| Kuslafian KSLF | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | |||
| Agglutinative | |||
| Alignment | |||
| Nominative-Accusative | |||
| Head direction | |||
| Head-initial | |||
| Tonal | |||
| No | |||
| Declensions | |||
| Yes | |||
| Conjugations | |||
| Yes | |||
| Genders | |||
| Yes | |||
| Nouns decline according to... | |||
| Case | Number | ||
| Definiteness | Gender | ||
| Verbs conjugate according to... | |||
| Voice | Mood | ||
| Person | Number | ||
| Tense | Aspect | ||
Kuslafian or Kuslafic is a language that was once widely spoken in what is now the Nizhny Novgorod and Kirov Oblasts and the Mari El and Chuvashia Republics of Russia. However, its use declined with Russian expansion in the area, and it was likely extinct as a vernacular language by 1400 AD, although it continues to be used in some pagan traditions of the Mari people.
Etymology[]
The speakers of the Kuslafian language are identified with the Kuslafi (Κουσλάφοι) mentioned in Medieval Greek texts, as well as the Kŭslęvy (Къслѧвы) of the Russian Primary Chronicle, whose language is described as distinct from that of the nearby Merya, who spoke a Finno-Ugric language. There are several theories on the origin of this name. Some have suggested that this term is a Slavic loan, from *kъ slavь "towards the Slavs", as they were the last "foreign" (non-Slavic) people that Rus' explorers to the Urals encountered before returning to Slavic territory. Alternatively, it may be derived from the native Kuslafian words KWC "herd of sheep" and LF(H)- "to raise, to tend to", which is consistent with evidence of sheep herding in the area. While the original endonym of Kuslafian is unattested, in modern usage it is usually written as KSLF.
In the Mari language, Kuslafian runes are known as kož lodyla (кож лодыла), from kož (кож) "spruce" and lodo (лодо) "notch, mark", perhaps an instance of phono-semantic matching.
History[]
Toponymic evidence suggests that Kuslafian-like languages were once spoken in a much larger region prior to the arrival of Indo-European and Uralic speakers, extending as far north as what is now Vologda and Arkhangelsk Oblasts, and as far west as near modern-day Minsk, Belarus, and perhaps even the Baltic Sea coast.
Kuslafian runes were attested from 900 AD, in what is now the Nizhny Novgorod and Kirov Oblasts and the Mari El and Chuvashia Republics of Russia. They may have arose due to contact with Germanic peoples present in the area.
Use of the language declined following the incorporation of this area into the Kievan Rus'. The origin of its use in Mari pagan traditions is unknown, however it probably spread from the neighboring Merya, who adopted it to use in some rituals since their own language was not written. Kuslafian runes may have been banned following the Christianization of the Kievan Rus', however it is unclear.
By 1400 AD, Kuslafian was most likely extinct as a vernacular language, however to this day it remains used in some pagan traditions of the Mari people, and is being adopted by neopagans across Russia.
Classification[]
There are several theories on the classification of Kuslafian. The leading theories are that it is either a language isolate, a highly divergent Indo-European language, or a third branch of the hypothetical Indo-Uralic language family, perhaps intermediate between the two main branches.
Indo-Uralic hypothesis[]
Proponents of the Indo-Uralic hypothesis argue that the existence of Kuslafian is likely evidence for a connection between the Indo-European and Uralic language families, since they believe it to be descended from a language intermediate between Proto-Indo-European and Proto-Uralic.
Phonology[]
Consonants[]
The original consonants of Kuslafian are assumed to have been the following:
| Labial | Coronal | Dorsal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | M /m/ | N /n/ | ||
| Plosive | voiced | B /b/ | D /d/ | G /g/ |
| aspirated | P /pʰ/ | T /tʰ/ | K /kʰ/ | |
| ejective | P' /pʼ/ | T' /tʼ/ | K' /kʼ/ | |
| Affricate | voiced | Z /d͡z/ | ||
| aspirated | C /t͡sʰ/ | |||
| ejective | C' /t͡sʼ/ | |||
| Fricative | F /f/ | S /s/ | H /x/ | |
| Approximant | W /w/ | L /l/ | Y /j/ | |
| Trill | R /r/ | |||
In modern readings, some of these sounds are pronounced differently to accomodate the phonology of the Russian and Mari languages:
- W is often pronounced as /v/ or /β/ rather than /w/.
