PL-Monosyllables_short.htm

PROTO-LANGUAGE

MONOSYLLABLES

(short version)

with their
principal meanings
by Patrick C. Ryan
(8/ 3 /2008)

The Proto-Language was composed of

90 monosyllables

to which meanings can be assigned by:

1) locating the rare monosyllables still present in ancient languages: e.g.


Egyptian **d(a), *"hand"; or Sumerian da, "side";




2) analyzing CVC(V)-roots into their constituent components; examples of these analyses are given in each of the essays comparing a language(-family) like Uralic with IE through the Proto-Language.

It is crucial to understanding the theory behind the reconstruction of the Proto-Language to realize that meanings were not randomly assigned to monosyllables but developed naturally out of very simple concepts. E.g., ?A signified 'something at rest in the immediate presence of the speaker'; as a bodily part: 'forehead'; on one hand, this is also the 'nuclear family'; and on another, the 'foliage on which one is located'; and from that: 'location'. Verbally, this was interpreted as 'abut, be in contact with'. Deictically, it produced 'here, this (near speaker)'; and this, in turn, became a nominal case ending indicating the locative ('at, against, across'). And grammatically, as a development from these deictics, an interrogative formant that simply creates a phrase stating 'some action or condition is here(?)', followed by a rising interrogative (non-factual) sentence intonation questioning the truth of the statement. An inspection of the Hamito-Semitic (Afrasian) roots in Hamito-Semitic Etymological Roots: Orel and Stolbova, 1995 will reveal that one of the commonest early methods of expanding the basic monosyllables into nouns ('be something': stative) and adjectives ('be somehow': verbal adjective) was the addition of ?A, which is represented in Hamito-Semitic as ? in multitudinous CV? roots. It is equally important to understand that the aspirated phoneme corresponding to each non-aspirated phoneme has, as its core idea, the same simple concept —— with the addition of animacy and movement. In this case, HA, 'air', signifies 'that which is in motion without changing location and remains in contact'. The earliest Proto-Language speakers believed observable motion was the key definition of animacy. Verbally, it is natural to see how 'breathe (in or out)' could develop from 'air'. An interesting further development is its application to 'goose' as 'breather/hisser'. A further development from 'breathe' is 'breath'; and from 'breath', this monosyllable acquired the meaning of 'physical energy', i.e. 'lung-power'. From the idea of 'air', an adjective was developed meaning 'hollow' ('filled only with air'). This morpheme, through 'hollow', was connected to the physical configuration of female genitalia, 'vagina'; and, further extended to become a formant of female names. Verbally, it was interpreted as 'in movement between two points without changing location', and stated more simply: 'last, persist in an activity at a location', a continuitive. From this usage, a noun was developed which designated a 'person engaged in an activity', not necessarily occupational; we might call this usage 'animate stative'. It is my hypothesis that every monosyllable, inanimate (non-aspirated) or animate (aspirated), is an ideational development from the simple basic concept usually seen most readily in the inanimate monosyllable. The association of animals with the animate monosyllables is based on their exemplifying in some way the simple basic concept in an animate way. Thus, while the choice of the specifc animal or "animate" natural phenomenon may not be predictable by us at this time, it was not random but rather based on a connection to the simple basic concept as perceived by the earliest Proto-Language speakers. The meanings assigned to every one of the 90 monosyllables are ideationally related to one simple basic concept, ultimately spatial in nature; and a rationale explaining their interconnections to each appropriate simple basic concept can be easily formulated.

