Ndok Aisô
From KneeQuickie
| The information currently found here may be outdated, and will soon be removed or reduced to a summary. Please do not add new information here. An up-to-date version of the full article can be found at the corresponding AkanaWiki page. |
| This page relates to the collaborative conworld Akana |
| Local links
External links |
| Edit me |
Ndok Aisô [n̩ˈdok̚ ˈaj.sɞ] is a language descended from Ndak Ta and spoken by the Ndok people of Lasomo (native: Axôltseubeu). While boasting a large number of speakers, its existence as a language was never standardized in the manner of its sisters Adāta and Fáralo. This language sketch is based on writings from the second half of the 13th Dynasty of Ngahêxôldod (ca. 250 YP); the major differences between this and the other main prestige variety, that of the city of Oigop'oibauxeu, will be discussed briefly. While the southern variety described here was extinct by 500 YP at the latest, being displaced principally by Adāta, the northern dialects survived in pockets for at least a millennium beyond this.
Contents |
Sound Changes from Ndak Ta
Ndak Ta to Pre-Ndok ca. -1000.
1. All vowels should henceforth be treated as phonemically nasalized before /m n ŋ ŋʷ/, with occasional exceptions such as omo "mother" [o.mo] and likewise its derivative Latsomo.
2. /a/ raises to /æ/, and /e/ raises to /æj/, before non-final /k g/.
3. /a/ raises to /æ/, and /ai au/ to /æj æw/, before /r/.
4. Remaining /a/ merges with /o/ into /ɑ/, and /ai au/ merge to /ɑj/. Nasal vowels are unaffected.
5. Final syllabic nasals as in mabm "mouth" are dropped.
6. Non-initial /m n ŋ/ (exceptions follow) merge with /b d g/ and /ŋʷ/ becomes /gʷ/, but preceding vowels remain nasalized. /mb mbʷ nd ŋg/ become geminate voiced stops /bb bbʷ dd gg/. But geminate nasals as in ammi "fly" simplify to single nasals without undergoing fortition to plosives. /mp nt nʦ ŋk ŋkʷ/ remain unaffected. New clusters assimilate in voicing; for example /sm/ > /sb/ > /sp/; /pŋ/ > /pg/ > /pk/.
7. Sporadically, there is a tendency for initial CV syllables to switch to VC, as in Latsomo > *ɑlʦɑbɑ, or Tsinakan > *itsdækãd. This is occasionally attested with medial syllables, as in Ngkeladadn > *ŋkeɑldɑd.
8. Around this time, stress shifts to the final syllable if it is closed, otherwise to the penultimate.
9. Various cluster changes and simplifications: /kt/ > /ks/, /dg/ > /g/, /pk/ > /k/.
10. Any vowel hiatus is broken up with a glottal stop: *ŋkeɑldɑd > *ŋkeʔɑldɑd (this is a continuing synchronic phonological rule in the language).
11. Intervocalic /k g/ become /χ/.
Pre-Ndok to Ndok Aisô ca. 250.
12. /ɑ/ breaks to /əw/ in open syllables. In stressed closed syllables it becomes /o/, and in unstressed closed syllables it becomes a lax rounded phoneme reflected as /ɞ/ in the modern dialect.
13. /æ/ raises to /e/, but if there is already an /e/ in the next syllable, it becomes /a/. /æj æw/ always become /aj aw/.
14. Denasalization of nasal vowels: /ã/ > /a/, /ẽ ĩ/ > /ɛ/, /õ/ > /o/, /ũ/ > /u/, /ãi/ > /aj/, /ãw/ > /aw/.
15. /bʷ/ backs to /gʷ/.
16. Intervocalic /w/ fortifies to /gʷ/.
17. Any sequence of consonant + /w/ becomes C + /ɞʔ/: *mpɑiswəw "fish" > *mpɑisɞʔəw. This does not affect labiovelars /kʷ gʷ ŋʷ/.
18. Labiovelars become plain velars: /kʷ gʷ ŋʷ/ > /k g ŋ/.
19. The geminate voiced stops /bb dd gg/ shift to new fortis phonemes written p' t' k' and pronounced as aspirates by most speakers, but as ejectives in some rural northern dialects.
20. Non-initial /mp nt nʦ ŋk/ become /f s s χ/.
21. Intervocalic /r/ becomes /ʔ/.
22. /əw/ shifts to /ɛw/ and /ɑj/ to /ɔj/.
