Proto-Laqar

Phonology

Consonants

Vowels

Syllable Structure

Syllable structure in Proto-Laqar was CV(C). Geminates are permitted between vowels.

Stress

Stress in Proto-Laqar falls on the left-most of the last three syllables of a word that has the heaviest syllable weight.

Phonological Processes

ʔ cannot exist adjacent to another consonant, including across word boundaries. After a consonant it is deleted, and before a consonant, if it is a plosive it turns it into an ejective, and in any case it is elided.

Voiceless aspirated consonants become voiceless unaspirated consonants before other voiceless aspirated consonants, including across word boundaries.

When velar consonants precede uvular plosives, the velar consonants become uvular; likewise, when uvular consonants precede velar plosives, the uvular consonants become velar. Uvular/velar fricatives become uvular when adjacent to a uvular plosive and velar when adjacent to a velar plosive. These processes also occur across word boundaries.s

Voiced plosives merge with following h to form a corresponding voiceless aspirated plosive, including across word boundaries.

Morphosyntax

Word Order

Word order in Proto-Laqar was SDOXV, where X is TMP.

Gender

Gender in Proto-Laqar is masculine versus feminine.

Alignment

Alignment in Proto-Laqar is Fluid-S.

Verb Complex

The finite verb complex has the following components:

• Verb stem
• Derivational markers, including perfectivity changing markers.
• Tense markers
• Subject person markers
• Subjunctive and jussive markers
• Object person markers

The participle verb complex has the following components:

• Verb stem
• Derivational markers, including perfectivity changing markers.
• Active versus passive participle markers

The gerund verb complex has the following components:

• Verb stem
• Derivational markers, including perfectivity changing markers
• Active versus passive gerund markers
• Nominal markers, including person markers (which are used for marking the agent or patient)

The agent/patient nominalization verb complex has the following components:

• Verb stem
• Derivational markers, including perfectivity changing markers
• Agent versus patient markers
• Nominal markers, including person markers (which are used for marking the patient of an agent noun or the agent of a patient noun)

Tense/Aspect/Mood

There are two basic aspects, imperfective and perfective; verb stems are normally either perfective or imperfective, with imperfective and perfective forms respectively being derived from them.

There are two basic tenses, past and non-past; perfective aspect with non-past tense implies the future.

There are four basic moods, indicative, imperative, subjunctive, and jussive.

Indicative mood is unmarked.

Imperative mood is indicated through omitting the normal subject person marker, and instead using the following subject person marker:

Subjunctive and jussive moods are indicated with the following marker:

Derivational Markers

Aspect conversion markers count as derivational markers. When combined with causative markers, more than one aspect conversion marker can be present on a single verb.

The causative marker always results in a perfective verb, even when the action being caused is imperfective; to obtain an imperfective causative the imperfective marker needs to be attached. The reflexive marker does not change the perfectivity of the verb to which it is attached.

Verb Subject Agreement

Active and Passive Participle Markers

Nominalizations

Personal Markers

These are used very frequently with verbs, to mark the person and number of the object, and with nouns, to mark the person and number of the possessor.

Full Personal Pronouns

Demonstratives

Proximal

Independent

Dependent

Distal

Independent

Dependent

Noun Phrases

Noun phrases have the following format:

• Relative clauses
• Attributive phrases
• Possessors
• Adjectives
• Compounded nouns
• Noun stem
• Number/gender marker
• Personal marker (for possession)
• Definite article
• Cardinal number
• Demonstrative
• Postpositions

Of these, the noun stem, number/gender marker, personal marker, and definite article form the actual noun with regard to stress. The demonstrative and postpositions are clitics and do not contribute to any other words' stress placement.

Postpositions

Nominal Number/Gender Marking

Non-Collective Nouns

Collective Nouns

Definite Article

Adjectival Agreement

Relativizer

Complementizer

Conjunctions

Negative Markers

The negative pronoun/determiner has the following form:

Independent

Dependent

Other Pronouns/Determiners

The interrogative pronoun/determiner has the following form:

Independent

Dependent

Adverbial

The indefinite pronoun/determiner has the following form:

Independent

Dependent

Place Demonstratives

These are feminine.

Adjectival Usage

Nominalizing an adjective is done through attaching the following suffix:

Creating an adjective referring to the quality of being a noun from a noun is done through attaching the following suffix:

Locative adjectives are formed from nouns by attaching the following to the noun stem:

Comparative and superlative degree are expressed with the following marked being attached to the adjective stem (before the number/gender marker):

Things being compared with are expressed via the instrumental/comitative postposition.

Adjectives can be used directly as adverbs without any extra marking.

Possession

Possessed nouns receive a personal marker for the person, gender, and number of the possessor. Alienable third-person possessors may be placed before the adjectives and compounded nouns modifying a noun with a genitive postposition. Inalienable third-person possessors may be placed before the adjectives and compounded nouns modifying a noun without a genitive postposition. Frequently inalienably possessed nouns are not referred to with possessors but rather with the definite article.

Yes/No Questions

Yes/no questions are marked with the final particle:

Proto-Laqar Roots

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