Proto-Sakhwey

Proto-Sakhwey [sɐ́xɰèj] is a language of the Sakhwey species. It is the parent language of all Sakhwey languages spoken north of the desert in the centre of Aboria. It is spoken by the population inhabiting the northern coast of Arboria. The language is named after themselves.

Consonants
The following substitutions are used for transcription: /t k/, /tʰ kʰ/ , /ʔ/ <'>, /ɰ/ .

The following spellings are used in romanisation: /j/ , /x/ , /aj ej oj/ in the middle of a word and at the end, and /aw ew ow/ non-finally.

Vowels
The vowels are written as follows: /e ɐ ɤ/

Tone
There are two tones in Sakhwey: the 'in-tone' and the 'out-tone'. The tones are so named as they are pronounced by breathing in and out respectively while producing the syllable. In English, all syllables have 'out-tone', as 'in-tone' is very difficult to articulate with. 'In-tone' is marked with a grave accent, and 'out-tone' with an acute.

Phonotactics
Sakhwey follows a strict sonority heirarchy. In the onset, stops come first, followed by fricatives, nasals, and then approximants. In the coda, the order is reversed. There may only be up to two consonants in the onset, and only up to two in the coda. Every syllable must have a vowel. This syllable structure is represented as follows:

(S)(F)(N)(A)V(A)(N)(F)(S)

Allophones

 * /n/ assimilates to the following stop or approximant, with the exception of glottals. /q/ counts as velar.
 * /s/ is pronounced [ʃ] before /j/.
 * /x/ is pronounced [ç] before /e/, and [χ] before /ɤ/.
 * Before a vowel with in-tone, /t k/ are unaspirated, and aspirated before a vowel with out-tone. They may be either before a consonant.

Principle Dialects
There are three main dialects of proto-Sakhwey, with other minor dialects existing in isloated areas.

Central
The central dialect is found on the northern coast of Arboria, by the channel between it and Borea. The western dialect is to the south-west, and the eastern dialect is to the north-east.

It had the following sound changes:
 * h > ħ
 * ' > h / #_ _#
 * s x > z ɣ / _[t k]

Eastern
The eastern dialect is found on the northen-most point of Arboria. The other dialects are located to the south-west.

It had the following sound changes:
 * h > ʕ
 * x > h / _e (this is reduction of allophonic /ç/)
 * t k > d g; tʰ kʰ > t k (these phonemicise the partial voicing of the unaspirated consonants)
 * s x > z ɣ / _[d g]

Western
The western dialect is found around the nearest point between Arboria and Borea. The other dialects are located to the north-east.

It had the following sound changes: This dialect evolved into Zakhu'ii. See also Sakhwey to Zakhu'ii Sound Changes
 * w j > u i / V_C
 * w j > uw ij / V_V
 * Vh > V: / _C
 * Vh > V:h / _V
 * ' > 0 / #_ _#

Grammar
Proto-Sakhwey is an agglutinative language, though seeming to have evolved from a strongly regular form in the past. There are numerous inflection paradigms, based on the onset of the initial syllable and the coda of the final syllable, both of the stem.

Nouns
Nouns are inflected for 7 cases: nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, ablative, locative, and vocative. It also distinguishes 3 numbers: singular, paucal and plural. These are marked with affices. There are five declensions. Nouns of the first declension always end in a single vowel in their nominative singular; they have no coda. In the second declension, the ending is an approximant. Nasals terminate all nouns of the third declension, and fricatives the fourth. Plosives or a consonant cluster, whatever it may be, mark the fifth declension.

Adjectives
Adjectives always follow the nouns they modify, and share the nominal case endings. They must agree in case and number. Because pronouns are treated similarly to nouns, they can also take adjectives which must also agree in case and number. This allows for a greater degree of precision and simplicity by making constructions such as 'I seek those who are brave' literally translated as 'Seek-I those brave'. It can also be used as a means to boast, by saying 'Seek-I great powerful those brave', meaning 'I, who is great and powerful, seek those who are brave'.

Verbs
Verbs are inflected for 3 tenses, 5 persons, 3 numbers, 3 voices, 5 moods, and a few other verbs forms. They are cited in the 3rd singular active present indicative.

Tense & Mood Prefix
The tense and mood are marked on a verb through a prefix which has been slightly contracted from a regular agglutinative system. They form 4 regular 'conjugations', which are marked Types A - D. Type A begins with a vowel (no onset); B with an approximant or nasal; C with a fricative; D with a stop or a full onset. They are as follows:

Person, Number, & Voice
The person, number, and voice are marked on the verb using a suffix which, like the prefix, has been slightly contracted from a regular agglutinative system. They form 5 regular conjugations, which are marked 1 - 5. Conj. 1 and in a vowel (no coda); conj. 2 with an approximant; conj. 3 with a nasal; conj. 4 with a fricative; conj. 5 with a plosive or a full coda. They are slightly different for each of the three voices.

Participles
The participles are the final few verb conjugations, and are all formed in a similar manner. They are formed with the tense prefices, and the particple suffix. The present participle also functions as the infinitive. Here, verb type A corresponds to the general verb type A, and type B corresponds to all other verb types.

Pronouns
All pronouns behave similarly, by inflecting for case and number, and the possessive suffix is grouped with them.

Possessive suffix
Possessive suffix pronouns affix to the end of the noun.

Object & Other Pronouns
The object pronouns are the pronouns formed analogously to nouns. They are individual words, unlike the subject and possessive suffix pronouns. There are forms for all cases, apart from nominative.

The pronouns are formed from a pronomial stem, and a case-number suffix. The stems are given below, and the suffices are the same as the nominal case-number suffices, and possess the same thematic-athematic rules. Other pronouns are formed similarly to object pronouns. They possess a stem, to which is affixed to correct nominal inflection.

Syntax
Proto-Sakhwey syntax is fairly restricted in its word order, as the verb or verbal phrase must be the first idea in the sentence. The subject of the sentence stands before the object(s), and the indirect object stands before the direct object; the language is VSO. The genitive follows the noun it modifies, as do adjectives. The language has postpositions, and enclitic conjunctions are used when clauses are not being used, for example 'cats dogs-and', but 'Do-I this and do-I that'. Conjunctions are never used with adjectives.

Lexicon
List of proto-Sakhwey words.

Nouns

 * sáxwèj ~ Sakhwey (pl. Sakhwey species)
 * qàtwéjn ~ the sun goddess (Qatwein), the sun
 * 'sèjhéw ~ the earth god ('Seihew), Losna
 * jónné' ~ the star gods (Yonne'aq), star
 * káwnòn ~ the sky god (Kaunon), sky
 * àjnjá ~ the sea goddess (Ainya), sea, ocean
 * dwèjáx ~ the air goddess (Dweyax), air, wind
 * sònhòs ~ word

Verbs

 * tésqwét ~ go (away), depart, leave
 * tètàw ~ give, grant
 * téssòwt ~ fly, travel long distances
 * cájèn ~ eat, dig up
 * dwòkóh ~ fish, catch
 * séntjáw ~ see, percieve, understand
 * tèsdthèh ~ want, need
 * wòkwóh ~ say, speak, tell

Adjectives

 * 'édtóhòn ~ hard, tough

Conjunctions

 * xókhé ~ and
 * -hé' ~ enclitic 'and'

Postpositions

 * tàw ~ to (takes dative)
 * séxq ~ to (takes ablative)