23. Final /i u/ diphthongize to /iə uə/.
24. /e/ lowers to /ɛ/ when adjacent to /χ/.
25. Final /t/ and /d/ weaken to /ʔ/. Other final plosives tend to be unreleased.
26. Intervocalic voiced stops lenite: /b d g/ > [β ð ɣ].
Further changes in the dialect of Ngahêxôldod.
- /χ/ has weakened to /h/.
- /ɛ/ is centralized, but not fully central.
- < p' t' k' > are aspirates.
- /iə uə/ merge with /ɛw ɔj/.
- Changes to /r/: non-final coda /r/ becomes /l/ and final coda /r/ is dropped.
Further changes in the dialect of Oigop'oibauxeu.
- Ngah. /ɛ/ corresponds with Oig. /ə/, which some speakers merge with /ɞ/.
- < p' t' k' > are aspirates.
- /iə uə/ merge with /ə ɞ/.
- Changes to /r/: Coda /r/ is dropped. Clusters of plosive + /r/ have merged with the aspirates.
Further changes to upland Northern dialects.
- /ʦ/ palatalizes to /ʧ/.
- /ɛ/ is fully front; some speakers pronounce it [æ].
- Rules 21 and 23-25 above are absent.
- Otherwise, Ngah. /ɞ/ corresponds to Northern /ə/.
- < p' t' k' > are ejectives.
- Various simplifications of diphthongs.
- /r/ merges with /l/; when this occurs after a consonant the cluster is broken up with a /ə/.
Phonology
Consonant Phonemes
| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Velar | Glottal | |
| Unvoiced Plosive | p /p/ | t /t/ | ts /ʦ/ | k /k/ | x /ʔ/ |
| Voiced Plosive | b /b/ | d /d/ | g /g/ | ||
| Aspirate Plosive | p' /pʰ/ | t' /tʰ/ | k' /kʰ/ | ||
| Fricative | f /f/ | s /s/ z /z/ | h /h/ | ||
| Nasal | m /m/ | n /n/ | ng /ŋ/ | ||
| Liquid | l /l/ | r /ɾ/ | |||
| Glide | w /w/ |
t or d also represent /ʔ/ morpheme-finally; the spelling choice is etymological.
Vowel Phonemes
| Front | Central | Back | |
| High | i /i/ | u /u/ | |
| Mid-Close | e /e/ | o /o/ | |
| Mid-Open | ê /ɛ/ | ô /ɞ/ | |
| Open | a /a/ |
Diphthongs
| eu [ɛw] | oi [ɔj] |
| au [aw] | ai [aj] |
Allophony
- /ɛ/ tends to be somewhat centralized: [ɛ¨]. A fully central [ɜ] may be heard also.
- The realization of /ɞ/ is not entirely stable: it is always rounded and usually central, but may be pronounced as high as [ɵ] or can be partially fronted as [œ¨].
- /i u/ lax to [ɪ ʊ] in closed syllables.
- Intervocalic /b d g/ become [β ð ɣ].
- All plosives in word-final position are unreleased (these being /p b k g/, as all /t d/ have become /ʔ/).
Stress and Phonotactics
- Syllables are of the structure (C)V(C). Clusters are limited to nasal + stop in initial position. A wider variety may occur in medial position.
- Syllabic nasals occur only before a homorganic stop in initial position.
- The glottal stop has phonemic status, and can occur in intervocalic or final position.
- Stress usually falls on the final syllable if it is closed; on the penult, if it is open.
- Exceptions to the above come from insertion of epenthetic vowels, loss of final consonants, and various borrowings. In these irregular cases the accented syllable is marked with an acute.
- Intonation of words is rather flat. The stressed syllable is pronounced at a slightly lower pitch. If the stressed syllable is open, it is lengthened noticeably.
Example Words
- t'êl [tʰɛ¨l] fruit
- maisa [ˈma:j.sa] cows' milk
- mpóisôxeu [mˈpɔ:j.sɞ.ʔɛw] fish
- euba [ˈɛ:w.βa] to be a nuisance
- gêk’oitsoi [gɛ¨ˈkʰɔ:j.ʦɔj] inheritance
- Ngahêxôldod [ŋa.hɛ¨.ʔɞlˈdoʔ] a major city
- Oigop'oibauxeu [ɔj.ɣo.pʰɔjˈβa:w.ɛw] a major city
- Êtsdehad [ɛ¨ʦ.deˈhaʔ] a deity; the Ndak emperor Tsinakan
