阿夫瑙语历史

阿夫瑙语的历史可追溯至出土于塔拉蒂诺岛的疑似格鲁蒂诺语文献，学者一般断代在公元前 6 世纪，但格鲁提诺语扩散至塔其莫地区的具体路径与时间仍旧不明。

Although not forming a single country today, the different regions and people of this vast area have been united in a long time in history: first under the kingdom of Fsamani, a realm established in mid-to-late 6th century, then under the kingdom of Qembori, the successsor of the former ruled from 7th century to 11th century. Consequently, despite the differentiation within the branch started in the late 1st m. BC already, Grythinhoki languages still share a number of linguistic features in modern days, including :

• absence of rhotacization of *s in PAP ;
• TAM system tends to consist of three inflected forms (e.g. imperfective, perfective and subjunctive in Standard Afnayki), as well as corresponding auxiliary periphrastic forms ;
• restricted use of prenominal attributives ;
• liberal focus fronting.

Internal History

Old Grythinhoki

• /əN/ > /aN/
  • PAP *ən > PG *an- "not"
  • PAP *dekəm > PG *dekmes "ten"
• long diphthongs shortened
  • PAP *-āō > PG *-au
• D-Dʰ merged
• /sC NT/ > /Cː Tː/, /T₁T₂/ > /T₁ː/, /C₁sC₂/ > /C₁ːC₂/
  • PAP *siskʷos > PG *sikkus "dry"
  • PAP *kʷenkʷe > PG *kwekkus "five"
  • PAP *oktou > PG *okkus "eight"
  • PAP *weikslā > PG *weikklā "house"
• Dissimilation
  • PAP *dlongʰos > PG *iglogges "long"
  • PAP *septəm > PG *sebbnes "seven"

The earliest evidence of loss of phonemic vowel length could be found around 300 BC in Taratino  —  a development partially similar to what happened in Central Appinic but anticipated centuries earlier. To be specific, the outcomes of the simplification took three different paths in afnayki dialects:

• /i e ɛ a ɔ o u/ : length distinction lost in non-close vowels (as the Taravo Corsican scheme).
• /i e ɛ a o u/ : for front vowels, former *i and *ē merged, and for non-front vowels, length distinction were simply lost (as the Eastern Romance Scheme).
• /i e a o u/ : all long vowels merged with their short counterparts (as the Sardinian scheme).

The schemes above could reflex a eight-vowel system, but, since the divergence occured quite rapidly and there was no evidence of such a vowel system could be found, a eight-vowel theory might not land in the right way.

• /Tj/ > /C/ (T = *t, *d, *k, *g) (In some dialects and preceding the loss of vowel length)
  • PAP *djous > PG *ɟous "sky"
• *j and *w merged with *ɟ and *gʷ, the outcome of the merger seems to be plosives
• Syllbale structure simplified to C(r)V(V)(C)(C)
• Nouns are reconstructed as having two numbers, two genders and two cases
• Consonant-stem nouns
• Then -os nouns changed the ending -os to -es
• /Cl/ > /Cːl/

Classical Afnayki

A "Poetic Koiné" began to develope in Old Afnay during the 6th cen. AD. It finally transitioned into Classical Afnayki in the late 7th cen. AD, after Kingdom of Qembori united the Central Tachimo.

Significant transformations in the pronunciation of vowels taking place in the former period reduced the six-vowel system to a five-vowel system in Classical Afnayki:

• /ɛ/ broke to /ie/ in all circumstances, later merged to /i/.
  • PAP *dekəm > OA *dɛkmɛs > *diekmie > CA дікмі /dikmi/ "ten"
• /e u/ centralized and lowered, then /a o/ raised to /o u/, finally /e/ lowered to /a/, /o/ fronted to /e/.
  • PAP *trēs > OA *tres > CA тра /tra/ "three"
  • PAP *duwoi > CA дєує /dewe/ "two m."
  • PAP *oktou > CA уккє /ukːe/ "eight"
  • PAP *akʷā > CA окуо /okwo/ "river"
• /ei oi ai au ou/ monophthongized to /i e a o u/.
  • PAP *weikslā > CA уіккло /wikːlo/ "house"
  • PAP *oinos > CA єɴі /eni/ "one"
  • PAP *duwai > CA дєуа /dewa/ "two f."
  • PAP *auzom > CA осу /osu/ "gold"
  • PAP *toutā > CA туто /tuto/ "city"

Consonant phonemes of Classical Afnayki (8th cen. AD)

Manner\Place	Lab.	Den.	Alv.	Pal.	Dor.	Lab.-Dor.	Lar.
Nasal	m mː		n nː
Obstruent v-	f pː	t tː	s sː	c cː	k kː	kʷ kʷː	ʔ
Obstruent v+	β bː	d dː		j ɟː	ɣ qː	w qʷː
Lateral		l lː
Rhotic			r rː

• /r/ changed to /n/ in coda position
  • PG *arttes > CA оɴтті "bear"

Middle Afnayki

maybe 1111 AD to the early 19th cen. AD, dated to the Vicrotan conquest of Afnay, some arbitrary datings on account of politics

• /r rr/ merged to /n nn/, unless preceded by consonants
  • PAP *rēks > CA оррагі > Mi. Afn оньагі "ruler"
• /l/ dropped after dorsal plosives
  • PAP *weikslā > Mi. Afn. уікьо /wikʼo/ "house"
• /l ll/ delateralized, unless preceded by consonants, a parallel change
• /b d g/ > /g z l/
• /c k kʷ/ spirantized under certain conditions
• long voiced obstruents shortened
  • PAP *bʰlōs > CE аввлосі > MA авлосі "flower"
• Remaining long consonants glottalized after previous change
  • PAP *mēnsen > CA массіɴі > Mi. Afn. масьіні /mat͡sʼini/ "moon"
  • PAP *siskʷos > Mi. Afn. сікьє /sikʼe/ "dry"

Modern Afnayki

• Voiced obstruents started to become unlenited due to the influence of Vicrotan.