The inanimates are:

meanings preceded by an asterisk (*) are not yet included in the New Proto-Language-English dictionary

?A , forehead, brow, face, face (verb) = be turned toward, front, give attention to; immediate presence, here, this (near speaker), on (the top of), at, against, abutting, in contact with, (plant-)top (foliage), flower, grass(land)/savanna, blade (of grass), nuclear family territory nuclear family, interrogative, inanimate stative, 'be adjective';

¿A , (both) eye(-socket)(s), shiny white, watch, under, stone, solidly globular, several (more than one = two), both, definite inanimate inclusive plural, 'all', verbal inanimate durative;

FA , *palm, flatly circular/round (depression), leaf, green, fragile, flaccid penis (possibly foreskin), egg, fresh; (mark) constituting a quantity, complete, not discretely countable, set (of something), formant of numerals, navel, nest, formant of bird names, formant of color and other quality adjectives, small definite inanimate plural; inanimate frequentative/iterative, 'do repeatedly'; nominal topic;

K^?A , jaw, put in the mouth, clench jaw, be chewed, cup, bowl, womb, vulva(e), kneecap, shallowly depressed; speak (loudly);

K^?XA , hair, hang, (be) behind;

MA , female breast, mound, full, mature, ripe, particle of asseveration, (mature) female, area, there; formant of nouns of place;

NA , nose, nasal passage, nostril, snivel, fear, snort, sniff, notice, small ball (of dried nasal mucus), knot, (water-)drop, drip, inside, interior, one (of two[?]/many) [derived from 'nose' in a body-touch counting system], definite inanimate singular ('one of two'?), inanimate factitive, 'cause to be adjective';

P^?A , anal cleft (properly) then buttock(s), seat, sit, half (one of two), piece, cleft, (what is) excavate(d), take out of, partitive inanimate singular, 'some', inanimate diminutive, 'done a little';

P^?FA , chin, edge, beard, be prominent, project/stand outside, be exception(al); white; bruise, welt, phallus;

QA , intestine, long, loop, tubular, fold over, bend over;

RA , spinal column (vertebrae), (crown of the) tree, post, tall, shade, dim, in back of, be flexible, be flexibly attached, nugget, knot; formant of color adjectives;

SA , sinew (unmoving), plant fiber, cord; strong (unbreakable), intensive (prefix), 'very' (PIE *s-mobile);

T^?A , thumb (of the hand) hand/finger, (be at the) side, seep, drip (hang at the side), pluck, strip off (pull at the side), allot (tear off for), give for, (tree-)bark;

T^?SA , body, elongated, long, self, formant of bodily parts, formant of internal psychological reactions to external objective phenomena: e.g. fire (experienced) heat, anything roughly ovoid consisting of an outer shell with differentiated solid interior content: nut, bead, roll of fecal material (turd); curved;

XA , aperture of the pharynx, soft (palate), swallow, press down/togeher, labia majora, slit, very large indefinite inanimate plural, inanimate intensive, 'done energetically';

?E , tooth, sharp (edged/bladed), thorn (from fang), tusk, hard, that (near spoken about), yonder, from across, *move across from, *send, away, *be not seen, *absent; *existential negative;

¿E , diaphragm, voice, breath, waist, lift up, move from under, throw, stem (of plant), sound, word, differentiator ('-like'), nominal genitive (adjectivizer); converts nouns to verbs; verbal animate/inanimate progressive/continuative, irrealis; ¿E-¿E, related to;

FE , muscle, strong, adult male, agentive, vine, tendril, tubularly circular/round, unwind;

K^?E , erect penis, tail, sprout, split open, male, pierce, poke, prod, nudge, point forward, call attention to verbally, be bowed forward ; formant of male names;

K^?XE , face, gaping, yearn, empty out, scraped, stripped, bare, lack; shiny;

ME , tongue, stick out, call out, announce, measure, converse, agree, notable, expel, negative imperative, middle, between;

NE , nasal mucus, ooze, empty out, empty of, absent, negative, sticky, cling to;

P^?E , urine, pour out, rank; possibly tree- or plant-sap;

P^?FE , toe, digit, foot, root, be grooved, splay, split, clam (not -shell), track, formant of animal names, spoke, wheel, specific spot, formant of place feature names;

QE , teat (primary), milk, (yellowish) white, juice (what is pressed from something globular), sap, cool/cold, stick together, congeal, coagulate, freeze, gum, formant of (thick) liquid names;

RE , finger/toenail, claw, scratch, count,, bring down on, make, apply, any one (of many), stiffly flexible, small indefinite inanimate plural, inanimate transformative, 'cause to become';

