In what follows I attempt to sketch the process by which Arêndron evolved from its ancestor language, Proto-Ileuran. Since this sketch will largely be concerned with sound change, it is recommended that the reader cross-reference this page with the Arêndron and Proto-Ileuran phonologies.
This sketch does not aim to give a comprehensive account of Arêndron etymology, even counting only the words that derive directly from Proto-Ileuran; irregular changes affecting individual words are not covered.
Changes are listed in approximate chronological order. Sound changes are not instantaneous, and this order should not be taken to mean “change (1) happened, then change (2) happened, then change (3), etc”. However, when one change operates on a sound resulting from an earlier change, such as [ts] > [dz] followed by [dz] > [z], it can be assumed that the earlier change is complete before the later change starts. Some changes have been separated into stages for the sake of clarity; this does not always mean that the language passed through the same intermediate stages.
Like the Arêndron phonology page, this page takes the Laurêan dialect as standard; note that some of the sound changes towards the end of the list may not apply to other dialects, just as those dialects introduce changes that do not apply in Laurêan.
This page uses IPA throughout, except that, as the “dental” diacritic is not yet available on all browsers (and is not very clear in small point sizes), I have replaced it with an acute accent: [ś]. I have not attempted to track changes in the orthography, since the Ileuran languages were not written at all until somewhere in the middle of the sound changes presented here, and spelling never became standardised right until the time of the Arêndron Empire.
Proto-Ileuran to Early Urŋundran |
| (1) [ʔ] disappears (changes to nothing) everywhere except at the beginning of a word. | | siʔoːnih > sioːnih |
| (2) [ɦ] likewise disappears, but unlike [ʔ], disappearance of [ɦ] causes the preceding vowel to become long. | | kuɦab > kuːab |
These changes create many clusters of two consecutive vowels. Such clusters were pronounced in separate syllables if the first vowel was [i], [u] or a long vowel, or if the second vowel was [a]; as a diphthong (one syllable) otherwise. Clusters of two of the same vowel were simply pronounced as one long vowel. |
(3) Syllable-final [h] also disappears with lengthening of the preceding vowel. | |
sioːnih > sioːniː |
| (4) Long vowels become short if the vowel in the next syllable is also long. | | sioːniː > sioniː |
(5) Diphthongs in which the second element is [e] or [o] merge into those in which the second element is [i] or [u]:- [ae] > [ai]
- [ao] > [au]
- [eo] > [eu]
- [oe] > [oi]
| | pʰeor > pʰeur |
(6) Short [i] and [u] before another vowel become [j] and [w] respectively. | |
sioniː > sjoniː
guel > gwel |
(7) Clusters of velar consonant + [w] merge with labiovelars:- [kw] > [kʷ]
- [kʰw] > [kʷʰ]
- [gw] > [gʷ]
while the approximant simply disappears in clusters of labiovelar consonant + [j] or [w]. | | gwel > gʷel |
| (8) The vowel clusters [ea] and [oa] (when both vowels are short) monophthongise: | | pear > pɛːr |
(9) Many clusters of consonant + [j] reduce to palatal consonants:- [tj] > [tɕ] (and [tʰj] > [tɕʰ])
- [pj] > [tɕ] (and [pʰj] > [tɕʰ])
- [sj] or [śj] > [ɕ]
- [dj] > [dʑ]
- [bj] > [dʑ]
- [kj] > [c] (and [kʰj] > [cʰ])
- [gj] > [ɟ]
- nasal + [j] > [ɲ]
- [hj] > [ç]
- [ʁj] > [ʝ]
| |
kjaurra > caurra
sjoniː > ɕoniː
haːʁjen > haːʝen |
(10) [ś] becomes [θ] unconditionally, and the clusters [sr] and [śr] fall together as [θr]. | |
śaŋ > θaŋ
sram > θram |
