Proto-Thirean

**Proto-Thirēan** is the earliest common ancestor of the Thirēan languages.

## Summary

Proto-Thirēan was last spoken roughly 6000 years before the modern era, shortly before a group of Thirēans migrated to the Central Regions. This migration would lead to the branching of the Thirēan language family.

## Phonology

Vowels
 Mid
 Low

### Phonotactics

Proto-Thirēan has been described as having a maximum syllable shape of CVC, with C presumably standing for any of the language’s twenty-one consonants, and V being any of sixteen vowels. It is also possible that, like Proto-Oqolaawak, the glottal stop was not phonemic word-initially. Not much else has been specified.

While some phonological changes did occur between Proto-Thirēan and Ancient Edun (including, notably, the loss of the glottal stop), the phonological constraints implied by the Ancient Edun syllabary may offer some insight into the phonotactics of Proto-Thirēan. Specifically, uvular consonants were forbidden from preceding front vowels, and prenasalized stops could not serve as syllable codas.

## Grammar

Bare verbs were interpreted in the simple/perfective aspect, with reduplication of the first syllable to indicate the iterative/imperfective aspect. This system would be retained in Nekāchti.

There was a negative and interrogative auxiliary, which fused with the tense suffixes of Nekāchti. There were also modal auxiliaries that eventually led to Nekāchti's four grammatical moods. Stative verbs lead to the majority of Nekāchti's adjectives being verb-like, and are the direct ascendants for the majority of Edun's adjectives. Verb roots were also a thing, leading to one of Nekāchti's two postposition classes.

Focus was marked with passivization, which saw the agent in the instrumental case placed, and long [a] suffixed to verbs.

SOV was the word order pattern, with exceptions of 3rd person and inanimate objects following verbs instead of preceding them. This was a means to background them.

## Lexicon

**Nouns (forms shown may have developed later on):**

* aisse: stomach
* khani: back, rear
* kihet: foot
* khökhlu: knife
* ithiph: friend
* aachkh: fire
* ep: dot, mark
* iiha: magic
* oka: unit
* ösqhe: pig
* əngqə: flying spider
* mama: mother
* meisku: horn
* miir: right
* moqh: earth
* möhee: wine
* muu: head
* mükh: wall
* nit: thumb
* nookh: blood
* nöth: house
* nuqe: ring
* nüikh: brick
* ngesqhi: wheat
* ngiiqhə: barley
* ngoombi: egg
* ngöphoe: brother
* nguusthi: female
* ngüs: field
* ngəq: yoke
* paetər: heart
* pelu: flower
* pooqhəl: ruby
* pöngqus: spirit
* puuqqhut: jewelry
* pəəmbum: turtle
* teü: serpent
* ti???: mouse
* tule: dear

**Adjectives:**

* khiikka: enormous
* naal: big

**Verbs:**

* əhlüsütuu: to chill, become cold
* kita: to eat
* khuna: to leave, depart
* ndeu: to build, put together
* ndikhira: to carry, hold
* nükhisi: to beg, plea
* ootiqe: to go to, approach
* teəqh: to have, take
* məs: to give
* ngaap: strike
* pü: change
* tanuth: listen
* tööl: walk
* thulei: work
* mbə: to enter
* mbohlo: move
* nggu: change
* siihl: worship
* room: work
* röö: face
* əphək: touch
* ndipeeq: dig
* mbiiq: get
* loph: plough
* tiəqh: have
* ikhruhl: writing

**Verbs (presumed):**

* ake: to have
* ani: to be
* ihoo: to owe
* kata: to finish
* otaa: to sit
* saao: to live
* ngukh: strike
* qhu: take

**Particles:**

* alo: interrogative
* ma: optative
* phüe: necessitive
* ta: negative
* thə: potential

**???:**

* the: I/me
* re: genative
* ngqə: accusative
* -aa: passive
* thö: instrumental
* u: you
* ngur: love
* ndoo: he/she
* se: it
* mbundu: cattle
* kəmbaaq: maize
* tika: eat