SE , bodily excretions (excrement, flatulence, semen, sweat, urine), sap, excrete (forcefully), draw out, separate, apart, unique inanimate singular, inanimate singulative, 'done only once'; converts lexically durative verbs to punctual;

T^?E , (ball of the) foot, spin around, coil, stamp, hurry (move on the balls of the feet);

T^?SE , teat, finger (secondary), digit, conically pointed, fang,, suck (cause to release [milk. etal.]), inhale, release from, put, place at;

XE , body hair, fur, prick, part, extend ou;

?O , cheek(s), mouth, orifice, taste, scent, odor, that (near person addressed or listener), across to; call out to;

¿O , fist, squeeze, *scrotum, testicle, male, *formant of male names, hold (detain) tightly, to under, necessity, *object; force ( make/cause to do or be)

FO , ear, circular border of a depression/hole, hear, curl, wool, wilt, surround, flower(-petals), possibly foreskin; you

K^?O , neck, twist, rope, shout; gulp;

K^?XO , throat, (tubular) hole, passage, tunnel; fall (down) into, shade, black; empty;

MO , flesh, bulge, overall, creature, human, wood, spread over, smooth, rub, grind, feel (tactile), bleed, blood(y), red, fresh/new (as of meat), filth(y), impure, salty; secondarily, muscle; reification suffix; converts animate noun into non-agent; common superlative, 'most', common universal, 'always doing/done';

NO , stomach, store, put inside, discontinue, lie down, categorical negative, feel (emotion), inner will, basket, hanging nest, bowl, jar, container; formant of common collective plural;

P^?O , anal (also buccal) cheek(s), lip(s), kiss, stretch, swell, inflate, blow, bubble, bud;

P^?FO , leg, trunk (of tree), stick, club, hit, fork (from legs); walk; formant of place names;

QO , skull, head, creature, (hollowly) globular, round, ball, scrotum, sack, cloud, pot, catch, restrict, attach, sling, shoulder;

RO , lip, raise (voice)/call out, open by raising, adult, part, nomen agentis, nomen instrumenti, inanimate comparative, 'more', inanimate augmentative, 'done to a high degree';

SO , skin, surface of any three-dimensional object, frequently used as a formant of objects characterized by color, thin sheet, reddish-brown, yellowish, cloth, stretch, pull back to, fold, cart, suck up, sniff, absorb;

T^?O , torso (contents of the body cavity), organ(s), lump, scat, male breast, rounded hump, put together, large definite inanimate plural, inanimate iterative, 'done repeatedly to completion';

T^?SO , arm, branch, limb (plant and animal), column of smoke, two (pair), hold (retain), be given, handle, swing around as in throwing, formant of tools;

XO , anus ,blister, intestine (secondary), shaft, tunnel, blister, below, under, squirt, malodorous;

The animates are:

What is partcularly interesting is the obvious semantic connection of the animate (aspirated) monosyllables with their inanimate (glottalized) counterparts; explanatory material is listed below in parentheses and single quotes (' . . . ').

F^HA , wolf ('who encircles'), predator, wail, wind, be puffing, (hunting) pack, surround, be around, do again, be assembled (in a circle), encircle, revolution, small definite animate plural; animate frequentative, 'do repeatedly';

HA , air ('who moves around in contact at (across) the top'), sky, breathe, (inhaled) air = lung-power = physical energy, exhale, goose duck, hollow, vagina, woman, formant of female names, in movement at a stationary point across from, last/persist in an activity, animate stative, 'be a noun (actional continuitive)';

HHA , water current ('what moves himself underneath'), lake, move in place, be agitated, flow, shine/y, reflective, bright, bluish-white, deep, sweet; definite animate inclusive plural, 'all', verbal animate durative;

K^HA , Kashmir goat ('who chews'), mouflon sheep, rutting male, strong-smelling, (possibly) fox, desire fervently; horn; spiral, wind around; ruminant;

KX^HA , bee ('who hangs [in a hive]'), pointed, prick, sting, hurt, burn(ing sensation), purify by fire; be suspended (fixed position); buzz, hum, sing; yellow

