Azkali language: Difference between revisions
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The origins of the Azkali language are disputed. The leading theory is that Azkali originated in southwest Baphia, and that speakers of Proto-Azkali migrated south into the [[Azkali peninsula]]. The date of this hypothesized migration is unclear - however, most estimates place it as being approximately nine thousand years ago. | The origins of the Azkali language are disputed. The leading theory is that Azkali originated in southwest Baphia, and that speakers of Proto-Azkali migrated south into the [[Azkali peninsula]]. The date of this hypothesized migration is unclear - however, most estimates place it as being approximately nine thousand years ago. | ||
The oldest example of the Azkali language being written is from around | The oldest example of the Azkali language being written is from around 5000 BCE, in an ancient form of what is believed to be the [[Azkali alphabet]]. If true, this would make the Azkali alphabet one of the oldest extant writing systems in the world. | ||
=== Proto-Azkali (6000-8000 BCE?) === | === Proto-Azkali (6000-8000 BCE?) === | ||
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/n/ | /n/ | ||
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|'''gn''' | |('''gn''') | ||
/ɲ/ | (/ɲ/) | ||
|'''ng''' | |('''ng''') | ||
/ŋ/ | (/ŋ/) | ||
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|- | |- | ||
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| rowspan="2" |'''ch''' | | rowspan="2" |'''ch''' | ||
/c~ | /c~tɕ/ | ||
|'''k''' | |'''k''' | ||
/k/ | /k/ | ||
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/θ/ | /θ/ | ||
|'''sh''' | |'''sh''' | ||
/ | /ɕ/ | ||
| | | | ||
| rowspan="2" |'''h''' | | rowspan="2" |'''h''' | ||
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|'''r''' | |'''r''' | ||
/ɾ/ | /ɾ/ | ||
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|} | |} | ||
Contrasting with almost all of the languages that geographically surround it, Azkali has no true voiced stops. The only analog to a voiced stop, romanized as <g>, is a voiced velar lateral affricate ([ɡʟ̝]) in about half of all recorded dialects. The remaining half pronounce it as /g/. Dialects that pronounce g as /ɡʟ̝/ are what are known as ''[[Zigeran (Azkali language)|zigeran]]'' dialects. | Contrasting with almost all of the languages that geographically surround it, Azkali has no true voiced stops. The only analog to a voiced stop, romanized as <g>, is a voiced velar lateral affricate ([ɡʟ̝]) in about half of all recorded dialects. The remaining half pronounce it as /g/. Dialects that pronounce g as /ɡʟ̝/ are what are known as ''[[Zigeran (Azkali language)|zigeran]]'' dialects. | ||
The Azkali consonant system is characterized by (1) four nasal phonemes, two of which, the voiced palatal and velar nasals (marked in parentheses in the above table), are fairly uncommon; (2) in most dialects, the lack of voiced stop altogether; (3) in about half of all dialects, the presence of the voiced velar lateral affricate /ɡʟ̝/, an extremely rare phoneme, in the place of a voiced velar stop; (4) the existence of a distinction between lamino-dental and apico-alveolar voiceless sibilant fricatives; (5) the existence of voiceless and voiced dental fricatives; and (6), the distinction between the voiced labialized post-alveolar approximant and the voiced alveolar tap. | |||
== Orthography == | == Orthography == | ||
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Verbs are much simpler structurally speaking than nouns. For example, the verb ''ezingira'', meaning ''to have needed long ago'', can simply be broken down as ''ezi-'', the far past indicative prefix, and ''ngira'', the verbal root meaning to need. Azkali verbs are very regular, only having two different sets of conjugations (usually called ''declension classes'' when discussing Azkali). The primary declension class contains all verbs with an ending of -en; the secondary declension class contains all other verbs. The names for these declension classes are misleading, as the secondary declension class contains far more verbs than the primary declension class. There are only four or five irregular verbs in most Azkali dialects (some, especially Southern Azkali dialects, have as many as twenty). | Verbs are much simpler structurally speaking than nouns. For example, the verb ''ezingira'', meaning ''to have needed long ago'', can simply be broken down as ''ezi-'', the far past indicative prefix, and ''ngira'', the verbal root meaning to need. Azkali verbs are very regular, only having two different sets of conjugations (usually called ''declension classes'' when discussing Azkali). The primary declension class contains all verbs with an ending of -en; the secondary declension class contains all other verbs. The names for these declension classes are misleading, as the secondary declension class contains far more verbs than the primary declension class. There are only four or five irregular verbs in most Azkali dialects (some, especially Southern Azkali dialects, have as many as twenty). | ||
Azkali frequently employs [[w:Serial_verb_construction|serial verb constructions]], especially in cases in which the verbs occur as a part of the same larger action. | |||
Azkali is a ''strictly'' subject-verb-object language, contrasting with its neighboring Mallo-Brausian and Paleo-Azkali languages. Pronouns are never deleted, even when they are clear by context; as such, Azkali is classified as an anti pro-drop language. The lack of deleting pronouns when they are clear by context is a relatively new phenomena, caused by the drastic simplification of Azkali conjugation between the 1900s and 2000s. | Azkali is a ''strictly'' subject-verb-object language, contrasting with its neighboring Mallo-Brausian and Paleo-Azkali languages. Pronouns are never deleted, even when they are clear by context; as such, Azkali is classified as an anti pro-drop language. The lack of deleting pronouns when they are clear by context is a relatively new phenomena, caused by the drastic simplification of Azkali conjugation between the 1900s and 2000s. | ||