Proto-Romance | |
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Reconstruction of | Romance languages |
Region | Roman Empire |
Reconstructed | |
Lower-order reconstructions |
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Proto-Romance is the comparatively reconstructed ancestor of the Romance languages. It is effectively Late Latin viewed retrospectively through its descendants.
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
Close | i | u | |
Near-close | ɪ | ʊ | |
Close-mid | e | o | |
Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ | |
Open | a |
/au̯/ appears to be the only phonemic diphthong that can be reconstructed.[1]
Labial | Coronal | Dorsal | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | mʲ | n | nʲ | |||
Plosive | voiceless | p | pʲ | t | tʲ | k | kʲ |
voiced | b | bʲ | d | dʲ | ɡ | ɡʲ | |
Fricative | voiceless | f | fʲ | s | sʲ | ||
voiced | β | βʲ | |||||
Approximant | l | lʲ | (j w)[7] | ||||
Trill | r | rʲ |
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 are reconstructed as having three cases: a nominative, an accusative, and a genitive-dative:[18][ix]
Type | -a (f) | -o (m) | -C (m) | -C (f) | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number | SG | PL | SG | PL | SG | PL | SG | PL | ||||
NOM | capra | capras | caballus | caballi | frater | fratres/-i | noctis | noctes | ||||
ACC | caballu | caballos | fratre | fratres | nocte | |||||||
GEN-DAT | caprae | capris | caballo | caballis | fratri | fratris | nocti | noctis | ||||
Gloss | ‘goat’ | ‘horse’ | ‘brother’ | ‘night’ |
Some nouns of the –C type had inflections with alternating stress or syllable count:[19]
Type | -C (m) | -C (f) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number | SG | PL | SG | PL | ||
NOM | hómo | hómines/-i | múlier | muliéres | ||
ACC | hómine | hómines | muliére | |||
GEN-DAT | hómini | hóminis | muliéri | muliéris | ||
Gloss | ‘man’ | ‘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.[20]
Type | -o (n) | -C (n) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number | SG | PL | SG | PL | ||
NOM | bracchiu | bracchia | corpus | corpora | ||
ACC | ||||||
GEN-DAT | bracchio | bracchiis | corpori | corporis | ||
Gloss | ‘arm’ | ‘body’ |
Type | -o/-a | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gender | M | F | M | F | ||||||||
Number | SG | PL | SG | PL | SG | PL | SG | PL | ||||
NOM | bonus | boni | bona | bonas | virdis | virdes/-i | virdis | virdes | ||||
ACC | bonu | bonos | virde | virdes | virde | |||||||
GEN-DAT | bono | bonis | bonae | bonis | virdi | virdis | virdi | virdis | ||||
Gloss | ‘good’ | ‘green’ |
For the most part, the typical way to form a comparative would have been to add magisorplus (‘more’) to a positive adjective. A few words were inherited with a comparative suffix -ior. Their inflections can be reconstructed as follows:[21]
Number | SG | ||
---|---|---|---|
Gender | M or F | N | |
NOM | mélior | mélius | |
ACC | melióre | ||
Gloss | ‘better’ |
Superlatives would have been formed by adding definite articles to comparatives.[22]
The stressed or 'strong' forms:[23]
Person | 1 | 2 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number | SG | PL | SG | PL | ||
NOM | ego | nos | tu | vos | ||
ACC | me/mene | te/tene | ||||
DAT | mi/mibi | nobis | ti/tibi | vobis |
Person | 3 (m) | 3 (f) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number | SG | PL | SG | PL | ||
NOM | ille/illi/ipse | illi/ipsi | illa/ipsa | illas/ipsas | ||
ACC | illu/ipsu | illos/ipsos | ||||
(GEN-)DAT | illui/ipsui | illoru/ipsoru | illaei/ipsaei | illoru/ipsoru |
The unstressed or 'weak' forms:[24]
Person | 1 | 2 | 3 (m) | 3 (f) | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number | SG | PL | SG | PL | SG | PL | SG | PL | ||||
ACC | me | nos | te | vos | lu | los | la | las | ||||
DAT | mi | tī | li | lis | li | lis |
As follows:[25]
Gender | M or F | N | |
---|---|---|---|
NOM | qui | quid
(/quod?) | |
ACC | quem | ||
DAT | cui | – |
Verb class | 1P | 2P | 3P | Infinitive | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SG | PL | SG | PL | SG | PL | ||||||
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 | ||||
ábjo/ájjo | abémųs | áes/ás | abétįs | áet/át | ánt/áųnt/áent | abére |
Verb class | 1P | 2P | 3P | Infinitive | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SG | PL | SG | PL | SG | PL | ||||||
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 | ||||
díksi | díksįmųs/-kį́mm- | dikį́sti | dikį́stįs | díksįt | díkserųnt | díkere |
Verb Class | present | preterite | |
---|---|---|---|
I | kantánte | kantátų | |
II | dormę́nte | dormítų | |
III | wendę́nte | (wę́ndįtų/-útų) |
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Major branches |
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Eastern |
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Italo- Dalmatian |
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Western |
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Others |
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Reconstructed |
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