The Allosphere
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? Nortaneous ? ?????
posts: 467
, Marquis message
Maybe this will live here now?

So! Whatic inherits the typical 'minor/major' verb contrast from Proto-Ziwanic, but the reduplication pattern, as usual for Ziwanic, is simplified: at an early stage, presumably before monosyllabization, the full reduplication characterizing the major stage was reduced to a C1V1- prefix. Then geminate syncope applies, creating an initial geminate, which is resolved in various ways in the different Whatic languages; in What proper, initial geminates simply take a prothetic ʔə- and, where appropriate, devoice. (This might change later.)

What isn't terribly innovative with the uses of the major form; it's used whenever there's a recipient, beneficiary, or instrument. So you could have, for example:

hŋnih k vzi
[hʊŋˈnik uˈzij]
hŋnih=k v-ziy
spear=OBJ.DEF 1SG-give
"I give away the spear" (no stated recipient)

hŋnik drwh qssi mbu
[hʊŋˈnik dʐɯh ʔəsˈsij mbuw]
hŋnih=k drw qs~si m-bu
spear=OBJ.DEF 2SG MAJ~give 1SG-do
"I give you the spear" (stated recipient)

One thing to note is that derived verbs, including major forms, can't take person marking directly; so in the second sentence, there has to be an auxiliary. Person marking is, of course, optional:

mo n hŋni k drwh qssi
[mon hʊŋˈnik dʐɯh ʔəsˈsij]
mo=n hŋni=k drwh qs~si
1SG=SBJ spear=OBJ.DEF 2SG MAJ~give
? Nortaneous ? ?????
posts: 467
, Marquis, Maryland
message
Sound changes to use at some point:

- develop new phonations from the following vowel - Ryukyuan aspiration(?) before high vowels, and "Historically, the aspirated stops in Makhuwa derive from prenasalised voiceless stops (*mp > ph, *nt > tth, *nc > th, *nk > kh) and voiceless stops before a high closed vowel"
- e a o > ɛɛ ʌʌ ɔɔ / _Rə and then a > ɛ ɔ / _Ci _Cu
- maybe the zotic thing is that trisyllabic roots get syncope, so you get some consonant clusters. possibly this also happens in vynyi?
- voiced geminates can become implosives