Archive:Qotsian language
Qotsian | |
---|---|
Qotsic Hucup | |
Pronunciation | /hut͡ɕup/ |
Region | Atsiq |
Ethnicity | Qotsians |
Native speakers | 6.5 million (2017) |
Language family | Osveraali
|
Early forms: | Old Qotsian
|
Writing system | Osveraali script |
Official status | |
Official language in | Qotsia |
CWS code | QTS |
Qotsian is an Osveraali languages of the Thargo-Qotsian languages branch, spoken on the continent of Atsiq as the official language of Qotsia by roughly 6.5 million people. It is a close relative of Thargian, although the two are not mutually intelligible.
Classification
History
Phonology
The phoneme system of Qotsian is small compared to other Atsiq languages and shows clear influence from its southern neighbour, the Qatilla language. There is a conspicuous absence of velar and uvular sounds; the former has been the defining trait of the Qotsian branch since Old Qotsian while the latter is a more recent development. Qotsian also lacks voiced fricatives and has collapsed the lateral consonantsinto /ɮ/.
The vowel system has experienced a similar reduction, although not as radical as in Qatilla. There are six vowels, four of which distinguish length, and no diphthongs. Qotsian is the only Osveraali language outside of Imperial Osveraali with the rounded central vowel /ɞ/.
Phonemes
Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Alveolo-palatal | Labio-velar | Glottal | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | ȵ | ||||
Plosive | p b | t d | |||||
Fricative | f | s | ʃ | ɕ | h | ||
Affricate | t͡ɕ d͡ʑ | ||||||
Lateral fricative | ɮ | ||||||
Approximant | w |
Front | Central | Back | |
---|---|---|---|
Close | i i: | u u: | |
Open-mid | ɛ | ɞ | |
Open | a a: | ɒ ɒ: |