Proto-Algic language

Proto-Algic (sometimes abbreviated PAc) is the proto-language from which the Algic languages (Wiyot language, Yurok language, and Proto-Algonquian) are descended. It is estimated to have been spoken about 7,000 years ago somewhere in the American Northwest, possibly around the Columbia Plateau.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} It is an example of a second-level proto-language (a proto-language whose reconstruction depends on data from another proto-language, namely its descendant language Proto-Algonquian) which is widely agreed to have existed.^[2] Its main researcher was Paul Proulx.^[6]

Proto-Algic
PAc
Reconstruction of	Algic languages
Region	Columbia Plateau?
Era	ca. 5000 BCE
Lower-order reconstructions	Proto-Algonquian

Vowels

Proto-Algic had four basic vowels, which could be either long or short:^[2]

long: *i·, *e·, *a·, *o·

short: *i, *e, *a, *o

Consonants

Proto-Algic had the following consonants:

Proto-Algic consonant phonemes^[2]

		Bilabial	Alveolar		Palatal	Velar		Glottal
			central	lateral		plain	labialized
Stop	plain	*p	*t			*k	*kʷ	*ʔ
	aspirated	*pʰ	*tʰ			*kʰ	*kʷʰ
	glottalized	*pʼ	*tʼ			*kʼ	*kʷʼ
Affricate	plain		*c /t͡s/		*č /t͡ʃ/
	aspirated		*cʰ /t͡sʰ/		*čʰ /t͡ʃʰ/
	glottalized		*cʼ /t͡sʼ/		*čʼ /t͡ʃʼ/
Fricative			*s	*ɬ1	*š /ʃ/			*h
Nasal	plain	*m	*n
	glottalized	*mʼ	*nʼ
Liquid	plain		*r	*l
	glottalized		*rʼ	*lʼ
Semivowel	plain				*y /j/		*w
	glottalized				*yʼ /jʼ/		*wʼ

¹ The identity of this consonant is not entirely certain; in Proto-Algonquian, it is sometimes alternatively reconstructed as *θ /θ/.

It is unknown if *č /tʃ/ was an independent phoneme or only an allophone of *c and/or *t in Proto-Algic (as in Proto-Algonquian). In 1992, Paul Proulx theorized that Proto-Algic also possessed a phoneme *gʷ, which became *w in Proto-Algonquian and g in Wiyot and Yurok.

All stops and affricates in the above chart have aspirated counterparts, and all consonants, except fricatives, have glottalized ones. Proto-Algonquian significantly reduced this system by eliminating all glottalized and aspirated phonemes.^[2]

See also

• Algic languages
• Algonquian languages
• Proto-Algonquian language

References

1. Bakker, Peter (2013). "Diachrony and typology in the history of Cree". In Folke Josephson; Ingmar Söhrman (eds.). Diachronic and typological perspectives on verbs. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. pp. 223–260.
2. Proulx, Paul (April 1984). "Proto-Algic I: Phonological Sketch". International Journal of American Linguistics. 30 (2). JSTOR 1265603.
3. Proulx, Paul (1988). "Algic Color Terms". Anthropological Linguistics. 30 (2). JSTOR 30027976.
4. Paul, Proulx (1992). "Proto Algic IV: Nouns". Studies in Native American Languages VII. 17 (2). Retrieved 1 July 2025.
5. Golla, Victor (2011). California Indian Languages. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 256.
6. Ehrmann, David. "Paul M. Proulx '65". Amherst.edu. Archived from the original on 3 Nov 2019. Retrieved 13 Jun 2025.

Further reading

• Baldi, Philip, Linguistic Change and Reconstruction Methodology (ISBN 311088609X, 1990)
• Berman, Howard (1982). "Two Phonological Innovations in Ritwan". International Journal of American Linguistics. 48 (4): 412–420. doi:10.1086/465750. JSTOR 1264843. S2CID 144518292.
• Berman, Howard (1990). "New Algonquian–Ritwan Cognate Sets". International Journal of American Linguistics. 56 (3): 431–434. doi:10.1086/466168. JSTOR 1265518. S2CID 144558611.
• Campbell, Lyle (1997). American Indian Languages: The Historical Linguistics of Native America. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-509427-5.
• Campbell, Lyle (2004). Historical Linguistics: An Introduction (2nd ed.). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-53267-9.
• Campbell, Lyle & Poser, William J. (2008). Language Classification: History and Method. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-88005-3.
• Goddard, Ives (1990). "Algonquian Linguistic Change and Reconstruction". In Baldi, Philip (ed.). Linguistic Change and Reconstruction Methodology. Trends in Linguistics: Studies and Monographs 45. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. pp. 99–114. ISBN 978-0-89925-546-0.
• Pentland, David H. (2006). "Algonquian and Ritwan Languages". Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Oxford: Elsevier. pp. 161–166. doi:10.1016/B0-08-044854-2/02265-3. ISBN 978-0-08-044854-1.
• Proulx, Paul (1977). "Connective Vowels in Proto-Algonquian". International Journal of American Linguistics. 43 (2): 156–157. doi:10.1086/465473. JSTOR 1264935. S2CID 143570568.
• Proulx, Paul (1980). "The Subordinative Order of Proto-Algonquian". International Journal of American Linguistics. 46 (4): 289–300. doi:10.1086/465664. JSTOR 1264710. S2CID 144992880.
• Proulx, Paul (1982). "The Origin of the Absolute Verbs of the Algonquian Independent Order". International Journal of American Linguistics. 48 (4): 394–411. doi:10.1086/465749. JSTOR 1264842. S2CID 145240092.
• Proulx, Paul (1984b). "Algonquian Objective Verbs". International Journal of American Linguistics. 50 (4): 403–423. doi:10.1086/465850. JSTOR 1265400. S2CID 144807432.
• Proulx, Paul (1989). "A Sketch of Blackfoot Historical Phonology". International Journal of American Linguistics. 55 (1): 43–82. doi:10.1086/466104. JSTOR 1265411. S2CID 144999752.