Proto-Dené–Caucasian is the reconstructed hypothetical common ancestor of the Dené–Caucasian languages, a proposed language superfamily to which Basque, North Caucasian, Burushaski, Sino-Tibetan, Yeniseian, Na-Dené and possibly also other language families may belong.
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As with Proto-Indo-European and Proto-Uralic, linguists working on reconstructions of the Proto-Dené–Caucasian language usually do not use the IPA. To facilitate comparisons with the literature, Starostin's transcription (largely identical to Bengtson's) is used in this section, followed by the IPA equivalents between slashes (for phonemes) or brackets (for actual phones). It differs from the IPA especially in the affricates, all of which are written with a single character, the laterals, and the pharyngeal and epiglottal consonants (complicated by the fact that Starostin did not use the term "epiglottal").
As in all reconstructions of proto-languages, every value in the tables below is a hypothesis and may change as more work is done.
| Bilabial | Alveolar or dental | Alveolopalatal | Postalveolar | Velar | Uvular | Epiglottal | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| central | lateral | |||||||||
| Plosives | aspirated¹ | p /p/ | t /t/ | k /k/ | q /q/ | ʡ /ʡ/ | ʔ /ʔ/ | |||
| ejective | ṗ /pʼ/ | ṭ /tʼ/ | ḳ /kʼ/ | q̇ /qʼ/ | ||||||
| voiced | b /b/ | d /d/ | g /ɡ/ | G /ɢ/ | ||||||
| Affricates | aspirated¹ | c /ts/ | ƛ /tɬ/ | ć /tɕ/ | č /tʃ/ | |||||
| ejective | c̣ /tsʼ/ | ƛ̣ /tɬʼ/ | ć̣ /tɕʼ/ | č̣ /tʃʼ/ | ||||||
| voiced | ʒ /dz/ | Ł /dɮ/ | ʒ́ /dʑ/ | ǯ /dʒ/ | ||||||
| Fricatives | voiceless | s /s/ | λ /ɬ/ | ś /ɕ/ | š /ʃ/ | x /x/ | χ /χ/ | ħ /ʜ/ | h /h/ | |
| voiced | z [z]² | L [ɮ]² | ź [ʑ]² | ž [ʒ]² | γ [ɣ]² | ʁ [ʁ]² | ʕ /ʢ/ | ɦ /ɦ/ | ||
| Nasals | m /m/ | n /n/ | ń /nʲ/ | ŋ /ŋ/ | ||||||
| Trills | r /r/ | ŕ /rʲ/ | ||||||||
| Approximants | w /w/ | l /l/, ł /ɫ/ | j /j/ | |||||||
The reconstruction of vowels is rather tentative. Both long and short vowels are reconstructed, but it is as yet uncertain whether the distinction was phonemic or not. It was, however, crucial for phonological developments in the daughter languages.
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| unrounded | rounded | ||
| Close | i /i/ | ɨ /ɨ/ | u /u/ |
| Mid | e /e/ | ə /ə/ | o /o/ |
| Near-open | ä /æ/ | ||
| Open | a /a/ | ||
The most basic root structure in Proto-Dené–Caucasian is reconstructed as follows:
The evidence from Sino-Tibetan, Yenisian and North Caucasian appears to support the existence of dynamic accent (marked with an acute above the vowel):
The stressed penultimate syllables in PDC give rise to the morpheme-wide tenseness in PNC. As only fricatives and affricates can be tense in PNC, their absence makes tense morphemes indistinguishable from the lax ones. The loss of the slot-3 glottal stop after long vowels in PY is another problem for the clear determination of stress in PDC. In the following table, P represents a PNC stop consonant, whereas F a fricative or an affricate.
