# Proto-Romance language

Proto-Romance is the result of applying the comparative method to reconstruct the latest common ancestor of the Romance languages. To what extent, if any, such a reconstruction reflects a real état de langue is controversial. The closest real-life counterpart would have been (vernacular) Late Latin.

## Phonology
### Vowels
#### Monophthongs

| | Front | Central | Back |
| Close | i | | u |
| Near-close | ɪ | | ʊ |
| Close-mid | e | | o |
| Open-mid | ɛ | | ɔ |
| Open | | a | |

#### Diphthong

/au̯/ appears to be the only phonemic diphthong that can be reconstructed.

#### Phonetics

* Vowels were lengthened in stressed open syllables.
* Stressed /ɛ ɔ/ may have yielded incipient diphthongs like [e͡ɛ o͡ɔ] in metaphonic conditions.
** Metaphony, if it can be projected back to Proto-Romance, may have initially been limited to open syllables. That is, it would have targeted allophonically lengthened /ɛ ɔ/.

#### Constraints

* /ɛ ɔ/ did not occur in unstressed position.
* /i u/ did not occur in the second syllable of words with the structure ˌσσˈσσ.

### Consonants

Burger (1955:25) :
| | | Labial | Labial | Coronal | Coronal | Dorsal | Dorsal |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | mʲ | n | nʲ | | |
| Plosive | voiceless | p | pʲ | t | tʲ | k | kʲ |
| Plosive | voiced | b | bʲ | d | dʲ | ɡ | ɡʲ |
| Fricative | voiceless | f | fʲ | s | sʲ | | |
| Fricative | voiced | β | βʲ | | | | |
| Approximant | Approximant | | | l | lʲ | (j w) | (j w) |
| Trill | Trill | | | r | rʲ | | |

#### Palatalized consonants

* There is scholarly disagreement over whether palatalization was phonemic in Proto-Romance.
* Palatalized consonants tended to geminate between vowels. The extent of this varied by consonant.
* /tʲ/ would have been an affricate like [t͡sʲ] or [t͡zʲ].

#### Phonetics

* /sC/ in word-initial position was assigned a prop-vowel [ɪ], as in /ˈstare/ [ɪsˈtaːɾe].
* /ɡn/ was likely [ɣn] at first, with later developments varying by region.
* /d ɡ/ might have been fricatives or approximants between vowels.
* /ll/ might have been retroflex.
* /f/ might have been bilabial.

#### Constraints

* /b/ did not occur in intervocalic position.

## Morphology

The forms below are spelt as they are in the cited sources, either in Latin style or in phonetic notation. The latter may not always agree with the phonology given above.

### Nouns

Nouns are reconstructed as having three cases: a nominative, an accusative, and a genitive-dative:
| Type | -a (f) | -a (f) | -o (m) | -o (m) | -C (m) | -C (m) | -C (f) | -C (f) |
| Number | SG | PL | SG | PL | SG | PL | SG | PL |
| NOM | capra | capras | caballus | caballi | frater | fratres/-i | noctis | noctes |
| ACC | capra | capras | caballu | caballos | fratre | fratres | nocte | noctes |
| GEN-DAT | caprae | capris | caballo | caballis | fratri | fratris | nocti | noctis |
| Gloss | ‘goat’ | ‘goat’ | ‘horse’ | ‘horse’ | ‘brother’ | ‘brother’ | ‘night’ | ‘night’ |
Some nouns of the –C type had inflections with alternating stress or syllable count:
| Type | -C (m) | -C (m) | -C (f) | -C (f) |
| Number | SG | PL | SG | PL |
| NOM | hómo | hómines/-i | múlier | muliéres |
| ACC | hómine | hómines | muliére | muliéres |
| GEN-DAT | hómini | hóminis | muliéri | muliéris |
| Gloss | ‘man’ | ‘man’ | ‘woman’ | ‘woman’ |
There were also ‘neuter’ nouns. In the singular they would have been treated as masculine and in the plural as feminine, often with a collective sense.
| Type | -o (n) | -o (n) | -C (n) | -C (n) |
| Number | SG | PL | SG | PL |
| NOM | bracchiu | bracchia | corpus | corpora |
| ACC | bracchiu | bracchia | corpus | corpora |
| GEN-DAT | bracchio | bracchiis | corpori | corporis |
| Gloss | ‘arm’ | ‘arm’ | ‘body’ | ‘body’ |