- Z is often pronounced as /z/ rather than /d͡z/.
- The aspirated consonants P, T, C, and K and their ejective counterparts P', T', C', and K' are sometimes both pronounced as unaspirated consonants /p/, /t/, /t͡s/, and /k/, however, this is usually frowned upon since it blurs the distinction between these sounds.
Vowels[]
While the true vowels of Kuslafian are unknown since they were not written, modern readings generally assume three vowels:
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | u | |
| Low | a |
Phonotactics[]
The syllable structure is usually CV(C)(A), where A is any approximant.
- Words cannot start with a vowel.
- A vowel cannot be found in between two trills.
- /r/ cannot follow an ejective.
- A nasal followed by a plosive cannot start a word.
Writing System[]
The writing system of Kuslafian is a rune-based abjad. It is usually carved in trees and written top to bottom. It is believed that ancient Germanic tribes have had a contact with old Kuslafian speakers, and the latter seeing the rune-writing system decided to create their own runes in a similar fashion.
Transliteration[]
Originally, it was heavily frowned upon to transliterate Kuslafian runes into other writing systems, however, this is no longer the case since the 1980's and 1990's. When transliterating to the Latin or Cyrillic alphabets, uppercase letters, rather than lowercase, are conventionally used.
| d | t͡sʰ | tʰ | s | pʼ | f | tʼ | |
| D | C | T | S | P' | F | T' | |
| d͡z | kʼ | pʰ | g | kʰ | t͡sʼ | l | |
| Z | K | P | G | K | C' | L | |
| b | x | n | r | m | j | w | |
| B | H | N | R | M | Y | W |
Order[]
D C T S P' F T' Z K' P G K C' L B H N R M Y W
Orthography[]
As the writing system is an abjad, the original Kuslafian vowels were unwritten and therefore lost. Modern readings determine vowels by inference. The rules for vowel inference vary, however this chart represents the most common rules:
| ▼ Previous \ Next ► | P | N | A | F | T | None |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | i | a | ∅ | u | ∅ | u |
| Nasal | ∅ | u | i | i | a | ∅ |
| Approximant | i | i | a | a | u | ∅ |
| Fricative | a | u | ∅ | u | a | i |
| Trill | u | ∅ | a | i | ∅ |
Affricates behave like plosives when after a vowel, while act like fricatives when before one. Example: in the word /xat͡sʰi/ HC, ts follows a because t is a plosive and h is a fricative, but ts is followed by i (and not u) because s is a fricative and i ends the word.
When an approximant follows an obstruent and is at the end of a word, it is followed by a vowel according to the following rules: w is followed by u, y is followed by i and l is followed by a. Example: /kji/ (PRS, present tense particle) is written as KY.
Grammar[]
Kuslafian is most likely an agglutinative language.
Pronouns[]
| 1st S. | 2nd S. | 3rd S. | 1st P. | 2nd P. | 3rd P. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | M | T | S | NY | GY | TN |
| Accusative | ||||||
| Genitive | ||||||
| Dative | ||||||
| Locative | ||||||
| Vocative | ||||||
| Ablative |
Syntax[]
The language follows a SVO word order and is nominative-accusative. Adjectives follow the head, as the language is head-initial.
Lexicon[]
See Kuslafian/Vocabulary.
Example text[]
Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Transliteration: PLWL MHYSMC LZT WBDNC WYKDTCK GDNSTND HRKʼNDK. TYTʼD TʼHWT YMNM ZCʼNHMK W TYN YS YKNDM FHND YKHTCʼN.
Modern reading in IPA: ['pʰalul ma'hismats lidzat wa'budnits 'wigdatsku 'gudnustind 'hurkʼantku . 'tʰajtʼad 'tʼuhut jam'nima dza'tsʼunmaku u tʰajn is i'kʰandima 'fuhand i'kʰatsʼan]
Gloss: all earth-be-NMZ-NOM.PL make-PASS-3PL free-NOM.PL equal-NOM.PL-and dignity-LOC.SG right-LOC.SG-and . 3PL-ILL give-PASS-3PL reason-INF-NOM.SG with-know-NMZ-NOM.SG-and and 3PL-GEN COP-3SG RECP-do-INF-NOM.SG spirit-LOC.SG brother-REL-GEN.SG
In English: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.