Proto-Mikrb language
Proto-Mikrb is a significant linguistic ancestor in the history of south-central Ausalon, notable for its remarkable evolutionary path. It descends from Proto-ʔināši, but undergoes dramatic phonetic simplifications that leave it with a distinctive and leaner phonological profile.
Phonological Evolution
The phonology of Proto-Mikrb is marked by the simplification of the consonant inventory. Pairs of similar sounding consonants merged, reducing the overall number of consonant phonemes. Voiced stops, fricatives, and approximants were particularly affected by these changes, often merging with their voiceless counterparts or with other phonemes. At the same time, the language completely lost the pharyngeal fricatives characteristic of its ancestor language.
However, the vowel system remained relatively stable, with only minor changes such as the shortening of long vowels and the deletion of unstressed word-final vowels.
Nominal Derivation
In stark contrast to its phonological reduction, Proto-Mikrb expanded upon the system of noun derivation inherited from Proto-ʔināši, cultivating a rich system of nominal forms. This resulted in a highly expressive language with numerous nouns to describe subtle variations of concepts. It also established a firm foundation for its descendant languages to develop their own unique and rich vocabularies.
- Qār: This language experienced a loss of emphatics and further vowel length distinctions, making it distinct among its sibling languages.
- Hvi: Known for the adoption of a robust set of auxiliary verbs, this language exhibits a unique verb tense-aspect system.
- Feršā: This language expanded on the Proto-Mikrb's system of noun derivation, creating an intricate array of nominal forms.
- Ṣākl: This language developed an elaborate system of infixes for verb conjugation.
- Jurd: Known for a shift towards analytic structures, this language significantly diverged from the morphosyntactic features of Proto-Mikrb.
Sound Changes
The transition from Proto-ʔināši to Proto-Magarb is characterized by a series of phonological shifts resulting in the merger of various consonant pairs and the simplification of the phonological system. However, Proto-Magarb also builds upon the original language's system of noun derivation, producing a diverse set of nominal forms. Here are the sound changes:- Devoicing of voiced stops: /b/, /d/, /g/ become /p/, /t/, /k/ respectively.
- Fricatives /v/, /z/, /ʒ/, /ɣ/ merge with /f/, /s/, /ʃ/, /x/ respectively.
- Loss of pharyngeal fricatives /ħ/, /ʕ/.
- Nasals /m/, /n/ merge to /n/ in all positions.
- Approximants /j/, /w/ merge to /j/ before front vowels and /w/ before back vowels.
- Deletion of glottal stop /ʔ/ in all positions.
- The liquid /r/ and /l/ merge to /r/.
- Long vowels /a:/, /i:/, /u:/ shorten to /a/, /i/, /u/ respectively.
- Unstressed short vowels /a/, /i/, /u/ in word-final position are deleted.
- Gemination (doubling) of consonants following short vowels in stressed syllables.
- Front vowels /i/, /e/ lower to /a/ in the presence of uvular, pharyngeal, or glottal consonants.
- Assimilation of nasal+stop clusters, becoming geminate stops.
- Stress shifts to the initial syllable of the word.
- Final devoicing: Voiced consonants at the end of words are devoiced.
- Short /u/ raises to /i/ in unstressed syllables.
Root Languages
Successor Languages
Spoken by