Proto-Koigus-Ndere

Proto-Koigus-Ndere Vocabulary

Proto-Koigus-Ndere Naming Customs

Proto-Koigus-Ndere is the reconstructed proto-language that is ancestral to the Koigus-Ndere languages. It was spoken between 6,000 and 7,000 years before present. It was spoken by ancient northern Halmedic pastoralists who lived between the Gorgik Plateau and the Zet Mountains.

=Phonology=

Phonotactics
Syllable structure

(C1)(R)V(ʔ)(C3)(C4)(C5)
 * C1: Any consonant
 * R: /m n ŋ l j w/
 * V: Any vowel
 * C3: /m n ŋ ɴ ɮ z ɣ ʁ/
 * C4: Any unrounded non-palatal consonant other than /b d ɢ d͡z/
 * C5: Any unrounded consonant that isn't uvular or one of /b d d͡z/

Allophony


 * Mid vowels /ɛ/ become [ɪ] before a semivowel.
 * /t ɾ ɮ/ become [tʲ ɾʲ ɮʲ] word-finaly.
 * Non-uvular consonants that aren't [j w] assimilate in palatalisation with the following consonant. Before palatal and velar consonants.
 * Alveolar taps [ɾ ɾʲ] become [l lʲ] before [l lʲ].
 * Voiced stops [b d ɟ g gw ɢ] become the ejectives [pʼ tʼ c’ kʼ kʼw qʼ] after the glottal stop.
 * High vowels and semivowels [j w ɪ] become [e̯ o̯ ɛ] after a non-near high vowel or uvular consonant.
 * Non-ejective obstruents assimilate in voicing with a following obstruent.
 * The semivowels [j w e̯ o̯] become lax [ɪ̯ ʊ̯ ɛ̯ ɔ̯] before a lax vowel.
 * Vowels in open syllables are long, except when the following syllable has a cluster in the onset.

=Nouns=

Grammatical Number
There are two grammatical numbers in Proto-Koigus-Ndere which are "singulative" and "collective". All nouns are inherently collective and can be made singulative by attaching a suffix. There are a set of suffixes and which one a noun takes depends on which class it belongs to. There are 15 classes which are based on shape and form for inanimate nouns and types of beings for animate nouns.

Examples:


 * *qeʔnɣ- ("sack.") > *qeʔnɣdzàg- ("sack")
 * *tsmùg- ("sand.") > *tsmùgix- ("grain of sand")
 * *wokl- ("tail.") > *woklwik- ("tail")
 * *iz- ("stick.") > *izdzòqr- ("stick")
 * *lòɣ̂- ("leaf.") > lòɣ̂iʔɣ̂gɬ- ("leaf")
 * *tlizɮ- ("cud.") > *tlizɮgʷàɣ̂t- ("drop of cud")
 * *won̂x̂m- ("mountain.") > *won̂x̂maɮr- ("mountain")
 * *maznl- ("water.") > *maznln̂jò- ("drop of water")
 * *gʷjuzk- ("spear.") > *gʷjuzkuġ- ("spear")
 * *jaɣɣ- ("bowl.") > *jaɣɣan- ("bowl")
 * *bnò- ("son.") > *bnòèzg- ("son")
 * *gʷàs- ("fish.") > *gʷàsòʔɮ- ("fish")
 * *dzò- ("wolf.") > *dzòdmi- ("wolf")
 * *baŋ- ("eagle.") > *baŋits- ("eagle")
 * *dzjemz- ("god.") > *dzjemzgʷò- ("god")

Derivational Morphology
Nouns can be derived from nouns, verbs and adjectives by applying one of the "class suffixes" to them. The class suffixes derive nouns relating to the nature of their class. For example the suffix *-teŋ is class 7 and so derives nouns relating to "soil, earth, rock". The resulting nouns are collective by default and are made singulative in the same way as all nouns are in its new class. The suffixes are as follows:

Class 1 Load, Pack, Burden: *-u


 * *maznl- ("water") > *maznlu- ("water sack")
 * *aɣ̂n̂- ("time") > *aɣ̂n̂u- ("season")
 * *akʔ- ("life") > akʔu- ("lifetime, lifespan")

Class 2 Non-compact matter: *-àŋ

Class 3 Slender flexible object: *-nik

Class 4 Slender stiff object: *-tsjàq

Class 5 Flat flexible object: *-miġ


 * *wokl- ("tail") > *woklmiġ- ("fin")

Class 6 Mushy matter: *-aɫ

Class 7 Soil, Earth, Rock: *-teŋ


 * *jaɣɣ- ("bowl") > *jaɣɣteŋ- ("valley")
 * *ĝmuʔ- ("to look, to gaze, to watch") > *ĝmuʔteŋ- ("vantage point, cliff")
 * *lòʔz- ("house") > *lòʔzteŋ- ("cave")

