Pataxea
Proto-Azkali is the reconstructed ancestor of the modern Azkali language. No direct evidence of Proto-Azkali's existance exist. Practically all of the information on Proto-Azkali is based on internal reconstruction. Along with Proto-Ukilen, the reconstruction on Proto-Azkali is one of the most extensive compared to other languages. The first reconstructions of Proto-Azkali started in 1500 AD, leading to the establishment of many modern linguistic reconstruction techniques.
History
Throughout early Azkali history, there has been countless records that corroborate the existence of Proto-Azkali as a language.
Phonology
Consonants
The consonants of Proto-Azkali are, in standard notation:
| Consonants | Labial | Coronal | Dorsal | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alveolar | Palatal | |||||
| Nasals | *m
/m/ |
*n
/n/ |
*ng
/ŋ/ |
|||
| Plosives | voiceless | *p
/p/ |
*t
/t/ |
*c
/c/ |
*k
/k/ |
|
| voiced | *b
/p'~b/ |
*d
/t'~d/ |
*g
/k'~g/ |
|||
| Fricatives | voiceless | *s
/s/ |
*ch
/ç/ |
*x
/x~χ/ |
*h
/h/ | |
| voiced | *z
/s'~z/ |
|||||
| Semivowels | *l
/l/ |
*y
/j/ |
||||
| Rhotic | *r
/ɹ/ |
|||||
Nasal sounds could not appear word initially, nor it appears could *s or *z. The rhotic *r /ɹ/ possibly could have been a trill /r/ word initially.
Vowels
The vowels of Proto-Azkali are, in standard notation:
| Front | |
|---|---|
| Close | *i
/i~ɪ/ |
| Mid | *e
/e~ɛ/ |
| Open | *a
/a/ |
Morphology
Nouns
Nouns in Proto-Azkali declined for 6 cases: the Nominative, marking the object of a transitive or intransitive verb, the Ergative, marking the subject of a transitive verb, the Accusative marking the direct object of a transitive verb and in past clauses, the subject of intransitive verbs and the direct objects of transitive verbs, the Genitive, marking a relationship between two nouns, the Privative, marking the lack of ownership specifically on a marked noun, and the Instrumental, marking the noun as being the instrument by which the verb was accomplished (this can be a physical object or a concept). Neither Proto-Azkali verbs nor nouns nor adjectives were inflected, with all inflection being conveyed via particles.
Proto-Azkali had a split-ergative morphological alignment. In the future and present tenses, the nominative and accusative cases were used; in past tenses, the ergative case was used, and the accusative case acted as the absolutive case. Case marking appeared to have been conveyed via particles, shown below:
| Nominative | Ø |
|---|---|
| Ergative | *ne |
| Accusative | *ka |
| Genitive | *kaca |
| Privative | *za |
| Instrumental | *gazi |
Verbs
Lexicon
| No. | Gloss | Proto-Azkali
(Nora 1960) |
Notes | Modern Azkali |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I | *ke | (or possibly *ki) | go |
| 2 | you (singular) | *te | te | |
| 3 | he | *bai | mei | |
| 4 | we | *an | oen | |
| 5 | you (plural) | *ean | uen | |
| 6 | they (plural) | *en | ein | |
| 7 | this | *anasgeri | nazkuriz | |
| 8 | that | *keri | kauli | |
| 9 | here | *on | hon | |
| 10 | there | heri | ||
| 11 | who | *gamea | amori (interrogative) | |
| 12 | what | *gamera | amozeri (interrogative) | |
| 13 | where | *gachera | amicheri (interrogative) | |
| 14 | when | *gesera | isari (interrogative) | |
| 15 | how | *kea | amera (interrogative) | |
| 16 | not | *ga(n)- | hu- | |
| 17 | all | *ke(n)- | gen- | |
| 18 | many | *gazg(i)- | asti- | |
| 19 | some | *eze(n)- | sen- | |
| 20 | few | *-(n)an | irria- | |
| 21 | other | gou- | ||
| 22 | one | *chat | at | |
| 23 | two | *chatei | aitei | |
| 24 | three | *charei | iriu | |
| 25 | four | *chamadei | madhet | |
| 26 | five | *chakei | kaizo | |
| 27 | big | motzi | ||
| 28 | long | zogi | ||
| 29 | wide | sogi | ||
| 30 | thick | astsathi | ||
| 31 | heavy | |||
| 32 | small | |||
| 33 | short | |||
| 34 | narrow | |||
| 35 | thin | |||
| 36 | woman | *chemega | kuiga | |
| 37 | man (adult male) | *chamiga | maiga | |
| 38 | man (kali being) | *echalia | (either *echalia or
*egalia were likely used) |
kali |
| 39 | child | *sachigi | atsini | |
| 40 | wife | *chetaz | eitoiz | |
| 41 | husband | paotoiz | ||
| 42 | mother | *mama | mama | |
| 43 | father | *papa | papa | |
| 44 | animal | *chitzaga | isana | |
| 45 | fish | |||
| 46 | bird | |||
| 47 | dog | |||
| 48 | louse | |||
| 49 | snake | *ezaze | (possibly onomatopoeic) | tzatzu |
| 50 | worm | *zordaxe | tzoradhei | |
| 51 | tree | zamait | ||
| 52 | forest | zamaikon | ||
| 53 | stick | |||
| 54 | fruit | |||