowHigh
æ⟨a⟩⟨à⟩⟨á⟩
e⟨e⟩⟨è⟩⟨é⟩
ə⟨ä⟩--
o⟨o⟩⟨ò⟩⟨ó⟩
i⟨i⟩⟨ì⟩⟨í⟩
ɨ⟨ə⟩--
u⟨u⟩⟨ù⟩⟨ú⟩


Long vowels are written:

VowelsLowRisingFalling
æː⟨ā⟩⟨ǎ⟩⟨â⟩
⟨ē⟩⟨ě⟩⟨ê⟩
⟨ō⟩⟨ǒ⟩⟨ô⟩
⟨ī⟩⟨ǐ⟩⟨î⟩
⟨ū⟩⟨ǔ⟩⟨û⟩


However, when not separated by at least one vowel from a uvular or pharyngeal consonant:

FrontCentralBack
Close-mid/i iː/ > [e eː]/u uː/ > [o oː]
Mid/ɨ/ > [ə]
Open-mid/e eː/ > [ɛ ɛː]/o oː/ > [ɔ ɔː]
Near-open/ə/ > [ɐ]
Open/æ æː/ > [ɑ ɑː]


Accentuation



One mora in a word may be accented.

Short vowels may only receive high accent, written <á>, or low accent, written <à>.

Long vowels may only receive rising accent, written <â>, falling accent, written <ǎ>, or low accent, written <ā>.

Diachronics



Historical forms



Pronouns



PersonStem
1sttá-
2ndní-
3rdhá-
Reflexivedò-
Interrogative (thing)jà-
Interrogative (person)ʁà-
Interrogative (place)tʼé-
Proximalùn-
Medialìn-
Distalàn-


Interrogative adverbs



TypeStem
Timeɟú
Mannerɾò
Reasonχá


Interrogative adjectives



TypeStem
Generalzè-
Partitivetsʼí-


Relative marker



Form
qà-


This comes after the modified noun and any adjectives, before a relative clause, and inflects like an adjective modifying the modified noun.

Non-modifying relative marker



Form
wà-


This is used to nominalize one argument in a relative clause, where it inflects like a noun taking the role of the nominalized argument in the outside clause.

Clause nominalization marker



This is used to nominalize one clause in another, where it inflects like a noun taking the role of the nominalized clause in the outside clause.

Form
là-


Manner-nominization marker



The is used to nominalize the manner of a clause in another, where it inflects like a noun taking the role of the nominalized clause in the outside clause.

Form
ʕóm-


Reason-nominalization marker



This is used to nominalize the reason for a clause in another, where it inflects like a noun taking the role of the nominalized clause.

Form
bín-


Time-nominalization marker



This is used to nominalize the time of a clause in another, where it inflects like a noun taking the role of the nominalized clause.

Form
pá


Place-nominalization marker



This is used to nominalize the place of a clause in another, where it inflects like a noun taking the role of the nominalized clause.

Form
mé


Noun gender, case, and number affixes



GenderAffix
Masculine-∅
Feminine-k
Neuter-n


CaseAffix
Ergative-já
Absolutive/Genitive-∅
Dative-im
Instrumental/Comitative-ât
Ablative-an
Elative-je
Locative-χú
Inessive-eːh
Allative-wó
Illative-aja
Vocative-aːh


NumberAffix
Singular-∅
Dual-it
Plural-u


Article/demonstrative affixes



TypeAffix
Definitei-
Proximaluː-
Medialiː-
Distalaː-


Possessive affixes



PersonAffix
1stɾ-
2ndb-
3rdj-


GenderAffix
Masculine-a-
Feminine-i-
Neuter-aː-


GenderAffix
Singular-∅-
Dual-it-
Plural-w-


When taking accent, possessive affixes take priority over number/gender affixes and case affixes.

Verb inflection



TAMAffix
Stative∅-
Non-pasth-
Past∅-
Imperfective-aː-
Perfective-i-


TypeAffix
Negationqu-


VoiceAffix
Active∅-
Antipassiveaʁ-
Reflexiveji-
Reciprocalwa-
Causativemuh-


The reflexive, reciprocal, and causative can be combined with the antipassive, formed by specifying the antipassive followed by the reflexive, reciprocal, or causative.