| PDC | PNC | PY |
|---|---|---|
| CV́ːCVː | FːVːFːVː | CVːCVː |
| FːVːPVː | ||
| PVːFːVː | ||
| PVːPVː | ||
| CV́ːCV | FːVːFːV | CVʔCV |
| FːVːPV | ||
| PVːFːV | ||
| PVːPV | ||
| CV́CVː | FːVFːVː | CVʔCVː |
| FːVPVː | ||
| PVFːVː | ||
| PVPVː | ||
| CV́CV | FːVFːV | CVʔCV |
| FːVPV | ||
| PVFːV | ||
| PVPV | ||
| CVːCV́ː | CVːCVː | CVːCVː |
| CVːCV́ | CVːCV | CVCV |
| CVCV́ː | CVCVː | CVCVː |
| CVCV́ | CVCV | CVCV |
Note: Na-Dené languages have three series of stops usually realized as voiceless lenes, aspirated fortes, and ejective fortes, respectively. These are most often transcribed as /t tʰ tʼ/ (emphasizing the aspiration contrast and the fact that all three series are usually voiceless). In the following table, they are transcribed as /d t tʼ/ to make comparison to the other Dené–Caucasian language families (and to the orthographies of the Na-Dené languages) easier.
| PDC | Basque | Caucasian | Burushaski | Sino-Tibetan | Yeniseian | Na-Dené |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| p | p | p | pʰ- | pʰ- / bʱ- | p | w |
| p | -p | |||||
| b | b | b | b | p- / b- / pʰ- | p | w (Tlingit, Eyak) |
| -p | ||||||
| pʼ | b- | b- | p | p- / b- | b | ? |
| p | pʼ | -p | ||||
| t | t | t | tʰ- | tʰ- / dʱ- | d | t |
| t | -t | |||||
| d | t- | d | ɖ ~ ʈ ~ t | t- / d- / tʰ- | t | d (Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit) |
| d | -t | |||||
| tʼ | t | tʼ | t ~ ʈ | t- / d- | d | tʼ |
| -t | ||||||
| k | h | k | k- ~ kʰ- | k- / g- | g- | k |
| k | -k | k | ||||
| g | g | g | g | k- / g- / kʰ- | k | g |
| -k | ||||||
| kʼ | k | kʼ | k | kʰ- / gʱ- | g | kʼ |
| -k | -k | |||||
| q | k | q | q ~ qʰ ~ ʁ | qʰ- / ɢ- | q- | q |
| -k | q ~ ɢ | |||||
| ɢ | g | ɢ | q ~ qʰ ~ ʁ | q- / qʰ- | q- / x- ~ χ- | ɢ ~ qʼ ~ q? |
| -k | q ~ ɢ | |||||
| qʼ | k | qʼ | q ~ qʰ ~ ʁ | q- / ɢʱ- | q- / x- ~ χ- | qʼ ~ ɢ |
| -k | q ~ ɢ / x ~ χ |
The following table depicts how the phonemes of Proto-Dené–Caucasian are hypothesized to have changed into the phonemes of its descendants. Starostin's transcription is used for Proto-Dené–Caucasian, the Basque orthography is used for Basque; IPA is given for all. (Burushaski does not have a fixed orthography.) The Na-Dené correspondences are rather tentative and come exclusively from Bengtson (2008). Hyphens indicate that a phoneme evolved in different ways depending on its position in a word, for example at the beginning or the end. "0" indicates disappearance without a trace. The exact identity of the Proto-Yeniseian phoneme "r₁" is unclear. The derivatives of Proto-Dené–Caucasian consonant clusters are not shown when their constituent phonemes evolved independently.
Note: Na-Dené languages have three series of stops usually realized as voiceless lenes, aspirated fortes, and ejective fortes, respectively. These are most often transcribed as /t tʰ tʼ/ (emphasizing the aspiration contrast and the fact that all three series are usually voiceless). In the following table, they are transcribed as /d t tʼ/ to make comparison to the other Dené–Caucasian language families (and to the orthographies of the Na-Dené languages) easier.
