24.1 The Phonology of Common Slavic
Common Slavic had 11 vowels. Shown below are the traditional transcription for each sound as used in Slavic studies, followed by an approximate pronunciation in IPA in brackets.
| Front | Central | Back | |
| High | i [i:] | y [ɨ:] | u [u:] |
| Mid-High | ь [ɪ] | ъ [ʊ] | |
| Mid-Low | e [e] ę [ẽ] |
o [o] ǫ [õ] |
|
| Low | ě [æ:] | a [ɐ:] |
The vowels ь and ъ, collectively known as the "yers", represent ultrashort vowels whose exact realizations are unknown. Ъ is often referred to as the "back yer" and Ь as the "front yer".
The vowels ę and ǫ are both nasal vowels.
Twenty one consonants are reconstructed:
| Labial | Dental | Palatalized Dental |
Alveolar | Palatalized Alveolar |
Palatal | Velar | |
| Plosive | p [p] b [b] |
t [t] d [d] |
k [k] g [g] |
||||
| Affricate | c [ts] (ʒ [dz]) |
č [tʃ] | |||||
| Fricative | v [β] | s [s] z [z] |
(ś [ɕ]?) | š [ʃ] ž [ʒ] |
x [x] | ||
| Nasal | m [m] | n [n] | |||||
| Liquid | r [r] l [l] |
j [j] |
The sounds marked in parentheses are sounds that appeared after the Second and Third Palatalizations, seen in other Slavic languages but not in Novegradian, which apparently branched off at an earlier stage. Therefore they are not really relevant when it comes to discussing Novegradian historical phonology. The sound ʒ in Novegradian is still /g/ and ś is still /x/.
A major trend in this period of the language was the move toward open syllables, such that every syllable was of the structure (C)CV. The yers were often used to achieve this. This trend and the wide use of yers had major effects on the language as time progressed, as outlined below.
24.2 Development of Vowels
24.2.1 CoRC and CeRC Shifts
The sequences CoRC and CeRC (where R represents /r/ or /l/) developed in different ways in different dialects of Common Slavic (later the branches of the Slavic family), a characteristic marker of each branch.
Novegradian developed CoRC into CRaC, likely via CoRoC > CRōC. This makes it similar to South Slavic, as well as Czech and Slovak. Forms such as гродъ grodъ "city" are attested in early Novegradian birchbark texts, lending credence to this proposed series.
| *gordъ | > | граде | ['gra.de] | city |
| *zolto | > | злато | ['zla.to] | gold |
| *korva | > | крава | ['kra.βə] | cow |
CeRC developed into CReC, likely via CeReC.
| *melko | > | млего | ['mlʲe.go] | milk |
| *telkti | > | тлейкьи | ['tlʲej.cɪ] | shove, smite |
| *čelnъ | > | шлене | ['sʲlʲe.ne] | member |
A few cases of CeRC became CRěC irregularly. This is likely due to influence from Church Slavonic, a form of a South Slavic language that was used as the official written language in Novegrad up until the 16th-17th centuries.
| *bergъ | > | брѣге | ['bræ.ge] | beach |
| *žel-zo | > | желѣзо | [zʲe.'lʲæ.zo] | iron |
In the latter example above, the initial /e/ was kept by analogy with Church Slavonic желы "tortoise (shell)", from which it was derived.
The *čeRC sequence developed irregularly, however, due to the formation of the initial clusters [tsl]- and [tsr]- (for [ts] instead of [tʃ], see 24.3.5 below). The sequence *čelC resolved itself as śleC, with the affricate simplifying to /s/ and the palatalizing effect of the /e/ spreading regressively. The sequence *čerC resolved into treC, with the complete loss of the [s].
| *čelnъ | > | шлене | ['sʲlʲe.ne] | member |
| *čersъ | > | трес | [trɛs] | across |
| *červo | > | трево | ['trɛ.βo] | womb |
If a stressed prefix is added to a stem that underwent the ToRT shift, the metathesis still occurs, but the vowel remains /o/ rather than shifting to /a/. This is because the stress shift causes the [o:] in the stem (as described above) to shorten.
| *pri-gordъ | > | пригроде | ['pri.gro.de] | suburb |
| *podъ-golv-ъnik-a | > | позглоуника | [poz.'glow.nɪ.kə] | headrest |
24.2.2 CъRC and CьRC Shifts
In the sequences CъRC and CьRC, no metathesis occurred, but the yers were strengthened in very irregular ways. The two yers apparently merged in this position early in Novegradian, as they both have identical outcomes depending on their environments.
The basic outcome was /o/. However, this becomes /e/ after all originally non-palatal fricatives (ie, all fricatives except /sʲ/ and /zʲ/, but only from Common Slavic *š, *ž; this still happens after /sʲ zʲ/ < *s, *z), as well as after affricates.
| *tъrgъ | > | торге | ['tor.ge] | marketplace |
| *dьlgъ | > | дољге | ['doɫ.ge] | lengthy |
| *vьlkъ | > | велке | ['βel.ke] | wolf |
| *žьltъ | > | жољте | ['zʲoɫ.te] | yellow |
| *čьrхnъ | > | церне | ['tser.ne] | black |
There is one exception: PS *pьrvъ > Nov пирве ['pir.βe] "first".
For comparison, in South Slavic languages, Czech, and Slovak, these sequences generally resulted in syllabic consonants. In West and East Slavic, the yers developed normally.
24.2.3 #oRC Shifts
The sequence oRC, when appearing word-initially, underwent metathesis to remove the /o/ from its initial position (see next section for why this had to occur). The /o/ shifted to /a/ as in the CoRC changes above. No reliable examples of Proto-Slavic *#eRC exist.
| *orvьnъ | > | рамне | ['ram.ne] | flat, level |
| *orsti | > | расти | ['ras.tɪ] | grow |
| *ordlo | > | рагло | ['ra.glo] | plow |
However, if the initial /o/ had a circumflex accent (and was therefore short), only metathesis occurred. The vowel remained /o/:
| *orstъ | > | росте | ['ros.te] | growth |
| *orz- | > | роз- | [roz] | apart (prefix) |
| *olni | > | љони | [ɫo.'nʲi] | last year |
24.2.4 Consonantal Prothesis
The process of prothesis (adding initial consonants to words beginning with vowels) began as a result of the move to CV syllable structure in Proto-Slavic. Any initial vowels would create hiatus when it comes in contact with the final vowel of the word before it, so an additional consonant was inserted to prevent this from happening.