### Adjectives
#### Positive

Lausberg (1973:§§668–73) harvcoltxt error: no target: CITEREFLausberg1973 (help) :
| Type | -o/-a | -o/-a | -o/-a | -o/-a | -o/-a | | | | | |
| Gender | M | M | | F | F | M | M | | F | F |
| Number | SG | PL | | SG | PL | SG | PL | | SG | PL |
| NOM | bonus | boni | | bona | bonas | virdis | virdes/-i | | virdis | virdes |
| ACC | bonu | bonos | | bona | bonas | virde | virdes | | virde | virdes |
| GEN-DAT | bono | bonis | | bonae | bonis | virdi | virdis | | virdi | virdis |
| Gloss | ‘good’ | ‘good’ | ‘good’ | ‘good’ | ‘good’ | ‘green’ | ‘green’ | ‘green’ | ‘green’ | ‘green’ |

#### Comparative

For the most part, the typical way to form a comparative would have been to add magis or plus (‘more’) to a positive adjective. A few words can be reconstructed as having a comparative ending -ior, which would have been inflected as follows:
| Number | SG | SG |
| Gender | M or F | N |
| NOM | mélior | mélius |
| ACC | melióre | mélius |
| Gloss | ‘better’ | ‘better’ |

#### Superlative

Superlatives would have been formed by adding definite articles to comparatives.

### Pronouns
#### Personal
##### Tonic

The stressed or 'strong' forms:
| Person | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Number | SG | PL | SG | PL |
| NOM | ego | nos | tu | vos |
| ACC | me/mene | nos | te/tene | vos |
| DAT | mi/mibi | nobis | ti/tibi | vobis |
| Person | 3 (m) | 3 (m) | 3 (f) | 3 (f) |
| Number | SG | PL | SG | PL |
| NOM | ille/illi/ipse | illi/ipsi | illa/ipsa | illas/ipsas |
| ACC | illu/ipsu | illos/ipsos | illa/ipsa | illas/ipsas |
| (GEN-)DAT | illui/ipsui | illoru/ipsoru | illaei/ipsaei | illoru/ipsoru |

##### Atonic

The unstressed or 'weak' forms:
| Person | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 (m) | 3 (m) | 3 (f) | 3 (f) |
| Number | SG | PL | SG | PL | SG | PL | SG | PL |
| ACC | me | nos | te | vos | lu | los | la | las |
| DAT | mi | nos | tī | vos | li | lis | li | lis |

#### Interrogative/relative

As follows:
| Gender | M or F | N |
| NOM | qui | quid (/quod?) |
| ACC | quem | quid (/quod?) |
| DAT | cui | – |

### Verbs
#### Present

van den Bussche (1985:§2.3.2) :
| Verb class | 1P | 1P | 2P | 2P | 3P | 3P | Infinitive |
| Verb class | SG | PL | SG | PL | SG | PL | Infinitive |
| I | kánto | kantámųs | kántas | kantátįs | kántat | kántant | kantáre |
| IIa | dǫ́rm(j)o | dormímųs | dǫ́rmįs | dormítįs | dǫ́rmįt | dǫ́rmųnt/-ent | dormíre |
| IIb | florésko/-í- | florímųs | floréskįs/-í- | florítįs | floréskįt/-í- | floréskųnt/-í- | floríre |
| IIIa | wį́dd’o | wįdémųs | wį́des | wįdétįs | wį́det | wį́dųnt/-ent (wį́dd’ųnt) | wįdére |
| IIIb | wę́ndo | wę́ndįmųs | wę́ndįs | wę́ndįtįs | wę́ndįt | wę́ndųnt/-ent | wę́ndere |
| Irregular | dáo | dámųs | dás | dátįs | dát | dánt/dáųnt/dáent | dáre |
| Irregular | ábjo/ájjo | abémųs | áes/ás | abétįs | áet/át | ánt/áųnt/áent | abére |

#### Preterite

van den Bussche (1985:§2.3.3) :
| Verb class | 1P | 1P | 2P | 2P | 3P | 3P | Infinitive |
| Verb class | SG | PL | SG | PL | SG | PL | Infinitive |
| I | kantáj | kantámmųs | kantásti | kantástįs | kantáwt/-át | kantárųnt | kantáre |
| IIa | dormíj | dormímmųs | dormísti | dormístįs | dormíwt/-ít | dormírųnt | dormíre |
| IIIb | battę́j | battę́mmųs | battę́sti | battę́stįs | battę́wt/-ę́t | battę́rųnt | báttere |
| Irregular | féki | fékįmųs/-kį́mm- | fekį́sti | fekį́stįs | fékįt | fékerųnt/-ér- | fákere |
| Irregular | díksi | díksįmųs/-kį́mm- | dikį́sti | dikį́stįs | díksįt | díkserųnt | díkere |

#### Participles

van den Bussche (1985:§2.3.4) :
| Verb Class | present | preterite |
| I | kantánte | kantátų |
| II | dormę́nte | dormítų |
| III | wendę́nte | (wę́ndįtų/-útų) |