RoleAffix
Imperative-∅-
Agent-χ-
Patient-∅-


MoodAffix
Imperative-∅-
Indicative-∅-
Subjunctive-at-


RoleAffix
Imperative-∅-
Agent-ú-
Patient-a-


PersonAffix
1st-aː-
2nd-iː-
3rd-∅-


GenderAffix
Masculine-h-
Feminine-k-
Neuter-n-


NumberAffix
Singular-∅
Dual-ú
Plural-a


Noun from verb



TypeAffixes
Infinitivea- -at
Participle-i
Agentá- -aɾ
Patientjó- -at
Indirect objectni- -ú
Instrumentka- -tá
Placehǎː- -ab
Timeʕú- -wa


Verb from adjective



TypeAffix
Predicativeħó-
Inchoativetu-


Verb from noun



TypeAffix
Predicativená-


Adjective from noun



TypeAffix
like Xa- -χa


Noun from adjective



Affix
wa-


Adjective agreement



DefinitenessAffix
Definite-já
Indefinite-∅


After definiteness marking, adjectives take the same gender, case, and number marking as nouns.

Adjective degree



Affix
Positive∅-
Comparativeʕá-
Comparative superlativekôːχ-
Absolute superlativemǔː


Adverbs from adjectives



Affix
ʕa-


Nouns from adverbs



Affix
li-


Interrogative



Marker
ka


Mobile accent



Certain affixes tend to attract accent.

Diphthong monophthongization



The following glide must fall on a syllable coda.

aj aːj ej eːj ij iːj oj oːj uj uːj > eː eː eː eː iː iː øː øː yː yː

aw aːw ew eːw iw iːw ow oːw uw uːw > oː oː øː øː yː yː oː oː uː uː

Ejectivization of consonants before glottal stops



tʔ sʔ cʔ kʔ qʔ dʔ zʔ ɟʔ ɡʔ > tʼ tsʼ cʼ kʼ qʼ tʼ tsʼ cʼ kʼ

tːʔ sːʔ cːʔ kːʔ qːʔ dːʔ zːʔ ɟːʔ ɡːʔ > tʼː tsʼː cʼː kʼː qʼː tʼː tsʼː cʼː kʼ

ʔt ʔs ʔc ʔk ʔq ʔd ʔz ʔɟ ʔɡ > tʼ tsʼ cʼ kʼ qʼ tʼ tsʼ cʼ kʼ

ʔtː ʔsː ʔcː ʔkː ʔqː ʔdː ʔzː ʔɟː ʔɡː > tʼː tsʼː cʼː kʼː qʼː tʼː tsʼː cʼː kʼ

Hiatus contraction



The horizontal dimension is the accented vowel, or if neither vowel is accented, the preceding vowel.

aeoiu
a

e

o

i

u


Note that when one of the vowels contracted is accented, if that vowel has low accent the resulting vowel has low accent, otherwise if it is contracted with a preceding vowel the resulting vowel has a rising accent and if it is contracted with a following vowel the resulting vowel has a falling accent.

Unstressed short vowel reduction



a e ø i y o u > ə ə ə ɨ ɨ ə ɨ \ _[-accent]

Unstressed long vowel shortening



aː eː øː iː yː oː uː > a e ø i y o u \ _[-accent]

Reduced vowel elision



ə ɨ > ∅ ∅ \ VC_CV

When multiple mutually exclusive reduced vowels can be elided, those which are further from the primary stress are preferentially elided.