Word-initial /e/ acquired a prothetic /j/:
| *ezero | > | ежеро | ['jɛ.zʲe.ro] | lake |
| *edьnъ | > | едене | ['jɛ.dɛ.ne] | one |
| *estь | > | ест | ['jɛs] | there is |
Initial /æ/ also gained /j/:
| *ěsti | > | ѣсти | ['jæs.tɪ] | eat |
Word-initial /o/ acquired a prothetic /w/. This was later lost in unstressed syllables in Novegradian, however.
| *ognь | > | огни | ['wog.nɪ] | fire |
| *oko | > | око | ['wo.ko] | eye |
| *olovo | > | олово | ['wo.lo.βo] | lead (metal) |
The /w/ and /j/ rules above later became productive allophonic patterns, still seen in modern Novegradian, that continued to affect new words entering the language: овисе ['wo.βi.se] "office", еропорте [je.ro.'por.te] "airport", as well as new initial /e/, /æ/, and /o/ gained through sound change.
Initial /a/ gained a prothetic /j/. However, this is no longer a productive rule in Novegradian, having ceased to be productive even before the written record.
| *azъ | > | яс | ['ja(s)] | I |
| *ablъko | > | яблоко | ['ja.blo.ko] | apple |
| *aje-ke | > | яеце | ['ja.jɛ.tse] | egg |
Some words later lost this particular /j/, though it may still be seen in derivative forms: авити [ə.'βi.tɪ] (PS *aviti) "reveal", but prefixed оявити [o.jə.'βi.tɪ] "declare", which still has /j/.
Initial /i/ and /u/ did not gain any prothetic glides. Since these sounds are frequently seen in Proto-Slavic as the final elements of diphthongs, they do not cause any problem in hiatus position.
24.2.5 Denasalization
The two nasal vowels ǫ and ę began to disappear in Novegradian around the 14th century.
Word-finally, they uncoupled—ǫ became /un/ and ę became /in/:
| *govorjǫ | > | говорун | [go.βo.'run] | I speak |
| *kozьlę | > | кожлин | [kozʲ.'lʲin] | young goat, kid |
When stressed, generally ǫ became /a/ and ę became /e/:
| *krǫgъ | > | краге | ['kra.ge] | circle |
| *pętь | > | пети | ['pɛ.tɪ] | five |
Initial stressed ǫ becomes /βa/:
| *ǫzъkъ | > | вазке | ['βas.ke] | narrow |
| *ǫgrija | > | Вагря | ['βa.grjə] | Hungary |
In a few words, stressed ǫ instead became /o/: рока ['ro.kə] "hand, arm" (PS *rǫka). What triggered this change is uncertain. Dialect borrowing has been suggested.
Unstressed ǫ became /u/ and unstressed ę became /i/:
| *pǫxyrь | > | пуғири | [pu.'ji.rɪ] | bladder |
| *kъnęgь | > | кониге | ['ko.nɪ.ge] | king |
Occasionally nasal vowels would uncouple within a word. While this is hard to predict, it almost always happens before a plosive consonant, and is often employed as a means of preventing the word with a nasal vowel from merging with another word (as is the case with рамбе "hem" below, which could have merged with рабе "peasant").
| *rǫbъ | > | рамбе | ['ram.be] | hem, border |
| *dǫbъ | > | дамбе | ['dam.be] | oak |
| *ǫgъlъ | > | вангле | ['βan.gle] | angle |
Nouns such as рамбе and дамбе above, with the nasal consonant as the second-to-last consonant, have an irregular genitive plural form where the nasal disappears completely, instead of becoming *рамеб and *дамеб. This is due to Novegradian's restrictions against word-final clusters—the nasal would never uncouple if it would create an illegal cluster, but uncoupling and adding an epenthetic vowel all at once would be too great a step. Вангле is regular, since the nasal is the third-to-last: вангел [βən.'gʲ́ɛl].
Words with a stress shift on and off of a nasal vowel generally adopted one form throughout: панти ['pan.tɪ] (PS *pǫtь) "way, path (NomSg)", панти [pən.'tʲi] "of a way, of a path (GenSg)".
24.2.6 Loss of /y/
Proto-Slavic /y/ generally merged with /i/ in all positions as the palatalized~unpalatalized contrast began to disappear in early Novegradian.
| *tyky | > | тикуа | ['tʲi.kwə] | pumpkin |
| *lysъ | > | љисе | ['ɫi.se] | bald |
| *syrъ | > | сире | ['sʲi.re] | moist, raw |
However, after the labials /p b β m/ it became /wi/.
| *pytati | > | пуидати | [pwi.'da.tɪ] | ask |
| *bystrъ | > | буистре | ['bwis.tre] | quick |
| *mydlо | > | муигло | ['mwi.glo] | soap |
24.2.7 The Fall of the Yers
The yers, being the shortest vowels in the language, were particularly prone to dropping entirely in unstressed positions. Different Slavic languages grouped the yers differently, in terms of which were 'strong' (and became full-length vowels) and which were 'weak' (and dropped entirely). The Novegradian rules are as follows:
- A stressed yer is strong.
- A yer immediately in a syllable adjacent to a stressed syllable is weak.
- A yer adjacent to a weak syllable is strong (forming a weak-strong-weak-strong pattern, centered on the stressed syllable)
- A final yer in the nominative case is strong. A final yer elsewhere is weak.
- A yer whose loss would create an impermissable cluster is strong.
- A yer in a prefix is always strong. However, subsequent unstressed vowel dropping sometimes removed these vowels anyways.
- A final yer in a one-syllable preposition is strong, unless the following word begins with a vowel, in which case it is weak.
- A tense back yer (a back yer followed by /j/) is always strong. A tense front yer is always weak.
Weak yers always drop:
| *kъniga | > | нига | ['nʲi.gə] | book |
| *ǫgъlъ | > | вангле | ['βan.gle] | angle, corner |
| *sъlati | > | слати | ['sla.tɪ] | send |
Strong yers become one of a number of different vowels. Word-finally, the back yer ъ becomes /e/ and the front yer ь becomes /i/:
| *drugъ | > | друге | ['dru.ge] | friend |
| *ǫzъkъ | > | вазке | ['βas.ke] | narrow |
| *měsęcь | > | мѣшици | ['mæ.sʲi.tsɪ] | moon, month |
However, final yers in prepositions become /o/: vъ > во [βo] "in".
