Proto-Upic language

Proto-Upic (PUp) is the reconstructed ancestor of the Upic languages. It is thought to have been spoken c. 2,500 - 2,000 BGS in northern Kóty.

Phonology
Below are the reconstructed phonemes of Proto-Upic.

Dorsal Plosives
The dorsal plosives span three places of articulation, palatal *c *c’, velar *k *k’, and uvular *q *q’. The distinction between all three places is generally retained only in the High Öbic languages, but is important to consider in reconstructing earlier stages of the other branches.

Dorsal Fricatives
The fricatives *x and *h are unusual in that they cannot be definitely associated with single places of articulation, but rather seem to each possess properties of two groups simultaneously. In some circumstances, both synchronic and diachronic, the distinction between *x and *h appears to be palatal/velar, while in others it functions as velar/uvular, but the distinction is almost always maintained. In Alöbi, which retains the palatals, *x is generally reflected by a sibilant fricative [ʃ~ɕ], while *h is reflected by both velar and uvular fricatives [x~χ], which are either allophones of a single phoneme or phonemically distinct depending on the dialect. Alöbi also merges *x and *h in forbidden onset clusters of two consonants with the same place of articulation (Note that for this rule, [w] is considered bilabial, not velar). Under these circumstances, *x and *h are both dissimilated to the velar fricative [x], i.e. *xy- *hr- → [xj-] [xr-]. This dissimilation rule suggests Proto-Upic *r was uvular, though it is reflected by an alveolar trill in the Öbic languages, which then merges with /l/ in Low Alöbi. In Cisi, which merges the palatals into the alveolars, *x does not follow suit and is instead reflected by a velar fricative [x], leaving *h reflected purely by a uvular or pharyngeal fricative [χ~ħ]. Vowel length is reconstructed for the four cardinal vowels while the schwa *e was only short. The schwa also served as an epenthetic vowel at certain morpheme boundaries, for example the possessed noun suffix *-(e)n shown below, which only had *-e- present on consonant-final roots.

Morphology
Upic roots have the monosyllabic form *(C)(R)V(C), where C is any consonant, R is any approximant, and V is any vowel. Roots did not belong to any particular word class and had broad semantic meaning, with more precise meanings able to be expressed through certain affixes which blur the line between inflection and derivation. The following affixes are reconstructed.


 * Singular absolutive noun *i-
 * Plural absolutive noun *hu-
 * Genitive noun *-ī
 * Dative noun *aħ-
 * Possessed noun *-(e)n
 * Perfective/Resultative *-(e)t
 * Stative *-u
 * Adjective *-ā