| Single consonants | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proto- Dené–Caucasian |
Proto-Caucasian | Proto–Sino-Tibetan | Proto-Yeniseian | Burushaski | (Proto-)Basque | Proto–Na-Dené |
| p /p/ | /p/ | /pʰ/, -/p/ | /p/ | /pʰ/-, /p/ | p /p/ | /w/ |
| t /t/ | /t/ | /tʰ/, -/t/ | /d/ | /tʰ/ | t /t/ | /t/ |
| k /k/ | /k/ | /k/ | /ɡ/, -/k/ | /k/, /kʰ/ | h /h/, 0¹ | /k/ |
| q /q/ | /q/ | /qʰ/-, /ɢ/-, /x/-, /ɣ/-, -/k/, -/ŋ/ | /q/-, /q/, /ɢ/ | /q/, /qʰ/, /ʁ/ | k /k/ | /q/ |
| ʡ /ʡ/ | /ʡ/ | 0 | /ʔ/-, /j/, 0 | /h/, /j/, 0 | h /h/, */ɦ/² | /ʔ/ |
| ʔ /ʔ/ | /ʔ/ | /ʔ/, 0 | /ʔ/-, /j/ | /h/, /j/, 0 | h, 0 */ɦ/², 0 | ? |
| ṗ /pʼ/ | /pʼ/, /b/ | /p/ | /b/ | /p/ | b-, p /b/-, /p/ | ? |
| ṭ /tʼ/ | /tʼ/ | /t/ | /d/ | /t/, /ʈ/, /ɖ/ | t /t/ | /tʼ/ |
| ḳ /kʼ/ | /kʼ/ | /kʰ/, /ɡʱ/, -/k/ | /ɡ/-, -/ɡ/-, -/k/ | /k/ | k /k/ | /kʼ/ |
| q̇ /qʼ/ | /qʼ/ | /ɢʱ/-, /q/, -/k/, -/ŋ/ | /q/-, /q/, /ɢ/ | /q/, /qʰ/, /ʁ/ | k /k/ | /qʼ/, /ɢ/ |
| b /b/ | /b/ | /p/, /pʰ/, -/p/ | /p/ | /b/ | b /b/ | Tlingit, Eyak /w/ |
| d /d/ | /d/ | /t/, /tʰ/, -/t/ | /t/ | /t/, /ʈ/, /ɖ/ | t-, d /t/-, /d/ | Athabaskan–Eyak–Tlingit /d/ |
| g /ɡ/ | /ɡ/ | /k/ | /k/ | /ɡ/ | g /ɡ/ | /ɡ/ |
| G /ɢ/ | /ɢ/ | /q/, /qʰ/-, /ɢ/-, /ɢʱ/-, -/k/, -/ŋ/ | /x/, /χ/, /q/-, /ɢ/- | /q/, /qʰ/, /ʁ/ | g /ɡ/ | /ɢ/, /qʼ/, /q/? |
| c /t͡s/ | /t͡s/ | /t͡sʰ/, /s/, -/t/ | /s/ | /s/ | z-, s-,³ -tz-, -ts-³ /s/-, /ɕ/-,³ -/t͡s/-, -/t͡ɕ/-³ | /t͡s/ |
| ƛ /t͡ɬ/ | /t͡ɬ/ | /r/, -/k/ | /j/-, /χ/ | /lt/-, /lt/, /l/ | l-, -rd-, -rt-, -l /l/-, -/rd/-, -/rt/-, -/l/ | /t͡ɬ/, /t͡ɬʼ/ |
| ć /t͡ɕ/ | /t͡ɕ/ | /t͡ɕ/, /d͡ʑʱ/, -/t/ | /d͡ʒ/-, /s/ | /s/, /ɕ/, /t͡ɕ/, /ʈ͡ʂ/, -/ʑ/ | z /s/ | /d͡ʒ/? |
| č /t͡ʃ/ | /t͡ʃ/ | /t͡ɕ/, /d͡ʑʱ/ | /t͡ʃ/-, /d͡ʒ/-, /s/ | /ɕ/, /ʂ/, /t͡ɕ/, /ʈ͡ʂ/, -/ʑ/ | z-, s-³, -tz-, -ts-³ /s/-, /ɕ/-³, -/t͡s/-, -/t͡ɕ/-³ | /t͡ʃ/? |