The back yer elsewhere becomes /o/, unless it is after /j/, in which case it becomes /e/:
| *rъtъ | > | роте | ['ro.te] | mouth |
| *vъ-kǫsъ | > | вокусе | ['βo.ku.se] | taste |
| *vъzьmǫ | > | вожмун | [βozʲ.'mun] | I bring |
| *jъgo | > | его | ['jɛ.go] | yoke |
The realization of the front yer ь word-internally is more complex. It generally becomes /e/, but before /l/ and /r/ it becomes /i/. In the sequence jь, it drops entirely unless it absolutely cannot, in which case it becomes /i/ (stressed) or /e/ (unstressed):
| *lьgъkъ | > | леғке | ['lʲex.ke] | easy, light |
| *dьnъ (<*dьnь) | > | дене | ['dʲe.ne] | day |
| *tvьrdъ | > | туирде | ['twir.de] | solid, firm |
| *jьstъ | > | исте | ['is.te] | true |
| *jьgrati | > | еграти | [jɛ.'gra.tɪ] | play |
When in a tense position, the back yer becomes /e/. The front yer drops entirely.
| *čьrvjenъ-jъ | > | цервеней | ['tser.βɛ.nej] | red (one) |
| *pьjǫ | > | пюн | ['pjun] | I drink |
| *bratьji | > | бракьи | ['bra.cɪ] | brothers |
Note that these changes affected prepositions such as *vъ "in" as well, which up until the 18th century was pronounced ве [βe] when the following word began with /j/: ве яблокѣ "in an apple". This is never seen anymore in the modern language, but can be seen in poetry. There are also set phrases which preserve the /e/: ве ймѣно "in the name [of]". Initial /i/ < *jь- may revert to /j/: ве йстинѣ "truthfully".
Analogy often obscures some of the above changes. Unlike the other Slavic languages, Novegradian eliminated 'fleeting vowels' in nouns (vowels present in one form but lost in another). However, they remain in a small set of verbs and in the adjective едене "one". Later stress changes can also obscure yer loss.
Yer loss sometimes caused compensatory lengthening in the previous vowel. This length was later lost in the standard, but not before /o:/ shifted to /a/. This is particularly visible with diminutive endings.
| *mor-ьko | > | марко | ['mar.ko] | bay |
| koš-ьka (Old Nov.) |
> | кашка | ['kaʃ.kə] | cat |
Tangentially related to the fall of the yers is the process known as the Hardening of Final Labials, whereby final /ь/ became /ъ/ after a labial consonant (ie, /p b m v/). The most significant result of this was the transference of many i-stem nouns to e-stem, as with гољубе gółube "dove" from Common Slavic *golǫbь.
24.2.8 Initial Vowel Lowering
Around the late 16th century the high vowels /i/ and /u/ were lowered to [je] and [wo] word-initially. If the following syllable contained /e/ or /o/, they may be raised in dissimilation. This change also seemed to have sporadically affected words with initial /ji/.
| *učiti | > | оѕити | [o.'dzi.tɪ] | teach, learn |
| *uxo | > | оху | ['wo.xʊ] | ear |
| *jьgrati | > | еграти | [jɛ.'gra.tɪ] | play |
This vowel lowering was blocked by the prepositions во, ко, and со (Early Common Slavic *vъn, *kъn, *sъn), which phonetically form a single unit with the following word and share its stress. As a result, the initial /i u/ were no longer at the "beginning" of the word.
Stressed initial /ju/ became /jew/. This is one of the last manifestations in Novegradian of the historical Slavic process known as Syllabic Synharmony, where syllables containing palatal consonants would also have palatal (ie, front) vowels. The palatal consonant /j/ and back vowel /u/ were incompatable, so an intermediate /e/ appeared to separate the two.
| *južina | > | еужина | ['jew.zʲɪ.nə] | dinner |
| *jutro | > | еутро | ['jew.tro] | morning |
24.2.9 Loss of Unstressed /æ/
Starting from the mid-19th century, unstressed /æ/ began to merge with /i/, probably via a weakened form such as [jɪ]. In some dialects, /æ/ was completely eliminated (merging with /i/ or /e/), though in the standard it still has a distinct pronunciation when stressed.
| *nyně | > | нинѣ | ['nʲi.nɪ] | nowadays |
| *rěka | > | рѣга | [ri.'ga] | river |
| *stěna | > | стѣна | [stɪ.'na] | wall |
This change is still viewed as allophonic, so it is normal for words with shifting stress to have [æ] in some forms and [i] in others.
24.3 Development of Consonants
24.3.1 J-Induced Palatalization
The sequence Cj frequently resulted in the palatalization of the consonant and then the dropping the /j/. This change is responsible for most consonant mutations in verbs, as well as many other changes.
Note that all unvoiced consonants are prone to voicing if the following vowel is stressed.
The dental consonants clusters /tj dj sj zj stj skj zdj zgj/ all resulted in palatal consonants, rather unique for the Slavic languages. This has been attributed to possible Uralic influence. /tj dj/ became the palatal plosives /c ɟ/.
| *větjo | > | вѣкье | ['βæ.ce] | veche |
| *nudja | > | нугьа | ['nu.ɟə] | need |
| *na-dědja | > | надѣгьа | [nə.'dʲæ.ɟə] | hope |
/sj/ and /zj/ became the palatal fricatives [ç] and [ʝ].
| *pisjǫ | > | пихьун | ['pi.çʊn] | I write |
| *vъzjǫ | > | веғьун | ['βɛ.ʝʊn] | I tie |
The clusters /stj/ and /skj/ both resulted in [ʃc], and the rarer /zdj/ and /zgj/ both gave [ʒɟ]
| *iskjǫ | > | ешкьун | ['jɛʃ.cʊn] | I search |
| *krьstjǫ | > | крешкьун | [krɛʃ.'cun] | I baptize |
| *dozdjь | > | дожгьи | [doʒ.'ɟi] | rain |
The cluster /kt/ became /tj/ before a front vowel, which then developed regularly into /c/.
| *noktь | > | нокьи | ['no.cɪ] | night |
| *doktь | > | докьи | ['do.cɪ] | daughter |
The velar clusters /kj/, /gj/, and /xj/ became [tʃ], [dʒ], and [ʃ]. The first two later simplified to [ts] and [ʒ]. [ʒ] then became [zʲ] through śókanje.
