Bawian

Bawian vocabulary

=Phonology=

Phonological History
zw > v

z > ts/B_#

uː oː eː iː > i e o u

j → g/{l r n F}_

rg > gr

V[-high](ː) > ə/_{l r}

V[-high](ː) > ɪ/_{s z}

b d g > β ð ɣ/V_V

t k > d g/V_V

j > l/C[+plosive]_

mw rw lw tw kw > m: rː lː tː kː

bw dw gw > br dr gr

Vr > Vː

x(ː) ɣ(ː) > ŋ̥ ŋ

ɨ > i > e (nasal vowels are affected but not long vowels)

ʉ > u > o (nasal vowels are affected but not long vowels)

ə > o

m: rː lː tː kː > m̩b dr dl n̩t ŋ̩k/{#, C}_

v >b

Vw > Vː

Vo > Vu!o=õ

{ĩː ẽː} ãː {ũː õː} > neː naː noː

V >∅/_Vː

ɲɟ > ŋ

j>∅

t͡ʃ d͡ʒ > h

t͡ʃː d͡ʒː > t d

{l r w} rː lː > ∅ r l

l > n

Cː>C

=Noun Phrase=

Common Nouns
The below table demonstrates the most common declension of nouns. Buzzard nouns that end in a consonant will lose the consonant and lengthen the previous vowel when the case ending begins in a consonant. Buzzard nouns are recognizable by how they end in consonants, and deer gender nouns may end in a vowel or /l r n/. Buzzard nouns ending in /k/ take the oblique suffix -o and the supressive suffix -ok.

When a buzzard noun ends in ē the comitative and inessive suffixes lose their vowels (-ìz, -eb > -z, -b).

The plural forms of common nouns are formed quite differently form other declensions. Sound changes eradicated the plural suffix of Old Moca so West Middle Moca innovated a new way of marking plurals via reduplication. Plurals are formed by reduplicating the first CV of the noun as a prefix. Nouns beginning in vowels just reduplicate the vowel and attach /n/ both before and after the reduplicated vowel.
 * sok ("hand") > sosok ("hands")
 * edoegē ("blanket") > nenedoegē ("blankets")

Broken Nouns
Broken nouns are comprised of buzzard gender nouns that have lost the word final plosives /b t d/ in the nominative singular but keep them in all other cases and numbers. It is not predicative as to which plosive will resurface. This declension is thanks to Old Moca experiencing the change /p b t d/ > ∅/_#. broken nouns with word final long vowels do not lose the resurfaced plosive even when the case ending begins in a consonant.