M^HA , ant ('who makes a mound'), bison, (be) ceaselessly active (at), occupy, be, stay; (right) hand, wave, signal, gesticulate, warn, owl (warner), give, offer on hand, bite on/off, pinch, hold onto; formant of professions and professional tools;

N^HA , wave ('who is in movement inside'), water-buffalo, possibly duiker (from Afrikaans, meaning 'diver'; they dive into shrubbery to escape pursuit), move by/under water, swim, vibrate, move back and forth (inside), be happy, lick, insect larva, glitter, give off color, be mixed, duck into, dive into, be concealed, be hidden, definite animate singular ('one of two'?), member of class, nomen agentis, nomen instrumenti, anxious (to do), fidget from impatience to commence, about to do = inceptive/ingressive, 'cause one's self to become adjective';

P^HA , turtle ('who is in a burrow'), flea ('burrower'; chigger/chigoe), bite into and out of, devour, flat (from the shape of fleas and turtles {ventral}), feed on (graze) = be in movement on (vegetation), (move) over, past (what one moves on), be at the front (first to move onto and create path for those who follow by flattening the vegetation), partitive animate singular, 'some', animate diminutive, 'do a little', little;

PF^HA , ibex ('who has a beard'), sheep, spongy, fat, resilient, fleece(-white), fungus, stink;

Q^HA , weasel ('who folds himself over'), crab, be humped over, hump up, hill, cat, high (elevated); hard(en), shell, stone; angular; manure, black, shrivel up through drying out;

R^HA , bird ('who moves high above'), fly, be in motion (high above), suspend, unconnected, high, formant of (flying) insect names; mottled,, colorful; formant of color adjectives;

S^HA , swine (' who is unmoving = immobile'), hippopotamus, be immobile, (immobile from paralyzing) pain, sit, satisfied, lazy, come to an end, roll in mud, slobber, salty, pinkish, female (referring primarily to lack of mobility), formant of states or conditions;

T^HA , rat ('who moves himself at the side like a thumb, be in stationary movement at the side, twitches, as of whiskers'), steal (burgle, break into, purse-snatch), seep into or out of, become damp, drip (on the side), dew; dampen, dip, immerse, be/tear loose (at the side), be near by, escape, tremble, twitch, warble, ejaculate;

TS^HA , ass ('who makes his body long = rears, stands'), rear up, lift up, stand up, elongate, bray, thick, excessive, kick, trample, prance;

X^HA , fish ('who swallows repeatedly, presses together = schools'), flat, shallow, pack/press together, quantity, exhale, swallow (intr.); very large indefinite animate plural, animate intensive, 'do energetically';

F^HE , spider ('who winds/weaves threads/webs/connects'), weave; enlarge;

HE , river ('who moves himself (across) from the top'), go, leave, disappear;

HHE , smoke ('who moves himself from under'), orange(-color); otter, beaver, tick, move up from (under), come, appear, rise;

K^HE , dog ('who wags/waggles'), shadow, gray, dirt(y), nearby, alter, other (of two), another; roll around; gore

KX^HE , deer ('who bares himself (by rubbing off his velvet)'), run (away) fast, superior; do quickly, work, strip from one's self, shed; antler(-tine), chip off as with an antler-tine;

M^HE , eel, (tape-)worm ('who sticks himself out of'), come off/out of (surface), hyrax(?), mouse, new moon; antelope/gazelle (from their habit of confronting threats to the herd by coming out toward the threat); soft, smooth, gentle;

N^HE , worm ('who slips'), slide/glide (through), slack, loose; entwine, spin; come apart; little, formant of deprecatives;

P^HE , mouse ('who urinates'), urinator, foul odor; quiver, nibble = cut off around; make thin, wing, fly; pale, grayish white, ashen, (saw)dust; clean by sweeping dust, squeak, peep;

PF^HE , spotted hyena ('who disperses scent, sprayer'), flame, spark, spot(ted), burst, spray, spit, split apart by itself, decompose, sting;