| *plakjǫ | > | плацун | ['pla.tsʊn] | I cry |
| *mogjǫ | > | можун | ['mo.zʲʊn] | I can |
| *duxja | > | дужа | [du.'zʲa] | soul, person |
/nj/ merged into a single sound, [ɲ].
| *višnja | > | вишньа | ['βisʲ.ɲə] | cherry |
| *měnjati | > | мѣньати | [mɪ.'ɲa.tɪ] | change |
/lj/ simplified into plain /l/. /rj/ generally stayed as such, except in the 1sg form of verbs, where it simplified to /r/.
| *burja | > | буря | ['bur.jə] | tempest |
| *govorjǫ | > | говорун | [go.βo.'run] | I talk |
| *voljiti | > | волити | [βo.'lʲi.tɪ] | prefer |
The labial sequences /pj bj vj mj/ were a little different. The palatalization resulted in an /l/ being added into the cluster: [plj blj vlj mlj]. Before front vowels (as well as before -a when in the nominative case of a noun), this /l/ is later dropped. Elsewhere the [j] dropped. This frequently lead to labial and labial+l alternations in words.
| *zemja | > | жемя | ['zʲe.mjə] | land (NomSg) |
| *zemjǫ | > | жемлу | ['zʲem.lʊ] | land (AccSg) |
| *ljubjǫ | > | лублун | [lu.'blun] | I love |
| *avjǫ | > | аулун | [əw.'lun] | I reveal |
If /mj vj/ ended up at the end of a word due to yer loss, /mj/ became /ɲ/ and /vj/ became /l/. /pj/ and /bj/ simply lost their palatal element. If this happened in the nominative form of a noun, the ending may be reintroduced by morphological pressure (as in Iároslali below).
| *na zemjь | > | на жень | ['na zʲeɲ] | on the ground |
| *Jaroslavjь | > | Ярослали | ['ja.ro.slə.lɪ] | Yaroslavl (city) |
The clusters /tj dj sj zj/ would later be reintroduced in Novegradian from a number of sources, such as in the so-called "collective plurals".
24.3.2 Progressive Palatalization of Velars
The progressive palatalization of the velars (whereby PS /k g x/ became /ts ʒ s/ after i or ь), sometimes called the Third Palatalization although many now believe it to have occurred before the First Palatalization was even complete, was present in the territory which is now Novegrad. It was however extremely inconsistent, and as in the other Slavic languages, no rule can be found to explain which words were affected without leaving numerous exceptions.
The exact nature of the progressive palatalization in Novegradian is unclear. There are two primary theories today. Some believe that it began to take force in Novegradian before the First Palatalization was complete here, a possible explanation for the appearance of cókanje (see below). Others believe that it never occurred in Novegradian, and that all apparent instances of it were borrowed from Old East Slavic or Old Church Slavonic. These would have entered Novegradian before the First Palatalization had finished, in time to be affected by cókanje.
The most common instance of the progressive palatalization in Novegradian is in the agentive suffixes -ec and -ica, as in стрѣлеце [stri.'lʲe.tse] (PS *strěl-ьkъ) "archer". Unpalatalized forms of the form стрѣлеке are attested alongside palatalized forms such as стрѣлеце as late as the 12th century, long after the third palatalization was complete in other Slavic-speaking areas. Some dialects to date still use -ика as the feminine form of most nouns describing people, reserving -ица only for use as the feminine counterpart of -еце.
Similar, though unrelated, is the palatalization of /kt/ and /gt/ before front vowels, where they became /tj/. This is the origin of the velar infinitive suffix -йкьи: пейкьи ['pej.cɪ] (PS *pektь) "bake". The additional /j/ is thought to be a "coloring" of the vowel caused by the [c] that strengthened, but why this occured only in infinitives is unclear.
24.3.3 Lack of the Second Palatalization
The Second Palatalization, seen in all other Slavic languages, did not occur in Novegradian. The last column below is the Russian cognate to each of the following words, for comparison.
| *květъ | > | куѣте | ['kwæ.te] | flower, color | цвет |
| *xerъ | > | хѣре | ['çæ.re] | grey | серый |
| *kěna | > | кѣна | ['kʲæ.nə] | cost | цена |
| *gvězdа | > | гуѣзда | ['gwæz.də] | star | звезда |
24.3.4 Cluster Simplification
The earliest regular instances of cluster simplification are the changes of /tl dl/ to /kl gl/ to ease pronunciation. In most of the East and South Slavic languages these both simplified to just /l/, while in West Slavic they were preserved.
| *mydlо | > | муигло | ['mwi.glo] | soap |
| *gъrdlо | > | горгло | ['gor.glo] | throat |
| *оrdlо | > | рагло | ['ra.glo] | plow |
Other changes are less predictable, although cluster-simplifying changes have occurred throughout the history of the language, especially to new loan words.
24.3.5 Cókanje
Cókanje refers to the confusion of /ts/ and /tʃ/ in Novegradian from a period roughly during the First Palatalization up until the fourteenth or fifteenth centuries (depending on the region). Speakers would frequently use the wrong phoneme from an etymological point of view, and which words ended up being pronounced with which consonant often varied from region to region. For example, the "correct" pronunciation ['tʃer.ne] for "black" was common in the area to the south and west of Novegráde Velíkei while the "incorrect" ['tser.ne] was seen to the north and west. At the same time, the "correct" [ko.'nʲe.tse] "end" was seen only in Novegráde Velíkei and to the west, while the "incorrect" [ko.'nʲe.tʃe] was seen to the south, east, and north.
It is believed to have been caused by conflicting influences in the early Novegradian-speaking area. The First Palatalization began late in Novegradian, occurring after the Second and Third had finished in the rest of the Slavic-speaking world. One of the changes happening in Novegradian during the First Palatalization was k > tʃ before front vowels. At the same time, however, Church Slavonic was becoming an influential language in the region. As a South Slavic language, it had already underwent the Third Palatalization, which, among other changes, caused k > ts after front vowels in certain circumstances. So at the same time that many former instances of /k/ were being converted to /tʃ/, Novegradian was also being flooded by /ts/ (equivalent to native /k/) from Church Slavonic loans. Speakers quickly lost the ability to keep track of which former /k/ is supposed to be pronounced [tʃ] and which [ts], causing the two phonemes to become completely confused.
