Proto-ʔināši language
The Proto-ʔināši language family is a reconstructed family of languages believed to have been spoken in southern Ausalon. This family includes the Proto-Šabǧūl, Proto-Zākh, Proto-Mikrb, and Proto-ʔalfnahr languages, all of which have been carefully reconstructed by scholars based on shared linguistic features and shared cultural context.
The Proto-ʔināši language is thought to have been a highly inflected language, with rich verbal and nominal morphology. The phonological system likely included a variety of consonant types, including stops, fricatives, nasals, liquids, and approximants, and a vowel system that distinguished length. The language also likely utilized triconsonantal roots and various derivational patterns to form words.
The Proto-Šabǧūl language, a descendant of Proto-ʔināši, is characterized by its extensive use of fricatives and the development of vowel harmony. It is believed to have had a more extensive case system compared to the parent language.
Proto-Zākh, another descendant, is marked by its retention of emphatic consonants and the development of a complex tense-aspect system. Notably, it developed a rich system of prefixes and infixes that significantly diverged from the parent language.
Proto-Mikrb is known for the simplification of its phonology, notably through the merger of several consonant pairs. However, it retained and expanded upon the ancestor language's system of noun derivation, leading to a rich system of nominal forms.
Proto-Alfnehr, the last member of this language family, stands out due to the radical restructuring of the verbal system, with tense, aspect, and mood being primarily indicated through auxiliary verbs and particles. It also underwent a substantial change in its phonology, notably through the loss of voiced stops and the shift of interdental fricatives to stops.
Though these languages are distinct from the Tothic, Orcish, and Elven languages spoken elsewhere in Ausalon, they exhibit a level of mutual intelligibility and share a significant number of cognates, suggesting a shared linguistic origin. The reconstruction of these languages, and by extension the Proto-ʔināši language family, has shed light on the historical linguistic diversity of southern Ausalon.
Comparison
Sample Sentences
- 'alpūm bi ḥadīm yuḫlū, ul malkūm yirū.
- The oxen in the field plow, and the kings see.
- 'alpūm - oxen (Nominative, plural of 'alpum, from the root ʔ-l-p)
- bi - in (preposition)
- ḥadīm - field (Locative, singular of ḥadum, from the root ḥ-d-y)
- yuḫlū - they plow (3rd person masculine plural, from the root ḫ-l-w, G-stem)
- ul - and (conjunction)
- malkūm - kings (Nominative, plural of melek, from the root m-l-k)
- yirū - they see (3rd person masculine plural, from the root r-ʔ-y, G-stem)
- 'aḫūm bā ṯallim yimšū, ul ġanūm yishmū.
- The brothers in the shadows walk, and the sheep hear.
- 'aḫūm - brothers (Nominative, plural of 'aḫum, from the root ʔ-ḫ-w)
- bā - in (preposition)
- ṯallim - shadows (Locative, plural of ṯalum, from the root ṯ-l-m)
- yimšū - they walk (3rd person masculine plural, from the root m-š-y, G-stem)
- ul - and (conjunction)
- ġanūm - sheep (Nominative, plural of ġanam, from the root ġ-n-m)
- yishmū - they hear (3rd person masculine plural, from the root š-m-ʕ, G-stem)
- 'adūm bi qiryatim yasḫūn, ul kalbūm yashrū.
- The man in the cities laughs, and the dogs bark.
- 'adūm - man (Nominative, singular of 'adam, from the root ʔ-d-m)
- bi - in (preposition)
- qiryatim - cities (Locative, plural of qiryatum, from the root q-r-y)
- yasḫūn - he laughs (3rd person masculine singular, from the root s-ḫ-q, G-stem)
- ul - and (conjunction)
- kalbūm - dogs (Nominative, plural of kalb, from the root k-l-b)
- yashrū - they bark (3rd person masculine plural, from the root š-r-ʔ, G-stem)
Phonology
Proto-ʔināši, as the reconstructed ancestor of all languages of Ausalon that are not Elven, Orcish, or Tothic, had a rich consonant-based phonology. It's believed to have contained the following consonants:
1. *Voiceless Stops*: /p/, /t/, /k/, /ʔ/ (glottal stop)
2. *Voiced Stops*: /b/, /d/, /g/
3. *Emphatic Stops*: /tˤ/, /kˤ/, /ʔˤ/ (emphatic glottal stop)
4. *Voiceless Fricatives*: /f/, /θ/ (like 'th' in 'think'), /s/, /ʃ/ (like 'sh' in 'shine'), /ħ/ (voiceless pharyngeal fricative, similar to Arabic ح), /h/
5. *Voiced Fricatives*: /v/, /ð/ (like 'th' in 'this'), /z/, /ɣ/ (voiced velar fricative, similar to French 'r' in 'rouge'), /ʕ/ (voiced pharyngeal fricative, similar to Arabic ع)
6. *Emphatic Fricatives*: /sˤ/ (emphatic 's'), /ʃˤ/ (emphatic 'sh')
7. *Nasals*: /m/, /n/
8. *Liquids*: /r/, /l/
9. *Semivowels*: /j/ (like 'y' in 'yes'), /w/
Regarding vowels, Proto-ʔināši is usually reconstructed as having the following vowel phonemes:
1. /a/, /i/, /u/
2. Two lengths of these vowels: short /a/, /i/, /u/ and long /a:/, /i:/, /u:/
The stress in Proto-ʔināši words was typically on the penultimate (second-to-last) syllable. It's important to note that these are general reconstructions, and there's ongoing debate among linguists about the specifics of Proto-ʔināši phonology.