Q^HE , cold-blooded animal, lizard ('who is cool'), crocodile(?), bustle, w(r)iggle (from the acute angles a lizard's body makes as it moves by twisting its lower body from side to side), flame, spurred, cool (to the touch);

R^HE , panther/leopard ('who scratches'), rain, wet, sprinkle, sift, spotted, come (down), fall, drip, go, scream, small indefinite animate plural, animate transformative, 'become';

S^HE , jackal (canis aureus) ('who stinks'), male (unattached) of herd animals, reddish-brown, creep, hunch, separate one's self, seed, raw, sour, acidic, solitary, one (single), alone, cold, ache, unique animate singular, animate singulative, 'do only once';

T^HE , star ('who spins around from'), spin, radiate;

TS^HE , hedgehog ('who jabs'), spread out/open, bristle (out), pierce, civet/ferret/viverra, boring insect, frightened, spine, fuzzy;

X^HE , porcupine ('whose fur/hair stands upright'), bear, curl around itself (and, as a result, bristle out), encircle, spiney, prick, puncture; specify, point at, pay attention to (be intensely alert);

F^HO , hare ('who hears/[big-]eared one'); *animals living in tunnels: weasel, ferret, polecat; *make a hole; tremble, weary, flutter, assemble in a circle;

HO , lion ('who moves himself to the top of (covers)'), sun, star, yellow, heat, light, rotten odor, hot, move across to the top of, (cause to) move on top of/across to = push, approach, go onto, charge, tackle;

HHO , bear ('who curls like the fingers of a fist while hibernating'), snake, move under/slip under for concealment, dive, hibernate, sleep, die ;

K^HO , animal young ('who are around the neck'), young (small), reddish, gore, cover, formant of diminutives/small animals/productions;

KX^HO , mollusc(-shell) ('who makes a hole'), cut out of, scrape out of, excavate; go together, close up;

M^HO , giraffe ('who rubs' - from the rubbing between two males during mating season, called 'necking'), (perhaps) oryx, horse (secondary in Northern PL-derived languages; perhaps from 'long necks'), spread out over [smoothly] (from giraffe behavior), wander, nomad, distract, dull by use; perhaps: ride (cf. Saharan petroglyph girafe à lien)

N^HO , fox ('who hides in a space reached by a tunnel'), ostrich, snail, strip, stripe, trick, burrow in, elude, avoid, deny;

P^HO , venomous snake ('who swells'), puff, sniff, swell up, lead, protect by leading to safety, exhale; nose;

PF^HO , ox (who 'stamps/tramples'), (possibly, elephant; possibly buffalo [black wildebeest]), stamp, stomp; press down on, heavy, fat, big, powerful; (cloven) hoof;

Q^HO , constrictor snake (' who wraps around into a ball'), wrap one's self around, throttle, catch, snare, hook into;

R^HO , antelope, louse ('who jumps'), spring, jump, rise, animate comparative, 'more', animate augmentative, 'do to a high degree';

S^HO , herd (of animals) ('who follow together as a unit'), herd-member (implies 'female' because majority of herd is female), same, friendly, good, well, one's own, follow after as a unit>), after, future (what comes afterward); clan, clan-member;

T^HO , heat (' who forms an animate lump = asseembles '), heat, warm, dry, species (of animals), tribe, (large, wild) herd, assemble into group, approach to join, press against, crouch, squat, hide one's self, move together to become a unit, complete, entire, total, be compacted, clod, large definite animate plural, inanimate plural created by human agency, 'collection/assemblage', animate iterative, 'do repeatedly until completion', future prospective;

TS^HO , circling insect ('who swings around'), swarm, spin around, whirlwind, cycle, do again, stretch around, twist, twirl, drill, 'wobble' drill (designed to enlarge holes), around, around here, formant of cardinal directions;

X^HO , frog ('who squats/rests on the anus'), toad, squat, rest in a squatting position.

the latest revision of this document can be found at
http://www.oocities.org/proto-language/PL-Monosyllables_short. htm

Patrick C. Ryan * 9115 West 34^th Street - Little Rock, AR 72204-4441 * (501)227-9947
PROTO-LANGUAGE@msn.com

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