The issue was eventually resolved by converting all instances of both phonemes to /ts/ in the standard language. /tʃ/ was later reintroduced through loan words, though long after the original /tʃ/ was lost.
| *čьrхnъ | > | церне | ['tser.ne] | black |
| OCS konьcь | > | конеце | [ko.'nʲe.tse] | end |
24.3.6 Śókanje
Śókanje refers to the merger of Old Novegradian /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ with /s/ and /z/ before front vowels. Much like how /tʃ/ was pulled forward to [ts] through cókanje, /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ were pulled forward to [sʲ] and [zʲ] in all positions except before a plosive consonant. Concurrently with this change, /s/ and /z/ acquired a slight palatalization before all front vowels, also becoming [sʲ] and [zʲ].
Later, all [sʲ] and [zʲ] that were non-paradigmatic (not present throughout the entire paradigm of a word) reverted to plain [s] and [z] when not before a stressed vowel, thus creating four distinct phonemes: /s z sʲ zʲ/. The new /sʲ zʲ/ therefore come from former /ʃ ʒ/ as well as /s z/ that were present before a front vowel throughout their entire paradigm.
Which [sʲ zʲ] are considered /sʲ zʲ/ and which are considered /s z/ continues to be a subject of debate in the modern language, but the most common analysis is used here: If the consonant is palatalized in all forms of a word, it is /sʲ zʲ/. If not, it is /s z/. The former correspond orthographically with ш ж, the latter with с з.
| *sila | > | шила | ['sʲi.lə] | strength |
| *šestь | > | шести | ['sʲes.tɪ] | six |
| *gǫsь | > | гаши | ['ga.sʲɪ] | goose |
| *žiti | > | жити | ['zʲi.tɪ] | to live |
Contrast the above with, for example, Common Slavic *lisa, lisi "fox, foxes", Old Novegradian ['lʲi.sa, 'lʲi.sʲi], Modern Novegradian ['lʲi.sə, 'lʲi.sɪ], where the palatalization was later lost because it only occured before unstressed vowels. Also with various modern forms of the word for "car" (originally, "wagon"): GenSg ['βo.zə], DatInsSg ['βo.zɛm], PartSg [βo.'zʲek]; since there are forms where palatalization could never have appeared (GenSg -a), this phoneme was never reanalyzed as /zʲ/, so palatalization was later lost when before an unstressed front vowel as well. It only remains allophonically before stressed fronts.
A few complicating factors helped to make /sʲ zʲ/ more clearly distinct from /s z/. First of all, śókanje occured before the merger of *y (patterning as a back vowel) with *i (a front vowel). /s z/ before *y, then, never palatalized, but remained [s z]. Only after all *y became [i] did these consonants begin to palatalize, but only then when this new [i] was stressed. Thus these are considered /s z/ in the modern language, since the palatalized consonant is not present in all forms.
| *syra | > | сира | ['sʲi.rə] | moist, raw (NomSgFem Indef) |
| *syra-ja | > | сирая | [si.'ra.jə] | moist, raw (NomSgFem Def) |
Another complicating factor is the front yer, /ь/. This would always palatalize any preceding /s z/. If it later dropped, the [sʲ zʲ] formed by it would remain. Since their original conditioning environment had disappeared, these can be considered distinctly /sʲ zʲ/.
| *vъzьmǫ | > | вожмун | [βozʲ.'mun] | I take |
24.3.7 Lenition of /β/
At some point, though it is not clear when, Common Slavic /v/ became bilabial in Novegradian. Soon afterwards this /β/ became intolerant of being in a coda position, or being in a cluster where the preceding consonant is higher up on the sonority hierarchy (ie, a plosive). In such positions, it lenites to /w/.
| *vъ-novъ | > | вноу | ['βnow] | again |
| *glavьnъ | > | глауне | ['glaw.ne] | main, important |
| *pravьda | > | прауда | ['praw.də] | truth |
| *dvorъ | > | дуоре | ['dwo.re] | courtyard, square |
| *tvojь | > | туой | ['twoj] | your |
There is one type of exceptional development—the sequence /vn/ intervocally became /mn/, as the /v/ assimilated to the nasality of the following /n/ before this lenition process took place. This change is visible in words such as рамне rámne "flat, even" (< *orvьnъ) and дамне dámne "distant (in time)" (< *davьnъ). This change was prevented in глауне above by analogy with глава "head" from which it was derived, whereas these other two lack sufficiently transparent related words that did not also undergo this change.
This prohibition of coda /β/ and /β/ after less sonorous consonants continues into the present day. The only violations of this rule are in interjections, which do not need to follow a language's normal phonological rules in the first place.
24.3.8 Pretonic Voicing
In the 11th century, and then again in the 17th and 18th centuries unclustered intervocal consonants tended to voice before stressed vowels. Although no longer productive, this rule still sporadically affects new words through analogy.
Affricates such as /ts/ are also affected. However, the collective plural forms of animate nouns (such as бракьи "brothers") are not.
This change introduced the new phoneme /ɣ/, which later appeared in loan words as well.
| *gotovъ | > | годове | [go.'do.βe] | ready |
| *vьxo | > | виғо | [βi.'ɣo] | everything |
| German Universität | > | универсидате | [ʊ.nɪ.βer.si.'da.te] | university |
24.3.9 Word-Final Devoicing
When at the end of a word, all voiced consonants that have an unvoiced counterpart must devoice. This change applies primarily to first, third, and fourth declension nouns in the genitive plural and masculine fourth declension nouns in the accusative. This rule is no longer productive, so it does not affect consonants that become final due to colloquial /e/ dropping, but its effects from when it was productive are still clearly seen.
| Novegradian возе | > | воз | [βos] | car (GenPl) |
| French garage | > | гараж | [gə.'rasʲ] | garage (GenPl) |
| Novegradian видѣти | > | вид | ['βit] | view (AccSg) |
24.3.10 Velarization of /l/
The phoneme /l/ velarizes to /ɫ/ in the presence of certain back vowels, as long as it is not the last element in a cluster. This change occured to an /l/ with either of /o u/ on each side (as long as the second vowel is unstressed), to initial /l/ when followed by /o u/, to final /l/ after /a o u/, or to preconsonantal /l/ preceded by /a o u/. A number of other changes are a little more difficult to explain. This change did not effect /l/ < PS */lj/.
| *loviti | > | љовити | ['ɫo.βi.tɪ] | catch |
| *golǫbь | > | гољубе | ['go.ɫu.be] | dove |
| *žьltъ | > | жољте | ['zʲoɫ.te] | yellow |
| Swedish kanal | > | канаље | [kə.'na.ɫe] | canal |
Initial /l/ before *y (before it merged with /i/) also became velarized. The result here is /ɫ/ before stressed front vowels as well.
| *lysъ | > | љисе | ['ɫi.se] | bald |
24.3.11 Lenition in Plosive Clusters
In plosive+plosive clusters, the first always lenites into a fricative. This applies even to modern-day loans. The labials /p b/ both lenite to /w/. The nasal consonants do not cause this, although there are a few instances of lenition before a nasal consonant as the result of dialect borrowing.
| *męgъkъ | > | меғке | ['mɛx.ke] | soft |
| *krěpъkъ | > | крѣуке | ['kræw.ke] | firm, strong |
| German aktiv | > | ахтивне | [əx.'tʲi.ne] | active, working |
24.3.12 Allophonic Palatalization
In the modern language the dental phonemes (excluding /r/) and the velar phonemes all allophonically palatalize immediately before stressed front vowels. This has been discussed before and will not be again, although there are two more extreme cases worth mentioning.
