Proto-Yeniseian language

Proto-Yeniseian or Proto-Yeniseic is the unattested reconstructed proto-language from which all Yeniseian languages are thought to descend from. It is uncertain whether Proto-Yeniseian had a similar tone/pitch accent system as Ket.^[1] Many studies about Proto-Yeniseian phonology have been done; however, there are still many things unclear about Proto-Yeniseian.^[2] The probable location of the Yeniseian homeland is proposed on the basis of geographic names and genetic studies, which suggests a homeland in Southern Siberia.^[3]

Proto-Yeniseian
Proto-Yeniseic, PY
Reconstruction of	Yeniseian languages
Reconstructed ancestor	Proto-Dené–Yeniseian?
Lower-order reconstructions	Proto-Ketic Proto-Pumpokolic Proto-Arinic Proto-Kottic

Phonology

According to Vajda, Proto-Yeniseian had the following phonemes, expressed in IPA symbols.^[4]

Consonants

		Bilabial	Alveolar	Postalveolar	Retroflex	Palatal	Labiovelar	Velar	Uvular
Nasal		*m	*n				*ŋʷ	*ŋ
Plosive	voiceless	*p	*t	*č [t͡ʃ]	*tʳ [ʈ]	*c	*kʷ	*k	*q
	voiced	*b	*d	*ǰ [d͡ʒ]	*dʳ [ɖ]	*ɟ	*ɡʷ	*ɡ	*ɢ
Fricative			*s	*š [ʃ]	(*šʳ [ʂ])	*ç	*xʷ	*x	*χ
Lateral			*ɬ	*tɬ
Approximant		*w				*j
Rhotic					*r

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	*i *ij *iw		*u *uj *uw
Mid	*e *ej *ew		*o *oj *ow
Open		*a *aj *aw