(11) Word-initial aspirated plosives become unvoiced fricatives:- [pʰ] > [f]
- [tʰ] > [θ]
- [kʰ] > [x]
- [kʷʰ] > [xʷ]
- [cʰ] > [ç]
| | pʰeur > feur
kʷʰareʁ > xʷareʁ |
(12) Clusters of [θ] + consonant become [f] + consonant. | |
θram > fram |
| (13) Word-initial [ʁ] becomes [ɣ]. | | ʁaste > ɣaste |
| (14) Fricatives become voiced in clusters with [ʁ]. | | sʁilna > zʁilna |
| (15) The lateral affricates [tɬ] and [dɮ] become [θ] and [ð]. | | dɮaur > ðaur |
| (16) The clusters [pl] and [bl] become [pj] and [bj]. | | blaŋkʷa > bjaŋkʷa |
| (17) Word-final [o] becomes [u], and [oː] becomes [uː]. | | baio > baiu |
Early Urŋundran to Late Urŋundran
|
| (1) [t], [tʰ] and [d] become [ts], [tsʰ] and [dz] everywhere except before [r] or [ʁ]. Exception: if two consonants in a row, one either side of the same vowel, are both coronal plosives, the second is unchanged. | | kut > kuts |
| (2) [p], [pʰ] and [b] become [t], [tʰ] and [d] everywhere, except before [r] or [ʁ]. A preceding [m] in a cluster with any of these becomes [n]. | | bjaŋkʷa > djaŋkʷa
gʷaʁsap > gʷaʁsat
kuːab > kuːad
baiu > daiu |
(3) Labiovelar consonants move to the bilabial position, and [ŋ] preceding a labiovelar becomes [m]:- [kʷ] > [p]
- [gʷ] > [b]
- [kʷʰ] > [pʰ]
- [xʷ] > [ʍ]
| | djaŋkʷa > djampa
gʷaʁsat > baʁsat
xʷareʁ > ʍareʁ |
(4) Geminate [ʁʁ] becomes [ɣɣ]. | |
baʁʁen > baɣɣen |
| (5) Word-final [ʁ] becomes [ɣ] after [a], and becomes [ə] (forming a diphthong or triphthong, not a separate syllable) after other vowels. | | haʁ > haɣ
ʍareʁ > ʍareə |
| (6) [ʁ] in clusters within a word likewise becomes [ə]. The diphthong [aə] is short-lived, simplifying to [a]. | | zʁilna > zəilna
baʁsat > baəsat > basat
ɣeʁna > ɣeəna |
| (7) The diphthong [əi] becomes [ʊi] after a velar consonant. | | kəira > kʊira |
| (8) Elsewhere, the diphthongs [əi] and [ei] merge as [ei]; while [əu] and [eu] merge as [əu]. The triphthongs [əai] and [əau] simplify to [ei] and [əu] as well. | | zəilna > zeilna |
| (9) [əe] and [əo] also become [ei] and [əu], while [əa] monophthongises to [ɘː]. | | kəal > kɘːl |
(10) Intervocalic voiced plosives lenite to fricatives:- [b] > [v]
- [d] > [ð]
- [ɟ] > [ʝ]
- [g] > [ɣ]
| | mabɛːs > mavɛːs |
(11) Intervocalic unvoiced and unaspirated consonants become voiced. | |
basat > bazat
rjoːθan > rjoːðan |
| (12) All aspirated consonants lose their aspiration. | | ratʰeira > rateira |
| (13) Long [aː] before another vowel becomes short [a], forming a diphthong. As before, the diphthongs [ae] and [ao] merge into [ai] and [au]. | | |
| (14) Long [oː] and [uː] before a vowel become [w]. | | toːal > twal
kuːad > kwad
soːin > swin |
| (15) Word-final short [u] becomes long [uː]. | | daiu > daiuː |
| (16) [l] becomes velarised [ɫ] at the end of a syllable. | | twal > twaɫ
zeilna > zeiɫna |
(17) Many diphthongs become monophthongs before [ɫ], except in words of one syllable:- [ai] > [a]
- [ei] > [ɪ]
- [əu] > [ʊ]
- [oi] > [ɔ]
| | zeiɫna > zɪɫna
ŋoiɫ > ŋɔɫ |
(18) Short [u] becomes [əʊ] after palatal (including alveolo-palatal) consonants, and short [o] moves up to [ʊ]. | |
ɕoniː > ɕʊniː |
| (19) Short [o] becomes [ʊ] before a nasal or [r], except in words of one syllable. | | donta > dʊnta |
(20) Short vowels (including the starting and ending points of diphthongs) become lax:- [e] > [ɛ]
- [i] > [ɪ]
- [o] > [ɔ]
- [u] > [ʊ]
| | rateira > ratɛɪra
ɣaste > ɣastɛ
swin > swɪn
ðaur > ðaʊr |
(21) [w] disappears after any consonant other than a plosive, while [j] disappears in the word-initial clusters [lj] and [rj]. | |
swɪn > sɪn
rjoːðan > roːðan |
| (22) Single [r] becomes a tap [ɾ]. | | ratɛɪra > ɾatɛɪɾa
ðaʊr > ðʊɾ
roːðan > ɾoːðan |
Late Urŋundran to Arêndron
|