The voiced velar fricative /ɣ/ becomes [j] when palatalized. When root-final, this can lead to very irregular declension patterns. Since this change began to occur roughly in the mid 19th century, it is reflected in writing in a number of forms.
| *vьxe | > | вие | [βi.'jɛ] | everyone |
| *ux-es-e | > | оес | [o.'jɛs] | ear (GenPl) |
| *anъgelъ | > | аньее | ['a.ɲe.je] | angel |
The last of the above is a more extreme example where the [j] created from a palatalized /ɣ/ merged with a preceding /n/ to form /ɲ/. (This word frequently had penultimate stress until the early 20th century, explaining the palatalization).
Although speakers generally do not view this [j] as a variant of /ɣ/, it can nevertheless be regularly derived from /ɣ/, and is classified as allophonic by those studying the language. Cases such as аньее above are exceptional.
The other more extreme instance of palatalization is the colloquial pronunciation of certain [lʲ] as a fricative [ʒ], a phenomenon that speakers of other Slavic languages generally find utterly baffling. Examples include pronouncing велике (standard [βɛ.'lʲi.ke]) "great" as [βɛ.'ʒi.ke], or полиця [po.'lʲits.jə] "police" as [po.'ʒis.jə].
24.4 The Morphology of Common Slavic
Following are the different distinctions and features that Common Slavic indicated morphologically.
Case: PS had seven cases—nominative, genitive, accusative, dative, instrumental, locative, and vocative. The vocative was not marked on adjectives.
Number: PS distinguished three numbers—the singular, dual, and plural—on nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and verbs. However, the dual was already losing ground, seeing the seven distinct cases of the dual and plural reduced to just three—the Nom/Acc/Voc, the Gen/Loc, and the Dat/Instr.
Gender: Every noun was inherently masculine, feminine, or neuter. Masculine nouns also distinguished animacy in the accusative case. Verbs, adjectives, and the numerals 1-4 agreed in gender.
Declension: PS had a number of different declensions. Which a noun took depends on its form in the Proto-Indo-European language. There were eight vocalic stems (-ā, -jā, masculine -o, neuter -o, -jo, -i, -u, -ū) and four consonantal stems (-n, -s, -r, -nt). These terms refer to their PIE form, not their form in Proto-Slavic.
Adjectives: Adjectives had definite and indefinite forms, and had three levels of gradation—base, comparative, and superlative.
Tense: PS had six tenses—the present, aorist, and imperfect marked morphologically, and the future, perfect, and pluperfect marked using auxiliary verbs with either an infinitive or a L-form active participle.
Mood: PS had the indicative, conditional, and imperative moods. The conditional was analytical in form.
Aspect: Verbs could be either imperfective or perfective. Verbs of motion had a three way contrast between perfective, imperfective determinate, and imperfective indeterminate.
Voice: PS distinguished the active, reflexive, and passive voices. The Reflexive was formed using pronouns, and the passive with participles.
Person: Verbs had three persons—the first, second, and third.
A chart demonstrating Common Slavic declension is available here.
24.5 Development of Nouns and Adjectives
24.5.1 Declension Merger
Common Slavic had a staggering eleven declensions, not counting any irregular forms. All Slavic languages simplified this to some degree. Although modern Novegradian officially has only six declensions, every one of the original twelve left has at least left behind a trace.
The Common Slavic Ā-Stem is the direct predecessor of the Novegradian First Declension, and has undergone little alteration, although the nasal vowel at the end of the instrumental singular ending *-ojǫ was lost. If the nominal root ends in a consonant cluster, a stressed epenthetic vowel was added in the genitive plural (seen in many other Slavic languages as well).
The JĀ-Stem, similarly, became the Second Declension with few changes. However, the nasal vowels in the instrumental singular and in the nominative and accusative plural were eliminated in favor of more usual endings, like those of the Ā-Stem.
The U-Stem, which gave rise to the partitive plural ending -ov in all declensions, developed into the Novegradian Third Declension. The Northern dialects of Novegradian also generalized some of its forms, such as the genitive singular -u, to many other nouns.
There were two varieties of the O-Stem, a masculine one (NomSg ending -ъ, NomPl -i) and a neuter one (NomSg ending -o, NomPl -a). The masculine O-Stem nouns developed into the modern Fourth Declension, while the neuter ones merged with the U-Stem nouns of the Third Declension.
The JO-Stem is to the O-Stem as the JĀ-Stem is to the Ā-Stem, a variant caused by the presence of an earlier /j/. In Proto-Slavic, this /j/ caused the vowels in certain endings to front, particularly /o/ > /e/ and /ъ/ > /ь/. In Novegradian, this /j/ was later lost and its endings merged with the O-Stem, joining the Fourth Declension.
The Ū-Stem consisted of a small set of feminine nouns ending in /y/ in the nominative singular and featured the suffix -ъv- in a number of forms. This suffix became regularized as -ev-, and the Ū-Stem nouns began to be treated in the same way as other "consonantal" declension nouns.
The I-Stem survived in Novegradian, becoming the Fifth Declension. The three "subdeclensions" all had antecedents in Common Slavic.
Common Slavic also had four consonantal stems, which gained a suffix in oblique forms—the S-Stem (suffix -es-, relatively common), the R-Stem (suffix -er-, seen only in the words "mother" and "daughter"), the N-Stem (suffix -en-, relatively common), and the NT-Stem (suffix -ęt-, marks animal diminutives). In Common Slavic, these all declined similarly though not identically. In Novegradian, their endings were merged, so that while they each take their own individual suffixes, they have a common set of endings—the modern Sixth Declension.