| c̣ /t͡sʼ/ | /t͡sʼ/ | /t͡s/, -/t/ | /t͡s/, /s/ | /ɕ/, /ʂ/, /s/ | z-, s-³, -tz-, -ts-³ /s/-, /ɕ/-³, -/t͡s/-, -/t͡ɕ/-³ | /t͡sʼ/, /t͡ʃʼ/?, /t͡ʃ/? |
| ƛ̣ /t͡ɬʼ/ | /t͡ɬʼ/ | /t͡ɬ/, /l/, /r/, -/k/, -/ŋ/ | /j/-, /l/, /ʎ/ | /lt/-, /lt/, /l/ | l-, -rd-, -rt-, -l /l/-, -/rd/-, -/rt/-, -/l/ | /t͡ɬʼ/ |
| ć̣ /t͡ɕʼ/ | /t͡ɕʼ/ | /t͡ɕ/, /d͡ʑʱ/, /ɕ/, -/t/ | /s/, /t͡s/ | /t͡ɕ/, /t͡ɕʰ/, /d͡ʑ/, /d͡z/, -/ʑ/ | tx-, -tz-, -ts-³ /t͡ʃ/-, -/t͡s/-, -/t͡ɕ/-³ | /t͡sʼ/ |
| č̣ /t͡ʃʼ/ | /t͡ʃʼ/ | /t͡ɕ/, /d͡ʑʱ/ | /s/, /t͡ʃ/, /d͡ʒ/ | /ɕ/, /ʂ/, /t͡ɕ/, /ʈ͡ʂ/, -/ʑ/ | tx-, -tz-, -ts-³ /t͡ʃ/, /t͡s/, /t͡ɕ/³ | ? |
| ʒ /d͡z/ | /d͡z/ | /t͡s/, /d͡z/ | /d͡z/, /s/ | /s/ | z /s/ | /t͡sʼ/ |
| Ł /d͡ɮ/ | /d͡ɮ/ | /t͡ɬ/, /l/, -/k/ | /r/, "r₁" | /lt/-, /lt/, /l/ | l-, -rd-, -rt-, -l /l/-, -/rd/-, -/rt/-, -/l/ | /d͡ɮ/ |
| ʒ́ /d͡ʑ/ | /d͡ʑ/ | /t͡ɕ/, -/t/ | /s/, /d͡ʒ/ | /d͡z/-, /d͡ʑ/-, /s/, /ɕ/ | z /s/ | ? |
| ǯ /d͡ʒ/ | /d͡ʒ/ | /t͡ɕ/, /d͡ʑ/ | /d͡ʒ/ | /t͡ɕ/, /ʈ͡ʂ/, /d͡ʑ/ | z /s/ | ? |
| s /s/ | /s/ | /s/, /t͡sʰ/, -0 | /d/-, /s/ | /d/-, /s/ | z /s/ | /s/ |
| λ /ɬ/ | /ɬ/ | /l/, /t͡ɬ/ | /j/-, /l/, /ʎ/ | /lt/-, /ɭʈ/-, /ld/ | l-, -lh- /l/-, -/lh/- | Athabaskan–Eyak /ɬ/ |
| ś /ɕ/ | /ɕ/ | /s/, /t͡sʰ/, -0 | /d/-, /s/ | /d/-, /s/, /ʂ/ | z /s/ | ? |
| š /ʃ/ | /ʃ/ | /ɕ/-, -0 | /d/-, /s/ | /s/, /ɕ/, /ʂ/ | s /ɕ/ | Athabaskan–Eyak /ʃ/ |
| x /x/ | /x/ | /χ/, -0 | /x/, /χ/, /ɢ/ | /h/ | h /h/, 0¹ | /χ/? |
| χ /χ/ | /χ/ | /χ/, /ɣ/, /qʷʰ/, -0 | /χ/, /x/ | /h/ | h /h/, 0¹ | /χ/, /x/? |
| ħ /ʜ/ | /ʜ/ | /ʔ/, 0 | /ʔ/-, /j/ | 0, /h/, /j/ | h /h/, */ɦ/² | ? |
| h /h/ | /h/ | /ɣ/ | /ʔ/-, /j/ | 0, /h/, /j/ | h /h/, */ɦ/² | Haida /χ/-, Athabaskan -/ː/4? |
| z [z] | /z/ | /d͡z/ | /d͡ʑ/ | |||
| ź [ʑ]? | /ʑ/ | /d͡ʒ/ | ||||
| γ [ɣ] | /ɣ/ | /ɡ/ | /q/, /χ/ | g /ɡ/ | ||
