Ur-Veyatic - sound change to the daughter languages
Basic idea
Ur-Veyatic is not built as a mere hybrid form, but as a common precursor with its own form. The two daughter languages have generalized different sides of it:
- Veyrathi smoothes, opens and regularly.
- Veytharisch condenses, shortens and preserves edges.
Regular developments
| Ur-Veyatic | Veyrathi | Veythar | Typical effect |
|---|
ey | ey | ei | Diphthong stays vs. is pulled forward |
aer | ar | ae | deictic article is narrowed in different ways |
aur | or | our | Distal form splits in two directions |
Verb on -ar | Lexicon compliant on -a | Lexicon conforms to -en, finite root form | both daughter languages build new verb paradigms |
Abstract -at | -ath | -eth | The end of the word is ceremoniously crossed out vs. lifted and moved |
Animatesplural -i | -ir | -ei | social majority remains visible, but developed differently |
| weak secondary vowels | often received | often reduced | Veyrathi opens, Veytharically condensed |
| limited initial clusters | further simplified | partially preserved | e.g. E.g. shr, thr, khl |
| free adjective position with suffix as a basis | Reenactment becomes normal | Prefixing becomes normal | same source, different generalization |
optional copula isar | present mostly lost, later replaced by fera | expanded as is/isen | different solution for marked predication |
| mixed sentence order | SVO becomes standard | V2/main clause + verb-late subordinate clauses | Pragmatic old variation is standardized differently |
Cognate paths
| Meaning | Ur-Veyatic | Veyrathi | Veythar |
|---|
| speak | veyar | veyra | veiren |
| see | seyar | seyra | seiren |
| go | talar | tala | talen |
| give | navar | nava | naven |
| speech | veyarat | veyrath | veireth |
| Gabe | navat | navath | naveth |
| Advice | thalar | thalor | thal |
| Market | kethar | kethar | keth |
| law | vethan | vethan | veth |
| Item near/definite | aer | ar | ae |
Important irregularities
- High-frequency pronouns drift apart early;
nau in particular develops irregular short forms. - Some ritual words retain more conservative residues in Veythar, while Veyrathi rearranges them semantically.
- Not every Veythar form is "older"; often Veytharisch preserves the edge while Veyrathi preserves the core.