Telefax

Telefax A

Consonants

pʰ	tʰ		kʰ
p	t	ts ~ ʧ	k	ʔ
	ɬ	s ~ ʃ	x	h
ɓ	ɗ		ɠ
m	n
w	l	j

• [ʧ ʃ] may be used before a front vowel.
• [tʰ ʔ h l] occur only initially.
• [t n ɗ ɠ x] occur only medially.
• Occurring alternation pairs (productive in bold): t~tʰ; n~h, n~l; ɓ~pʰ; ɗ~∅, ɗ~l, ɗ~tʰ; ɠ~j, ɠ~w, ɠ~m, ɠ~kʰ; x~h
  • Old strata: n~h, conditionally ɓ~p, ɗ~t, ɠ~k
  • Step 1: remaining initial ɓ ɗ ɠ → w ɹ ɰ or m n ŋ (modulo vowel nasality), initial voiceless stops aspirated
  • Step 2: ŋ → m / V_{õ ũ}, → ∅ / V_{ĩ ẽ ã}, Vŋ → Ṽ / _#
  • Step 3: n ŋ x → l ɰ h / #_, ɹ ɰ → ∅ j/w, l → ɾ → ɗ / V_V
  • Step 4: Development of new marginal initial ɓ from *u+vowel (presumably via *ʔw-)
  • Synchronically, [tʰ] is clearly an allophone of /t/ and [ʔ] epenthetic, [h] is probably best interpreted as an allophone of /x/, and /ɠ/ as an independant phoneme. The voiced coronal situation seems less clear.

We'll use c for the affricate, b d g for implosivs, f for /ɬ/ (think ł). Vowels

i	ĩ		u	ũ
e	ẽ	ə	o	õ
	a   ã

Difthongs consist of /ə a/+/j w/ (oral only).

Tone??

/ə/ harmonizes with /a/, with the latter dominating.

Syllable structure CV, medially (F)CV with valid 2nd cluster members including voiceless stops, implosivs & /m/.

1st ↓ · 2nd →	p	t	c	k	ɓ	ɗ	ɠ	m
s	sp	st	(→ s)	sk	sɓ	sɗ	sɠ	sm
x		xt	xc

Pronouns

	1p	2p	3pA	3pB	Prox	DistA	DistB
S	khudi	than	yoso	leso	banni	exa	mo
P	yaninna	lomi	cəso	wawka	lasda	cesi	cəmo

The 3 singular forms are female/male. The 3p plural & distal are definit/indefinit (or collectiv/paucal).

Example vocabulary

• phudi wakiyaw kəmecə 'to slowly digest' (consume=INF stomach.SUBST ('bile') slowly)
• podan wenophu lumonki
• thuxawante kuyoken acimay
• heyo igaten mubun thapu
• soba losan ka wate annophu
• kisgətəme khanayon 'misty bog' (mist.ADJ bog)

Alternation examples: the *augmentativ prefix o-

• lopu 'water' <> odopu 'lake, sea, ocean'
• huca 'child' <> onuca 'teenager'
• yawdi 'dog' <> ogawdi 'wolf'

Modal prefixes

• phefa 'rush' <> mebefa 'have to rush'
• thaca 'drop' <> yexidaca 'sprinkle'
• khəto 'hang' <> asgato 'keep hanging'
• yuga 'sail' <> ayuga 'keep sailing'

Grammar notes

SOV, basic nom/acc (nom unmark'd, acc marking varies), verbs uninflected for person

Telefax B

Phonology

Consonants

pʰ	tʰ	ʧʰ	kʰ
p	t	ʧ	k
	tɬ		x
ɓ	ɗ
m	n		ŋ
w	ɾ	j

Step 2 abov doesn't take place, insted *ɠ → ɣ or ŋ in all positions. Not sure where /s/ has gone. Into aspiration maybe?

(C)V(C). More freedom with clusters here I think — but still not much. Need to include /tw tɬw kw/ ← *Cow-. Geminates: /pː tː ʧː kː/, possibly /mː nː ŋː/.

Vowels

i	ĩ	u	ũ
e	ẽ	o	õ
æ	ã	ɑ

[ə] occurs in unstressed syllables, contrasting chiefly with [i u], rarely [e].

Difthongs: /æi ɑu ju jũ jʌ jʌ̃/

Pronouns

	1p	2p	3p
S	kawrə	tawrə	awrə
P	wanni	nanni	awxi