View source for Dictionary:About Proto-Unterian

This page documents the dictionary's practice for '''Proto-Unterian''' (code ''YCP-XC''), the reconstructed ancestor of the Unterian branch of the [[Andusian]] family, native to [[Unteria]] and the adjacent southeastern seaboard. Like [[Dictionary:About Proto-Andusian|Proto-Andusian]] itself, it is a reconstruction: entries live at plain phonemic titles, the leading * is supplied automatically, and entries are created as etymologies come to cite them rather than in bulk.

== Development from Proto-Andusian ==
The laws below apply in order; forms cited are Proto-Andusian on the left of the arrow.

# '''Sonorization.''' The breathy stops melted into sonorants: *bʰ > ''w'', *dʰ > ''r'': ''*bʰek'' > ''weki'' “woman”; ''*dʰes'' > ''resi'' “go” (final vowels by law 5).
# '''Simplification of the marked series.''' *kp, *gb > ''p'', ''b''; *ᵐb, *ᵑg > ''m'', ''ŋ'' — except word-finally, where they released with an echo vowel: *-ᵐb > ''-mu'', *-ᵑg > ''-ŋu'' (''*muᵐb'' > ''mumu'' “snow” beside ''*mum'' > ''mumi'' “scratch”; ''*ciᵐb'' > ''simu'' “tree” beside ''*sim'' > ''simi'' “wood”). *q > ''ʔ''; *ɢ > ''g''; *ts, *dz > ''s'', ''z'': ''*kpam'' > ''pami'' “canoe”; ''*qɛ'' > ''ʔɛ'' “sit”; ''*dziq'' > ''ziʔi'' “small”.
# '''Palatal resolution.''' *c > ''s'', *ɲ > ''n'', *ɟ > ''j'' — Unterian thereby acquires the plain ''n'' that Proto-Andusian famously lacked, completing a full ''m n ŋ'' series: ''*ɲehits'' > ''nehisi'' “warm”.
# '''Coda dissolution.''' Obstruents were lost before another consonant: ''*ritskos'' > ''rikosi'' “bird”; ''*kpetme'' > ''peme'' “neck”; ''*izvo'' > ''ivo'' “salt”.
# '''Open-syllable drift.''' Words ending in a consonant took a final ''-i'': ''*vutme'' > ''vume'' “name”; ''*saŋ'' > ''saŋi'' “sun”; ''*qodʰ'' > ''ʔori'' “we”.

== Phonology ==
The most restructured branch consonantally and the most conservative vocalically: all seven vowel qualities and the vowel sequences survive (''*ᵑgao'' > ''ŋao'' “louse”), while the consonant inventory reduces to ''p t k b d g ʔ f v s z x ɣ h m n ŋ r l w j''. Syllables drift strongly open. Every uniquely Unterian ''n'', ''j'', or ''ʔ'' is diagnostic: an innovation of this branch.

== See also ==
* [[Dictionary:About Proto-Andusian]]
* [[Andusian]]