protoLalian

ProtoLalian is the reconstructed proto-language of the Lalian language family, inferred by historical linguists through the comparative method as the hypothetical common ancestor of several contemporary Lalian languages spoken in the Lalian Basin and surrounding regions. It serves as a framework for explaining shared vocabulary and systematic sound correspondences among its descendant languages.

Dating and homeland for ProtoLalian are debated, but most reconstructions place its use in antiquity during the late Bronze Age to early Iron Age, roughly around 3,000 to 1,500 BCE. The proposed homeland centers on the Lalian Basin and nearby river valleys, though precise borders vary among scholars. The reconstruction draws on multiple daughter languages, including Lalian Proper and related Northern and Eastern Lalian varieties, to identify regular phonetic correspondences and morphological patterns.

Phonology is typically described as possessing a five-vowel system (a, e, i, o, u) with no stable phonemic tone across the family in the reconstructions. The consonant inventory commonly includes voiceless stops p, t, k; voiced stops b, d, g; nasals m, n; fricatives s, h; liquids l, r; and approximants w, y. The evidence indicates regular sound correspondences such as p ~ f or t ~ s in different daughter languages, though exact developments vary by branch and are not uniformly agreed upon.

Grammar is reconstructed as predominately suffixal and agglutinative, with a syntactic tendency toward subject–object–verb order and postpositions rather than prepositions. Nouns show case-like marking on some branches, while verbs bear affixes indicating aspect, mood, and agreement with subjects or objects. The lexicon likely covered core kinship terms, natural phenomena, and everyday acts of daily life.

Scholarly reception emphasizes that ProtoLalian remains a hypothesis, contingent on available data and methodological choices; alternative reconstructions and regional blends are possible where evidence is scant or contested.