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Proto-Micronesian language

{{Short description|Reconstructed ancestor of the Micronesian languages}}

{{Infobox proto-language

| name = Proto-Micronesian

| altname = PMc

| familycolor = Austronesian

| era = around 2000 BPhttps://www.levblumenfeld.com/walc_hdt.pdf

| ancestor = Proto-Austronesian

| ancestor2 = Proto-Malayo-Polynesian

| ancestor3 = Proto-Oceanic

| target = Micronesian languages

| child1 = {{nowrap|Proto-Chuukic}}

}}

Proto-Micronesian (abbreviated as PMc) is the reconstructed ancestor of the Micronesian languages. It belongs to the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian languages.

It was first reconstructed in detail by Byron W. Bender in 2003.{{citation|last=Bender|first=Byron W.|title=Proto-Micronesian Reconstructions|journal=Oceanic Linguistics|volume=42|number=1|date=2003}}

Descendants

Proto-Micronesian is the ancestor of almost all of the languages of Micronesia, except for Chamorro, Palauan, Yapese, and the two Polynesian languages of Nukuoro and Kapingamarangi, which are only distantly related to Proto-Micronesian.

With regards to subgrouping by Jackson (1986), it was thought that Nauruan fell outside the Nuclear Micronesian group. However, Hughes (2020) argues instead for the classification of Nauruan as a Nuclear Micronesian language, either as a primary branch of Micronesian, a subgrouping with Kosraean, or belonging within Central Micronesian.

Phonology

The consonants of Proto-Micronesian, according to Jackson, are:

:

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+Consonants

! colspan="2" |

!Labiovelar

!Bilabial

!Dental

!Alveolar

!Palatal

!Velar

colspan="2" |Stop

|*{{IPA link|pʷ}}

|*{{IPA link|p}}

|*{{IPA link|t}}

|

|*{{IPA link|c}}

|*{{IPA link|k}}

colspan="2" |Nasal

|*{{IPA link|mʷ}}

|*{{IPA link|m}}

|*{{IPA link|n}}

|

|*{{IPA link|ɲ}}

|*{{IPA link|ŋ}}

colspan="2" |Fricative

|

|*{{IPA link|f}}

|*S

|*{{IPA link|s}}

|*Z

|*{{IPA link|x}}

colspan="2" |Affricate

|

|

|*T

|

|

|

colspan="2" |Approximant

|*{{IPA link|w}}

|

|

|*{{IPA link|l}}

|*{{IPA link|j}}

|

The values of *S, *T, and *Z are unknown, the latter only occurring in two words: *kiaZo "outrigger boom" and *laZe "kind of coral".

The vowels of Proto-Micronesian, according to Jackson and Hughes, are:

:

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|+Vowels

! 

! Front

! Back

Close

| align=center | *{{IPA|i}}

| align=center | *{{IPA|u}}

Close-mid

| align=center | *{{IPA|e}}

| align=center | *{{IPA|o}}

Open

| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| *{{IPA|a}}

Example sentence

From Jackson (1986, 205), modified to fit Bender (2003)'s orthography:

{{interlinear|indent=3|lang=und|

|*Mʷaane na aramata{{=}}ni sakau.

|man that person.GEN reef-island

|'That man (is) of a reef island.'

}}

Further reading

  • {{Citation | last = Jackson | first = Frederick | year = 1986 | contribution = On determining the external relationships of the Micronesian languages | editor = Paul Geraghty |editor2=Lois Carrington |editor3=Stephen A. Wurm | title = FOCAL II: Papers from the Fourth International Conference on Austronesian Linguistics | publisher = Pacific Linguistics | location = Canberra | series = Pacific Linguistics Series C, No. 94 | pages = 201–238 | hdl = 1885/145382 | doi = 10.15144/PL-C94 | hdl-access = free | doi-access = free}}.
  • {{cite thesis |last=Hughes |first=Kevin |year=2020 |title=The Synchronic and Diachronic Phonology of Nauruan: Towards a Definitive Classification of an Understudied Micronesian Language |type=PhD dissertation |url=https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3599 |publisher=City University of New York}}

References

External links

  • [http://www.trussel2.com/mcd/ Micronesian Comparative Dictionary]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Proto-Micronesian language}}

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