e eː ə o oː > i iː ɨ u uː > \ _CɨCV

a aː > e eː  \ _CɨCV when not separated from a uvular or pharyngeal consonant by not a vowel or morel

a aː > o oː  \ _CɨCV when separated from a uvular or pharyngeal consonant by not a vowel or morel

i iː ɨ u uː > e eː ə o oː > \ _CəCV

Diphthong monophthongization



aj aːj ej eːj ij iːj oj oːj uj uːj > eː eː eː eː iː iː øː øː yː yː \ _[+accent]

aw aːw ew eːw iw iːw ow oːw uw uːw > oː oː øː øː yː yː oː oː uː uː \ _[+accent]

aj ej ij əj ɨj oj uj > e e i e i ø y \ _[-accent]

aw ew iw əw ɨw ow uw > o ø y o u o u \ _[-accent]

Gemination and devoicing of consonants before and after /χ ʁ n/



C[-voice]χ > C[-voice +long]
C[+ejective]χ > C[+ejective +long]
C[+voice]χ > C[-voice +long]

χC[-voice] > C[-voice +long]
χC[+ejective] > C[+ejective +long]
χC[+voice] > C[-voice +long]

C[-voice]ʁ > C[-voice +long]
C[+ejective]ʁ > C[+ejective +long]
C[+voice]ʁ > C[+voice +long]

ʁC[-voice] > C[-voice +long]
ʁC[+ejective] > C[+ejective +long]
ʁC[+voice] > C[+voice +long]

C[-voice]n > C[+voice +long]
C[+ejective]n > C[+ejective +long]
C[+voice]n > C[+voice +long]

nC[-voice] > C[+voice +long]
nC[+ejective] > C[+ejective +long]
nC[+voice] > C[+voice +long]

Ejectivization of consonants before glottal stops



tʔ sʔ cʔ kʔ qʔ dʔ zʔ ɟʔ ɡʔ > tʼ tsʼ cʼ kʼ qʼ tʼ tsʼ cʼ kʼ

tːʔ sːʔ cːʔ kːʔ qːʔ dːʔ zːʔ ɟːʔ ɡːʔ > tʼː tsʼː cʼː kʼː qʼː tʼː tsʼː cʼː kʼː

Kʔ > K

K: all consonants other than {t(ː) s(ː) c(ː) k(ː) q(ː) d(ː) z(ː) ɟ(ː) ɡ(ː)}

Modification of voiced coronals



ɮ ʐ ʑ > z z ɟ

Pre-glide cluster mid vowel raising/backing



e eː ə o oː > i iː ɨ u uː > \ _C(C){w j}

a aː > e eː  \ _C(C){w j} when not separated from a uvular or pharyngeal consonant by not a vowel or morel

a aː > o oː  \ _C(C){w j} when separated from a uvular or pharyngeal consonant by not a vowel or morel

(Not when also after a cluster or geminate.)

Post-glottal cluster high vowel lowering



i iː ɨ u uː > e eː ə o oː > \ hC(C)_

(Note when also before a cluster or geminate.)

Glide cluster reduction



w j > ∅ ∅ \ C_

/h/ elision before consonants



h > ∅ \ _C

Breaking up CCC clusters



C1C2C3 > C1C2ɨC3
C1ːC2 > C1ːɨC2
C1C2ː > C1ɨC2ː

Breaking up final CC clusters



C1C2 > C1ɨC2 \ _#
C1ː > C1ɨC1 \ _#

Short vowel accent retraction



V[-accent +full]V[+accent -long] > V[+accent -long +full -high]V[-accent]

Fronting of /a aː/



a aː > æ æː

Uvular/pharyngeal opening



When separated from a uvular or pharyngeal consonant by less than one vowel:

FrontCentralBack
Close-midi iː > e eːu uː > o oː
Midɨ > ə
Open-mide eː > ɛ ɛːo oː > ɔ ɔː
Near-openə > ɐ
Openæ æː > ɑ ɑː


Root types



Biliteral



There are two types of biliteral:

1. Single vowel accented short
2. Single vowel accented long

Triliteral



There are eight types of triliteral:

1. First vowel accented short, second vowel short
2. First vowel accented long, second vowel short
3. First vowel accented short, second vowel long
4. First vowel accented long, second vowel long
5. First vowel short, second vowel accented short
6. First vowel short, second vowel accented long
7. First vowel long, second vowel accented short
8. First vowel long, second vowel accented long