Proto-Asuranesian language

Proto-Asuranesian (PAS) is the linguistic reconstruction of the hypothetical common ancestor of the Asuranesian languages, one of the world's major language families.

PAS is estimated to have been spoken as a single language from 3500 BCE to 2500 BCE during the Neolithic Age, though estimates vary. According to the prevailing hypothesis, the original homeland of the Proto-Asuranesians was in south-west Nagu around the great lakes of Cananganam and the xxxx Mountains. The linguistic reconstruction of PAS has also provided insight into the culture and religion of its speakers.

As Proto-Asuranesians became isolated from each other through migration, the Proto-Asuranesian language became spoken by the various groups in regional dialects which then underwent various shifts in phonology and morphology, transforming these dialects into the daughter languages seen today. Today, these languages range across Nagu and Asuranesia and are spoken by xxxx million speakers.

PAS had a fairly elaborate system of morphology that included inflectional suffixes (analogous to English life, lives, life's, lives'‍) as well as ablaut and pitch accent. PAS nominals and pronouns had a fairly simple system of declension, marking only case and number whereas verbs were far more complex, conjugating not for tense or aspect but for voice and valency, marked with ablaut processes for three categories: intransitive, monotransitive and ditransitive. PAS' phonology, particles and numerals are also well reconstructed.

An asterisk is used to mark reconstructed words, such as *mbuxʷ- 'canoe', *dnlákʷ- 'to swim' (Itongpe no̧n) and *sʷámenl 'swim (first singular active intransitive imperfective)'.

Descendants

The following are listed by their theoretical glottochronological development:

Subfamily Clades	Description	Modern Descendants
Proto-Littoro-Marianic	The largest branch of Asuranesian, ranging from south and west Nagu right across the Asura Ocean. Branched into Central Marianic, Eastern Marianic and xxxx	Itongpe, Eothauese
Proto-Cananganamese	A smallish branch found in south Nagu	Cananganamese