User:Chuterix/Proto Ryukyuan article factory

Proto-Ryukyuan is the reconstructed ancestor of the Ryukyuan languages.

Background
The modern Ryukyuan lanaguages are spoken on the Ryukyu Islands, from the Amami Islands to Yonaguni. All Ryukyuan varieties are endangered.

Consonants
The following consonants can be reconstructed for Proto-Ryukyuan:


 * Proto-Japonic *-p- generally lenites to *-w-, as in pJ *apa 'foxtail millet' > pR *awa 'id.' It is irregularly preserved in some words, which lead Thorpe to suggest a geminate consonant blocking lenition.
 * Approximants in proto-Japonic preceding a high vowel are merged to a zero consonant in proto-Ryukyuan.
 * No Ryukyuan dialects preserve the yotsugana distinction.

Vowels
The following vowels can be reconstructed for Proto-Ryukyuan:

All Ryukyuan languages have raised the mid-vowels *e and *o. The dialects go through different developments depending on the preceding consonant. In various Northern Ryukyuan dialects, *i will often palatalize the preceding consonant. To give an example, Shuri 'pond' < pR, but Shuri  'how many?' < pR.

Vocabulary
Thorpe (1983) reconstructs the following pronouns in Proto-Ryukyuan. For the first person, the singular and plural are assumed based on the Yonaguni reflex.
 * *a, 'I' (singular)
 * *wa 'we' (plural)
 * *u, *e 'you' (singular)
 * *uya, *ura 'you' (plural)

Pellard (2015) reconstructs the following cultural vocabulary words for Proto-Ryukyuan.
 * *kome B 'rice'
 * *mai A 'rice'
 * *ine B 'rice plant'
 * *momi A 'unhulled rice'
 * *mogi B 'wheat'
 * *awa B 'foxtail millet'
 * *kimi B 'broomcorn millet'
 * *umo B 'taro, yam'
 * * C 'field'
 * *ta B 'rice paddy'
 * *usi A 'cow'
 * *uwa C 'pig'
 * *uma B 'horse'
 * *tubo A 'pot'
 * *kame C 'jar'
 * *pune C 'boat'
 * *po A 'sail'
 * *ijako B 'paddle'