Proto-Chukotko-Kamchatkan language
Proto-Chukotko-Kamchatkan is the hypothetical common ancestor of the Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages. It is purported to have broken up into the Northern (Chukotian) and Southern (Itelmen) branches around B.C.E. 2000, when western reindeer herders moved into the Chukotko-Kamchatkans' homeland and its inland people adopted the new lifestyle.[1]
A reconstructed version of the language is presented by Michael Fortescue in his Comparative Dictionary of Chukotko-Kamchatkan (2005).
Phonology
According to Fortescue, Proto-Chukotko-Kamchatkan had the following phonemes, expressed in IPA symbols.
Consonants
| labial | alveolar | palatal | velar | uvular | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stops | p | t | c | k | q |
| Fricatives | v | ð | ɣ | ʁ | |
| Nasals | m | n | ŋ | ||
| Approximants | w | l | j | ||
| Rhotic | r |
*/c/ is a true voiceless palatal stop (not the affricate č). Note that Proto-Chukotko-Kamchatkan had only voiceless stops, no voiced stops (such as /b d g/). However, there is a series of voiced fricatives, */v ð ɣ ʁ/. These have no voiceless counterparts (such as /f θ x/).
*/v/ is a voiced labiodental fricative (like v in English). */ɣ/ is a voiced velar fricative (like the g in Dutch ogen, modern Greek gamma, Persian qāf, etc.). */ʁ/ is a voiced uvular fricative (like r in French).
The entire */t ð n l r/ series is alveolar — i.e. */t ð n/ are not dentals.
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Mid | e | ə | o |
| Open | æ | a |
Grammar
It is generally accepted that Proto-Chukotko-Kamchatkan had an eleven-case system for nouns, but Dibella Wdzenczny has hypothesised that these evolved from only six cases in Pre-Proto-Chukotko-Kamchatkan.[1] Below is the reconstructed case system of Proto-Chukotko-Kamchatkan.[2]
| Case | Declension 1 (singular) | Declension 2 (singular) | Declension 1 (plural)1 | Declension 2 (plural) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| absolutive | -∅/-(ə)n/-ŋæ/-lŋǝn | -(ǝ)n | -t | -(ǝ)nti |
| dative | -(ǝ)ŋ | -(ǝ)naŋ | -(ǝ)ðɣǝnaŋ | |
| locative | -(ǝ)k | -(ǝ)næk | -(ǝ)ðǝk | |
| instrumental | -tæ | -(ǝ)næk | -(ǝ)ðǝk | |
| comitative | kæ- -tæ | - | - | |
| associative | ka- -ma | - | - | |
| referential | -kjit | -(ǝ)nækjit | -(ǝ)ðǝkækjit | |
| ablative | -ŋqo(rǝŋ) | -(ǝ)naŋqo(rǝŋ) | -(ǝ)ðǝkaŋqo(rǝŋ) | |
| vialis | -jǝpǝŋ | -(ǝ)najpǝŋ | -(ǝ)ðǝkajpǝŋ | |
| allative | -jǝtǝŋ | -(ǝ)najtǝŋ | -(ǝ)ðǝkajtǝŋ | |
| attributive | -nu | -(ǝ)nu | -(ǝ)ðɣǝnu |
1Note that the (mostly inanimate) nouns of the first declension only marked plurality in the absolutive case.
The protolanguage is thought to have been a nominative-accusative language, with the current Chukotko-Kamchatkan ergative aspects coming later in the (Northern) Chukotian branch, possibly through contact with nearby Eskimo-Aleut-speaking peoples. This would explain why Itelmen, spoken further south than any Eskimo-Aleut speaking peoples visited, lacks ergative structures. Some linguists, however, maintain that Proto-Chukotko-Kamchatkan began as an ergative language and lost that feature over time.[3]
See also
References
- 1 2 Dibella Wdzenczny. "The Case for Fewer Cases in Pre-ChukotkoKamchatkan: Grammaticalization and Semantics in Internal Reconstruction". Commons.emich.edu. Retrieved 2016-04-03.
- ↑ Cultural Studies. "Proto-CK (and Proto-C) inflections : Comparative Chukotko-Kamchatkan Dictionary". Degruyter.com. Retrieved 2016-04-03.
- ↑ Fortescue, Michael. 2005. Comparative Chukotko-Kamchatkan Dictionary. Trends in Linguistics 23. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.