Over the years a number of nouns have unpredictably switched declensions, especially as some older declensions were beginning to fall out of use. This was particularly common as a number of nouns removed themselves from the consonantal declensions and joined the Third and Fourth Declensions, such as *dělo "matter, dealing" (original S-Stem) and *dьnь "day" (original N-Stem).
24.5.2 Development of Specific Case Endings
Three case endings have more complex origins that call for more specific discussion. These are the Sixth Declension V-Stem NomSg -ua, the Third/Fifth Declension Animate AccSg -a, and the Fourth Declension NomSg -e.
The Sixth Declension NomSg ending -ua for V-stem nouns is clearly not a regular development from Common Slavic *-y. It is generally believed that the suffix -ъv- seen in all non-nominative forms was generalized to the nominative as well. However, this resulted in a number of feminine nouns with the highly unusual ending -ъvъ in the nominative. This discrepency was later corrected by generalizing the First Declension ending -a, as -ъva is a much more acceptable feminine ending. Over time this simplified to -va (with the Fall of the Yers), then -ua (with the lenition of /β/).
In the Fourth Declension, the use of the genitive in place of the regular accusative ending was long standard for animate nouns. This eventually led, in Novegradian as well as several other Slavic languages, to the generalization of -a as the animate accusative ending, even in declensions where the genitive was not marked by -a. The result was the formation of animate "subdeclensions" in the Third and Fifth Declensions. Animate Third Declension nouns began to take -a in the genitive and accusative singular rather than the regular -u and zero, and animate Fifth Declension nouns began to take -ja rather than -i and -í.
The issue of the NomSg ending -e in the Fourth Declension is far more problematic. For neuter nouns (formerly JO-Stem), with the ending -e in both the NomSg and the AccSg, this ending is inherited. However, masculine nouns (formerly O-Stem) have -e in the NomSg and zero in the AccSg. The Common Slavic ending for both was -ъ, which would regularly yield only a zero ending. This leaves the question of where the NomSg ending -e came from. There is no concensus, but theories include influence from the neuter Fourth Declension nouns that already ended in /e/ or contamination from the vocative case under Uralic influence, though these still leave open the question of why the NomSg and AccSg have different endings, as well as why this -e ending also appears in pronouns such as вехе "all" and the masculine form of past tense verbs.
24.5.3 Case Loss and Merger
Looking at Common Slavic declension, it is clear that the dative and instrumental cases were already quite similar. In the dual, they had already merged, and for many plural nouns, the endings were quite similar. Only in the singular were they completely distinct, but note forms such as instrumental singular *gordomь "with the city" and dative plural *gordomъ "to the city". The plural endings for the two cases had merged for all nouns by the 15th century (although they continued to be maintained in writing until the orthographic yers ъ/ь were removed from the spelling system in 1917; the spelling -амъ was generally used for the dative plural and -амь for the instrumental). The singular forms were completely merged by the 17th century at the latest, and were not distinguished in writing.
The vocative was no longer in use by the 16th century. However, as in Russian, a few archaic vocatives loaned from Church Slavonic still remain, such as боже! bóźe! "O God!". The vocative has reappeared in the colloquial language as the suffix -mo, which interestingly can be combined with the few surviving original vocatives: божемо! bóźemo! "O God!".
The locative case lost some of its function, but not nearly as much as some other Slavic languages. The Novegradian locative no longer marks the direct object of verbs of contact (such as "touch"), as it did in Old Church Slavonic, but unlike other Slavic languages the locative may still be used on its own without a preposition.
24.5.4 Loss of the Dual
The dual form of nouns and adjectives was already on its way out in Proto-Slavic. It had completely disappeared in Novegradian by the 14th century at the latest, with the exception of a few common natural duals.
In addition to these natural duals that retain of their original declension, the original dual has also left behind some traces in the numeral system seen in the hundreds, from 100 to 900. In modern Novegradian these are fused forms, but in Proto-Slavic they were phrasal—"two hundreds", "three hundreds", etc. "One hundred" was *sъto (modern сто stó), an O-Stem nominative singular noun. "Two hundred" was *dъvě-sъtě (modern дуести duésti), with the nominative dual. "Three hundred" was *tri-sъta (modern триста trísta), with the genitive singular. "Five hundred" was *pętь-sъtъ (modern пицот picót), with the genitive plural.
24.5.5 New Cases
Novegradian has developed two new cases since Proto-Slavic (three, if the new vocative is considered)—the partitive and the lative.
The partitive function was originally handled by the genitive case, though Novegradian has developed distinct forms that have taken over this function. The main singular ending is -ok/-ek, which is generally considered to have originally been a diminutive ending; this is perhaps because a diminutive was once used as a measure of a noun (eg, a "medoke" may have referred to a certain amount of honey or container of it), or possibly a logical extension of the "smallness" quality diminutives provide.
In the formal language, the suffix -u is used to mark the partitive singular in place of -ok/-ek if the nominal stem ends in /k/, to avoid repetition (although this is no longer done in colloquial speech, as the ending has weakened to /ox/ or /o/). This derives from the original U-stem genitive singular, spread to other nouns once the U-stem fell out of use. The partitive plural ending for all nouns is /ow ~ ew/, descending from the O-Stem genitive plural ending -ovъ.
The lative case ending -un/-on/-en/-in comes from a split in the Common Slavic accusative case. In Common Slavic, the accusative marked the object of lative prepositions ("into", "onto", etc) as well as the direct object of many verbs. The Ā- and JĀ-Stem nouns marked the accusative with the ending -ǫ, which became /un/ regularly in Novegradian. Since direct objects are used so much in speech, however, the /n/ quickly wore off. Lative phrases, however, were not nearly as common, and as a result, the /n/ never elided, effectively splitting the accusative case. The ending -n then spread to other nouns by analogy, each declension changing the vowel to whichever is most appropriate for that declension.
24.5.6 Animacy in Nouns and Pronouns
Already in Proto-Slavic, an animacy distinction had begun to develop. There masculine animate nouns (referring to people or animals) could frequently take the genitive case instead of the accusative when the direct object of a verb. This soon became mandatory. This same phenomenon then led to the loss of the original accusative case personal pronouns (although they were preserved in the lative); since personal pronouns generally refer to people, the genitive pronouns replaced the accusative ones.
Novegradian later extended this by analogy to feminine animate nouns as well.