Successor Languages
Common Female Names
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- Šadūya - "Mountain climber", from roots š-d-y (mountain) + ūy (climber)
- Zūlīna - "Moon's wolf", from roots z-ū-l (wolf) + īn (moon)
- Bārūmi - "Voyager of the sea", from roots b-ā-r (sea) + ūm (voyager)
- Mūdībat - "Walker of the valley", from roots m-ū-d (valley) + īb (walker)
- ʔūrīma - "Eagle-eyed", from roots ʔ-ū-r (eagle) + īm (eye)
- Šūfūna - "Whisperer of the wind", from roots š-ū-f (wind) + ūn (whisperer)
- Bašūri - "South-walker", from roots b-š-r (south) + ūr (walker)
- Rūʔībat - "Seer of the night", from roots r-ʔ-y (to see) + īb (night)
- Nūbūmi - "Cloud dancer", from roots n-ū-b (cloud) + ūm (dancer)
- Jadūla - "Hand of strength", from roots j-d-y (hand) + ūl (strength)
- Šadīqa - "Friend of the mountain", from roots š-d-y (mountain) + īq (friend)
- Kalbūni - "Heart of strength", from roots k-l-b (heart) + ūn (strength)
- Zāqūla - "Pure heart", from roots z-q-q (pure, clear) + ūl (heart)
- Ḥadīmi - "Lady of the field", from roots ḥ-d-y (field) + īm (lady)
- Rāšūna - "Leader of the clan", from roots r-ā-š (head, leader) + ūn (clan)
- Yadībat - "Hand of mercy", from roots y-d-y (hand) + īb (mercy)
- Magarīmi - "Traveller of the west", from roots m-g-r (to travel) + īm (west)
- Šarqīya - "Eastern star", from roots š-r-q (east) + īy (star)
- Bašūla - "Woman of the south", from roots b-š-r (south) + ūl (woman)
- Nūbūma - "Lady of the cloud", from roots n-ū-b (cloud) + ūm (lady)
- Sūqūni - "Market trader", from roots s-ū-q (market) + ūn (trader)
- Ġanāla - "Shepherdess", from roots ġ-n-m (sheep) + āl (herder)
- Malkūna - "Queen", from roots m-l-k (king) + ūn (queen)
- ʔārīma - "Lioness", from roots ʔ-ā-r (lion) + īm (lioness)
- Qiryatūla - "City dweller", from roots q-r-y (city) + ūl (dweller)
- Rūʔīmi - "Night seer", from roots r-ʔ-y (to see) + īm (night)
- Jadūna - "Hand of strength", from roots j-d-y (hand) + ūn (strength)
- Šīnūla - "Falcon in flight", from roots š-ī-n (falcon) + ūl (flight)
- ʔālūmi - "Doe of the forest", from roots ʔ-ā-l (deer) + ūm (forest)
- ʔāzīna - "Proud mare", from roots ʔ-ā-z (pride) + īn (mare)
Common Male Names
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- Ḥadūl - "Field worker", from roots ḥ-d-y (field) + ūl (work)
- Malkūb - "King of the hill", from roots m-l-k (king) + ūb (hill)
- Šamīrūn - "Guardian of the sun", from roots š-m-r (guard) + ūn (sun)
- Ġanūmāl - "Shepherd", from roots ġ-n-m (sheep) + āl (herder)
- Kalbūl - "Heart of strength", from roots k-l-b (heart) + ūl (strength)
- Rūmūn - "High tower", from roots r-ū-m (high) + ūn (tower)
- Yadūn - "Hand of justice", from roots y-d-y (hand) + ūn (justice)
- Šīnūl - "Falcon's flight", from roots š-ī-n (falcon) + ūl (flight)
- ʔālūb - "Deer in the forest", from roots ʔ-ā-l (deer) + ūb (forest)
- Rāšūn - "Head of the clan", from roots r-ā-š (head) + ūn (clan)
- Qiryatūb - "City dweller", from roots q-r-y (city) + ūb (dweller)
- ʔārūn - "Lion's roar", from roots ʔ-ā-r (lion) + ūn (roar)
- Sūqūm - "Market trader", from roots s-ū-q (market) + ūm (trader)
- Šarqūb - "Eastern star", from roots š-r-q (east) + ūb (star)
- ʔāzūn - "Proud horse", from roots ʔ-ā-z (pride) + ūn (horse)
- Šadīm - "Mountain climber", from roots š-d-y (mountain) + īm (climber)
- Zūlūn - "Wolf of the moon", from roots z-ū-l (wolf) + ūn (moon)
- Bārūm - "Sea voyager", from roots b-ā-r (sea) + ūm (voyager)
- Mūdūb - "Valley walker", from roots m-ū-d (valley) + ūb (walker)
- ʔūrūm - "Eagle eye", from roots ʔ-ū-r (eagle) + ūm (eye)
- Šūfūn - "Wind whisperer", from roots š-ū-f (wind) + ūn (whisperer)
- Bašūr - "South-walker", from roots b-š-r (south) + ūr (walker)
- Rūʔūb - "Vision of the night", from roots r-ʔ-y (to see) + ūb (night)
- Nūbūm - "Cloud dancer", from roots n-ū-b (cloud) + ūm (dancer)
- Jadūl - "Hand of strength", from roots j-d-y (hand) + ūl (strength)