| ʁ [ʁ] | /ʁ/ | /ɢ/-, /q/-, -/j/, -/w/ | /χ/, /ɢ/ | 0, /ʁ/ | h, g /h/, 0, /ɡ/¹ | |
| ʕ /ʢ/ | /ʢ/ | /ʔ/, 0 | /ʔ/- | 0, /h/, /j/ | ? | ? |
| ɦ /ɦ/ | /ɦ/ | /q/? | /ʔ/-, /w/-, /j/ | ? | h, 0 */ɦ/, 0² | ? |
| m /m/ | /m/ | /m/ | /b/-, /p/-, /w/-, /m/ | /m/ | m /m/ | /w/-, /~/5, 0? |
| n /n/ | /n/ | /n/ | /d/-, /n/ | /n/ | n /n/ | /n/ |
| ń /nʲ/ | /n/ | /ɲ/-, /ŋ/ | /ɲ/-, /n/ | /n/ | n /n/ | ? |
| ŋ /ŋ/ | /n/ | /ŋ/ | /b/-, /ŋ/ | 0-, /ŋ/ | n /n/ | ? |
| r /r/ | /r/ | /r/ | /ʔ/-, /t/-, /r/, "r₁" | /d-/, /r/ | r-, -rr-, -r /rː/ | /d/-, /n/, /j/ |
| ŕ /rʲ/ | /r/ | /rj/, /r/ | /rʲ/ | /d/-, /r/ | r /r/ | ? |
| w /w/ | /w/, /u̯/ | /w/, 0 | 0-, /w/, 0 | /b/-, 0, /u/ | b /b/ | /w/ |
| l /l/ | /l/ | /t͡ɬ/-, /r/ | /d/-, /l/, /r/, "r₁" | /l/ | l-, -r- /l/-, -/r/- | /l/, /ɬ/ |
| ł /ɫ/ | /ɫ/ | /l/-, -/ɫ/, -/l/ | /d/-, /r/, "r₁" | /l/ | /l/-, -/l/- | /ɬ/ |
| j /j/ | /j/ | /j/ | /j/, 0 | /j/, 0 | h */ɦ/² | /j/ |
| Consonant clusters | ||||||
| Proto- Dené–Caucasian |
Proto-Caucasian | Proto–Sino-Tibetan | Proto-Yeniseian | Burushaski | (Proto-)Basque | Proto–Na-Dené |
| ʡw /ʡw/ | /qʷ/ | /h/, /x/ | ||||
| ʔw /ʔw/ | /h/, /x/ | |||||
| st /st/ | /t͡s/ | /t͡sʰ/, /s/, -/t/, -/t͡s/, -/s/ | /t/ | /t͡s/ | z-, s-³, -tz-, -ts-³ /s/-, /ɕ/-³, -/t͡s/-, -/t͡ɕ/-³ | |
| sṭ /stʼ/ | /t͡sʼ/ | /t͡sʰ/, /s/ | /t/ | /t͡s/, /ʈ͡ʂ/ | z /s/ | |
| sd /sd/ | /d͡z/ | ?/t͡ɕ/, /d͡ʑʱ/, /ɕ/ | /t/ | /t͡s/, /t͡sʰ/, /ʈ͡ʂʰ/ | z /s/ | |
| št /ʃt/ | /t͡ʃ/, ?/t͡ɕ/ | /d͡ʑ/ | /t/ | ? | ||
| šṭ /ʃtʼ/ | /t͡ʃʼ/ | /t/ | ? | |||
| šd /ʃd/ | /d͡ʒ/ | /t͡ɕ/ | /t/ | /t͡ɕ/, /t͡ɕʰ/, /d͡ʑ | ||
| xk /xk/ | /χ/ | /k/-, -/k/ | /q/-, /q/, /ɢ/ | /h/-, -/q/-, -/ʁ/ | k, g /k/, /ɡ/ | |
| xḳ /xkʼ/ | /kʼ/ | /k/-, /kʰ/-, /ɡʱ/-, /qʰ/-, -/k/ | /q/, /ɢ/, /χ/ | /qʰ/, /ʁ/, -/q/ | k, g /k/, /ɡ/ | |
