Proto-Chukotko-Kamchatkan language

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Proto-Chukotko-Kamchatkan is the hypothetical common ancestor of the Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages.

A reconstructed version of the language is presented by Michael Fortescue in his Comparative Dictionary of Chukotko-Kamchatkan (2005).

Phonology

According to Fortescue, Proto-Chukotko-Kamchatkan had the following phonemes, expressed in IPA symbols.

Consonants

labial alveolar palatal velar uvular
Stops p t c k q
Fricatives v ð ɣ ʁ
Nasals m n ŋ
Approximants w l j
Rhotic r

*/c/ is a true voiceless palatal stop (not the affricate č). Note that Proto-Chukotko-Kamchatkan had only voiceless stops, no voiced stops (such as /b d g/). However, there is a series of voiced fricatives, */v ð ɣ ʁ/. These have no voiceless counterparts (such as /f θ x/).

*/v/ is a voiced labiodental fricative (like v in English). */ɣ/ is a voiced velar fricative (like the g in Dutch ogen, modern Greek gamma, Persian qāf, etc.). */ʁ/ is a voiced uvular fricative (like r in French).

The entire */t ð n l r/ series is alveolar — i.e. */t ð n/ are not dentals.

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close i u
Mid e ə o
Open æ a

See also

References

Fortescue, Michael. 2005. Comparative Chukotko-Kamchatkan Dictionary. Trends in Linguistics 23. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.