Proto-Chukotko-Kamchatkan language

Proto-Chukotko-Kamchatkan is the hypothetical common ancestor of the Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages.

A reconstructed version of the language is presented by Michael Fortescue in his "Comparative Dictionary of Chukotko-Kamchatkan" (2005).

Phonology

According to Fortescue, Proto-Chukotko-Kamchatkan had the following phonemes, expressed in symbols.

Consonants

Vowels

Comments

The stop series consists of /p t c k q/. Note that Proto-Chukotko-Kamchatkan had only voiceless stops, no voiced stops.

/c/ is a voiceless palatal stop (not the affricate "č"). /q/ is a voiceless uvular stop.

There are no voiced stops (such as /b d g/). However, there is a series of voiced fricatives, /v ð ɣ ʀ/.

/v/ is a voiced labiodental fricative (like "v" in English). /ɣ/ is a voiced velar fricative (like the "g" in German "sagen" in some dialects, modern Greek gamma, Persian qāf, etc.).

/ʀ/ is a voiced uvular fricative (like "r" in French). (This is the only sign which Fortescue uses in a different way than the standard IPA does. The usual IPA symbol would be ʁ.)

The entire /t ð n l r/ series is alveolar - i.e. /t ð n/ are not dentals.

There are three nasal phonemes, labial /m/, alveolar /n/, and velar /ŋ/ (like "ng" in English "sing").

There are two semivowels, /w/ and /j/ (= English "w" and "y").

There are seven vowels, the high vowels /i/ and /u/, the mid vowels /e ə o/, and the low vowels /æ a/.

See also

* Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages
* Uralo-Siberian languages

References

Fortescue, Michael. 2005. "Comparative Chukotko-Kamchatkan Dictionary. Trends in Linguistics 23." Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.