Class 8 Liquid: *-pnò


 * *àx̂- ("eye") > ''*àx̂pnò- ("tear")

Class 9 Tool, Weapon: *-er

Class 10 Open container: *-emk

Class 11 Human: *-aɣ̂

Class 12 Aquatic animal: *-jaɮr

Class 13 Terrestrial animal: *-gʷis

Class 14 Flying animal: *-jaz

Class 15 Divine: *-ok

The suffix *-bwi attaches to verbs and derives a new verb with the meaning "done with bad intentions towards the object":


 * *èzg- ("to smile") > ''**èzgbwi- ("to mock, to insult")

Comparative
The comparative construction is made by place the postposition *ùɮ- after the noun being compared to which itself forms an adverbial phrase olaced after the verb:


 * ots mòʔx̂ gʷàs ùɮ won̂x̂m (be heavy fish until mountain) “mountains are heavier than fish”

The construction “X verb’s better/worse/more/less than Y” the adverb is placed after the verb and the phrase “Y ùɮ” (than Y) consitutes an adverbial phrase which also goes after the verb, before the subject the verb is then reduplicated:


 * juɣ̂s aʔl aʔzɣ ùɮ juɣ̂s àx̂ (see big foot until see eye) “Eyes see more than feet”

=Determiners=

Personal Pronouns
The divine form of the second person singulative is used when addressing gods in prayers or when speaking to shamans. In place of third person pronouns, PKN uses the demonstrative pronoun.

Demonstrative Pronouns
PKN has no proximal-distal distinction of any kind in it's demonstratives, having only *iɮk- ("those, these") and it's various singulative forms. There are 15 singulative forms which conform to the 15 classes of singulatives which are:

Interrogative Pronouns
In essence there is only one interrogative pronoun which is *iɣ̂- ("what, which") and every other form is based on *iɣ̂-. For example:


 * iɣ̂ qet "where" (what place) - *qet- ("place")
 * iɣ̂ òz "when" (what time" -*òz- ("time")
 * iɣ̂ tsep "why" (what reason) - *tsep- ("reason")
 * iɣ̂ zuɣ̂n̂ "how" (what method) -*zuɣ̂n̂- ("method")

The words for "which" must agree to one of the 15 semantic groupings when its class is known. When the class is unknown the pronoun *iɣ̂- alone is used.

*iɣ̂èzg- in particular means "who, which person".

=TAM=

Proto-Koigus-Ndere has no tenses, rather it has four aspects which are "gnomic" "continious" "prospective" and "terminative". The gnomic is unmarked: gʷa bnòèzg gʷàsòʔɮ (eat son- fish-) "the son eats the fish". The continious aspect is marked by placing the preposition *laʔ- ("with") before the verb: laʔ gʷa bnòèzg gʷàsòʔɮ (with eat son- fish-) "the son is eating the fish". The prospecive aspect is marked with the modal verb *qjizg- ("to want"): qjizg gʷa bnòèzg gʷàsòʔɮ (want eat son- fish-) "the son is about to eat the fish". The terminative aspect is marked with the modal verb *jok- ("to stop"): jok gʷa bnòèzg gʷàsòʔɮ (stop eat son- fish-) "the son stopped eating the fish".

The aspects can be used together to create for intricate meanings. The folling combinations are:


 * Continious + Prospective = denotes that the subject is preparing to do the action: laʔ qjizg gʷa bnòèzg gʷàsòʔɮ ("the son is preparing to eat the fish").
 * Continious + Terminative = denotes that the subject is currently ceasing the action, or that the action will be ceased in the very near future: ''laʔ jok gʷa bnòèzg gʷàsòʔɮ̌ ("the son is going to stop eating the fish").
 * Terminative + Prospective = denotes that the subject was about to do the action but no longer is: jok qjizg gʷa bnòèzg gʷàsòʔɮ ("the son was about to eat the fish, but didn't")

Verbs are made negative with the auxiliary *kèʔ- which is placed before the verb and before any TAM prepositions:


 * kèʔ gʷa bnòèzg gʷàsòʔɮ ( eat son- fish-) "the son doesn't eat the fish".
 * kèʔ laʔ gʷa bnòèzg gʷàsòʔɮ ( with eat son- fish-) "the son isn't eating the fish"
 * kèʔ qjizg gʷa bnòèzg gʷàsòʔɮ ( want eat son- fish-) "the son isn't about to eat the fish".
 * kèʔ jok gʷa bnòèzg gʷàsòʔɮ ( stop eat son- fish-) "the son didn't stop eating the fish"

Imperative
The imperative is formed by placing the verb *àɣt- (“to make”) before the main verb with a null subject. The negative is formed by placing the negative particle *kèʔ before *àɣt-:


 * àɣt an (“declare!”) - ''kèʔ àɣt an’' (“don’t declare”)
 * àɣt *àʔzɮ ("sit!”) - kèʔ àɣt àʔzɮ (“don’t sit!”)