| xg /xɡ/ | /ɡ/ | /k/, /q/, -/ŋ/, -/k/ | /q/, /x/, /χ/ | /ɡ/ | g /ɡ/ | |
| xq /xq/ | /q/ | /k/, /ɡ/, -/k/ | /x/, /χ/ | /qʰ/, /ʁ/, -/q/ | k, g /k/, /ɡ/ | |
| xqw /xqw/ | /qw/ | /k/, /ɡ/, -/k/ | /x/, /ɡ/ | /k/, /ɡ/ | k, g /k/, /ɡ/ | |
| xq̇ /xqʼ/ | /qʼ/ | /ɡʱ/, /k/ | /q/, /χ/, /x/ | /qʰ/, /ʁ/ | k, g /k/, /ɡ/ | |
| xq̇w /xqʼw/ | /qʼw/ | /k/, /kʰ/ | /x/, /ɡ/ | /k/, /ɡ/ | k, g /k/, /ɡ/ | |
| xG /xɢ/ | /ɢ/, /ʁ/ | /ɡ/, /kʰ/ | /q/, /χ/, /x/ | /qʰ/, /q/ | g /ɡ/ | |
| xGw /xɢw/ | /ɢw/ | /ɡʱ/, /kw/ | /k/ | /k/, /ɡ/ | g, b /ɡ/, /b/ | |
| xm /xm/? | /f/ | /m/ | /w-/ | h /h/, 0¹ | ||
| xŋ /xŋ/? | /x/ | /ŋ/ | ||||
| xŋw /xŋw/ | /f/ | /ŋ/ | /b/-, /ŋ/ | /h/ | h /h/, 0¹ | |
| ħw /ʜw/ | /h/, /x/ | |||||
| hw /hw/ | /ʔʷ/, /w/ | /h/, /x/ | ||||
| ʕw /ʢw/ | /ʔʷ/ | /h/, /x/ | ||||
| ŋw /ŋw/ | /m/ | /ŋ/ | /b/-, /ŋ/ | /m/-, -/n/, -/m/ | n /n/ | |
| Vowels | ||||||
| Proto-Dené–Caucasian | Proto-Caucasian | Proto–Sino-Tibetan | Proto-Yeniseian | Burushaski | Basque | Proto–Na-Dené |
| a /a/ | /a/ | /e/, /a/, /ə/ | /a/, /ɔ/, /e/, /æ/, /ə/ | ? | a /a/ | |
| ä /æ/ | /æ/ | /a/, /i/ | /e/, /æ/, /ə/ | ? | ? | |
| e /e/ | /e/, /i/ | /a/, /ə/ | /a/, /e/, /æ/, /ə/ | ? | e /e/ | |
| i /i/ | /i/, /e/ | /e/, /i/ | /i/ | ? | i /i/ | |
| ə /ə/ | /ə/, /ɨ/ | /a/ | /a/, /ə/ | ? | e /e/ | |
| ɨ /ɨ/ | /ɨ/, /ə/ | /ɨ/, /i/ | /i/, /ɨ/ | ? | i /i/ | |
| o /o/ | /o/ | /ə/, /iə/, /a/ | /u/, /ə/ | ? | o /o/ | |
| u /u/ | /o/, /u/ | /u/ | /o/, /ɔ/, /u/ | ? | u /u/ | |
| Other features | ||||||
| Proto-Dené–Caucasian | Proto-Caucasian | Proto–Sino-Tibetan | Proto-Yeniseian | Burushaski | Basque | Proto–Na-Dené |
| stress (pitch accent?) on the penultimate syllable | /(...)Cː(...)/6 | CVC syllables from CVCV7 | /ʔ/ (see stød)8 | 0? | 0? | |