The animate numerals came from the Proto-Slavic collective numerals, which represented a group of something, much like English words such as "pair" and "trio", and so were quite naturally used with animate nouns. Over time the collective numerals functioned less and less like pronouns and more like normal numerals, as they are seen today.
24.5.7 Adjectives
The Novegradian system of indefinite adjectives was inherited from Common Slavic's with relatively few changes in form, although all of the dual forms were lost and the gender distinction was neutralized in the plural. The indefinite forms for the new cases are borrowed directly from the nouns (since indefinite adjectives have a declension almost identical to nouns as it is).
The definite forms similarly come from the Proto-Slavic definite adjectives, which were formed by declining the anaphoric pronoun *jь and attaching it to the proper indefinite adjective form. Originally this was only done for nominalization ("the red one", etc), but Novegradian generalized its usage to encompass more definite functions.
The Proto-Slavic comparative degree was formed by taking the adjective stem, adding -(ě)jьš-, and then adding regular adjective endings (except with fronted vowels, such as /o/ > /e/ and /ъ/ > /ь/). In the nominative singular the /ʃ/ was lost. Novegradian simplified this to -(ei)ś-, though still employing fronted endings.
When the Common Slavic ending -jьš- (without the extra ě) came in contact with the final consonant of an adjective stem, it palatalized according to the normal rules. This is the source of most of Novegradian's irregular comparatives, where regular Proto-Slavic forms such as *vys-jь-jь "highest" underwent palatalization, becoming modern Novegradian vuíhje.
The Proto-Slavic superlative was generally just the definite form of the comparative, and if necessary, the prefix *naj- could be added. Novegradian preserves this formation.
The intensive and excessive degrees of Novegradian are both more recent innovations, although the intensive is seen in Old Church Slavonic as well (and likely entered Novegradian from OCS). They were both formed by prefixed prepositions which then became generalized.
24.5.8 Numerals
With the exception of the animate numeral forms, Proto-Slavic numerals changed very little in Novegradian. The most significant changes are that the numerals 3 and 4 stopped agreeing with the noun they modified in gender, and that the numeral 2 now called for the genitive singular (like 3 and 4) instead of the nominative dual, so long as no distinct dual exists. However, in Common Slavic neuter nouns took the same form of "two", *dъvě (modern dóvě), as feminine nouns; in modern Novegradian they take the same form as masculine nouns, dóva.
24.6 Development of Verbs
24.6.1 Verb Form Loss
Although they have gone through a number of changes, Novegradian verbs are not that fundamentally different from Proto-Slavic ones. A number of forms, however, were lost:
The Aorist Tense: Proto-Slavic had an additional tense, lost in all Slavic languages except several in the Southern branch, known as the aorist. The aorist marked a simple past action that occurred once and was completed. It was frequently used in narration to convey a sequence of events. There were two sets of aorist endings, known as the sigmatic and asigmatic, depending on the verbal root. This form was almost completely lost in Novegradian, half-surviving only in the verb "be" in the subjunctive mood.
The Imperfect Tense: The imperfect tense was another Proto-Slavic form with a distinct set of endings, likewise lost in most Slavic languages. It marked a continuous or habitual action in the past. It was completely replaced by the imperfective past in Novegradian.
The Pluperfect Tense: The pluperfect tense was an analytic construction formed with the imperfect/aorist forms of "be" followed by an L-form (resultative) participle. With the loss of the aorist and imperfect, the pluperfect disappeared as well.
The Perfect Tense: The Proto-Slavic perfect tense was formed with the present tense of "be" followed by the L-form participle. As the verb "be" became less and less common in the present tense, the participle was used by itself more frequently to indicate the past. By the 19th century it had even become ungrammatical to use the present tense of "be" with an L-form participle, creating the modern past tense.
The Conditional Mood: The conditional was formed using a special set of conditional forms of "be", forms no other verb in the language had, with the L-form participle. In Late Common Slavic the conditional and aorist forms of "be" began to get confused, so speakers would often use the aorist in place of the conditional. In modern Novegradian only three of these conditional/aorist forms survive, a singular, dual, and plural, and this construction has become the Novegradian subjunctive.
24.6.2 Verb Form Gain
The Future Hypothetical: When the perfect forms were still in use, some Proto-Slavic dialects developed a future perfect formed with the future tense of "be" and the L-form participle. Generally this form was shortlived, but it survived in Novegradian as the future hypothetical.
The Simultative: A number of Slavic languages developed verbal adverbs from older participle forms, and Novegradian was no exception. However, it was unique in that it eventually allowed these adverbs to become finite verb forms that can take their own subject.
24.6.3 Athematic Verbs
Proto-Slavic had only five athematic verbs, which had no thematic vowel and took a unique set of endings. Novegradian kept four of these, having eliminated the verb *jęti "have" in favor of a periphrastic construction ("at X there is Y").
24.6.4 First Conjugation Endings
First conjugation verbs now conjugate according to a pattern quite similar to the athematic, but in Proto-Slavic the vast majority of these verbs followed one of two very different paradigms.
Originally, many first conjugation verbs took the same endings as in the third conjugation, but with an added infix -aj-. For example, "he reads" was originally *čitajetъ (modern cidást). The /je/ portion was lost early on, becoming *cidat, etc. The athematic endings first began to spread to verbs which looked similar to one of the athematic verbs in the infinitive by analogy (compare Novegradian cidáti "to read" and dáti "to give"). From here the endings spread by analogy to other verbs with the -a- ending in the present tense.
Verbs whose infinitive and past forms include the suffix -ova- (including a very large number of imperfectives) were also originally third conjugation, taking the suffix -uj- in the present tense where verbs like "read" had -aj-. This present tense form gradually fell out of common use in favor of regularizing the -ova- in all forms, thereby shifting them to the new first conjugation. This -ui- suffix can still sometimes be seen in poetry, however. In addition, a small set of verbs are still required to take /u/ in the present tense. Such verbs generally have a root consisting of a single consonant, so the -ui- ending seemed more integral to the verb's conjugation. An example is ковати kóvati "forge", whose 1sg form is куям kúiam, which interestingly has become first conjugation, yet kept the -ui-.
24.6.5 The Middle and Passive Voices
Novegradian developed synthetic middle and passive voices from the enclitic reflexive pronoun *sę, an accusative case form that survived as a verbal clitic after the other accusative personal pronouns disappeared. This clitic later split into a middle and passive form, much as the accusative case split into a true accusative and a lative. The origin of these constructions has been dealt with previously.