(1) Many unstressed diphthongs become monophthongs (but remain unchanged when word-final or before a vowel):- [aʊ] > [a]
- [ɛɪ] > [ɛ]
- [əʊ] > [ʊ]
- [ɔɪ] > [ɔ]
| | leːmɛɪg > leːmɛg |
(2) Combinations of unstressed diphthong + high vowel are elided:- [aɪ.ʊ] > [aʊ]
- [aʊ.ɪ] > [ʊɪ]
- [ɛɪ.ʊ] > [ɛʊ] > [əʊ]
- [əʊ.ɪ] > [ɔɪ]
| |
gɛɪɾaʊɪ > gɛɪɾʊɪ |
(3) Diphthongs ending with [ə] simplify to long vowels; triphthongs simply drop the [ə]. | |
ʍaɾeə > ʍaɾeː
ɣeəna > ɣeːna |
| (4) The voiced affricates [dz] and [dʑ] simplify to fricatives [z] and [ʑ]. | | amaʥa > amaʑa |
| (5) [ɟ] becomes [j]; its intervocalic allophone [ʝ] becomes [ɪ], forming a diphthong with the preceding vowel. If the preceding vowel is also [ɪ], the two merge as [iː]. | | ɟɔntsa > jɔntsa |
| (6) Long [uː] becomes [ʉː]. | | ɾuːkiː > ɾʉːkiː |
| (7) Word-final [iː] becomes [j]. | | ɕʊniː > ɕʊnj
ɾʉːkiː > ɾʉːkj |
| (8) Word-final short vowels disappear. | | ɣastɛ > ɣast
amaʑa > amaʑ |
| (9) [ə] is added at the end of words that would otherwise end in a double consonant or an “awkward” consonant cluster. (See the Arêndron phonology page for a description of what clusters are considered acceptable.) | | ɕʊnj > ɕʊnjə
ɾʉːkj > ɾʉːkjə |
| (10) As before, many clusters of consonant + [j] arising from the above change become palatal consonants. The clusters [tj] and [dj] in other positions are unchanged in the standard dialect, but many speakers simplify them to [tɕ] and [dʑ]. | | ɕʊnjə > ɕʊɲə
ɾʉːkjə > ɾʉːcə |
| (11) Word-final [aː] and [ɘː] both shorten to [ə]. | | xeːɫɘː > xeːɫə |
| (12) Unstressed low vowels often reduce to [ə], particularly in the penultimate syllable of words with antepenultimate stress. | | tsɘːmamɔɪ > tsɘːməmɔɪ |
| (13) Unstressed [an] and [ɛn] both become syllabic [n]. | | tsɘːmaːman > tsɘːmaːmn |
| (14) Syllabic [n] disappears following another nasal at the end of words of more than two syllables. | | tsɘːmaːmn > tsɘːmaːm |
| (15) Syllabic [n] disappears after [t] or [d] in words with antepenultimate stress. | | bazatn > bazat |
| (16) In words with antepenultimate stress, word-final diphthongs ending in [ɪ] simplify to [iː], and those ending in [ʊ] to [ʉː]. | | tsɘːməmɔɪ > tsɘːmɘmiː |
(17) Long vowels undergo a chain-shift:- [iː] > [aɪ]
- [ɛɪ] > [iː]
- [ɛː] or [eː] > [ɛɪ]
- [aː] > [ɛː]
- [ɔː] > [aʊ]
- [oː] > [ɔː]
| | mavɛːs > mavɛɪs
xeːɫə > xɛɪɫə
tsɘːmaːm > tsɘːmɛːm |
(18) Some diphthongs simplify before [ɾ] in the coda of the same syllable:- [aɪ] or [aʊ] > [aː]
- [ɛɪ] > [ɛː]
| |
ðaʊɾ > ðaːɾ |
(19) Unstressed [ɛː] and [ɔː] shorten to [ɛ] and [ɔ]. | |
giːɾɛːθ > giːɾɛθ |
| (20) [x] merges with [ç] when adjacent to a front vowel. | | xɛɪɫə > çɛɪɫə |
| (21) [ŋ] becomes [ɲ] before front vowels. | | ŋɛɫtə > ɲɛɫtə |
| (22) Syllable-final voiced fricatives become unvoiced (and [x] arising from this change also becomes [ç] after a front vowel). In addition, the syllable-final clusters [zd] and [zg] become [st] and [sk]. | | haɣ > hax
amaʑ > amaɕ
ɾɪzd > ɾɪst |
| (23) Double consonants become single, and double [rr] becomes a single tap [ɾ]. | | caʊrrə > caʊɾə |
| (24) Syllable-final [ns] and [ɾs] become [nts] and [ɾts]. | | vɪɾs > vɪɾts |
| (25) [l] becomes velarised [ɫ] in all positions, and [ɫ] in syllable-final clusters with another consonant becomes [ʊ], forming a diphthong with the preceding vowel. (If the preceding vowel is [ʊ] or [ʉː] or a diphthong ending in [ʊ], the [ɫ] simply disappears.) | | gɛɫmnə > gɛʊmnə |
| (26) The diphthongs [ɛʊ] and [ɔʊ] both merge into [əʊ]; while [ɪʊ] becomes [ʉː]. | | gɛʊmnə > gəʊmnə |
| (27) Word-initial [ɕ] becomes [ʑ]. | | ɕʊɲə > ʑʊɲə |
| (28) [a], [aː] and [aʊ] become [ɑ], [ɑː] and [ɑʊ] after [ŋ]. | | ŋaʊɫ > ŋɑʊɫ |