Ambaroid languages

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Ambaroid
Geographic
distribution:
Northern Nagu
Linguistic classification:One of Sahar's primary language families
Proto-language:Proto-Ambaroid
CWS code

The Ambaroid languages are native to northern Nagu, predominantly the Angnyaiq territory of Qonklaks. The languages are tonal and mostly analytic, with typologically unusual classifiers that are verb-oriented, suppletive verbs that inflect for tense and time of day, and a large pronominal system that indicates subject and object in portmanteau forms. Nouns obligatory take number/focus articles unless possessed. Verbs conjugate for conjunct/disjunct, and have distinct medial/final forms. There is no case, though there is an ergative post-particle. The numeral system was historically restricted and base-3; nowadays many borrow numbers from Standard Kwang. Relative clauses are internally-headed and marked through fronting of the referent and/or a circumclitic. Word order is typically SOV. Negative concord, where negative indefinites are formally identical to question words, and positive indefinites can take several distinct forms depending on their use.

In common with Mablic, there are tones, serial verb constructions, classifiers, and dedicated smell-related vocabulary. Like in Mablic, initial consonant clusters tend to be of type C(l/r) (though final ones tend to be glottal + C. In common with Mbamigi, there is a tenuis/prenasalized stop distinction and polypersonal portmanteau pronouns (and Ambare has /z/ but no /s/, like Mbamigi). In common with the Sevaric languages and the Northeast Gulai languages, there are linguolabial consonants and uvular plosives.

See also

Further Reading