Minhast: Difference between revisions

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The division of the dialects into two superdialects has been criticized as problematic. As a result, challenges to this binary division of the dialects into two superdialects have recently surfaced. The most obvious problem is that of the Stone Speaker dialect, which not only has a large number of loans from the two minority non-Minhast languages, Golahat and Peshpeg, but appears in the early stages of developing from a canonical SOV language into a non-configurational one. Arguments for classifying the Stone Speaker dialect as a separate language have been gaining momentum, the most vocal and convincining proponents being Professor Han Xu of Nanjing University, and Dr. Napayshni of the University of the Lakota Nation at Three Pipes. A new superdialect grouping has been proposed for the Elk and Seal Speaker dialects, which realize the fossilized -ūy with the voiced labio-velar approximant /w/, as in -ūwe and ūwi respectively, to contrast with the voiced palatal consonant /j/ found in the rest of the Upper Minhast dialects.
The division of the dialects into two superdialects has been criticized as problematic. As a result, challenges to this binary division of the dialects into two superdialects have recently surfaced. The most obvious problem is that of the Stone Speaker dialect, which not only has a large number of loans from the two minority non-Minhast languages, Golahat and Peshpeg, but appears to be in the early stages of developing from a canonical SOV language into a non-configurational one. Arguments for classifying the Stone Speaker dialect as a separate language have been gaining momentum, the most vocal and convincining proponents being Professor Han Xu of Nanjing University, and Dr. Napayshni of the University of the Lakota Nation at Three Pipes. A new superdialect grouping has been proposed for the Elk and Seal Speaker dialects, which realize the fossilized -ūy with the voiced labio-velar approximant /w/, as in -ūwe and ūwi respectively, to contrast with the voiced palatal consonant /j/ found in the rest of the Upper Minhast dialects.


In addition to the twelve traditional diaelcts, two new dialects have arisen in the National Capital Region (NCR). One is Modern Standard Minhast, a variant of Upper Minhast that serves as the standard dialect used for government, commerce, and media. The second dialect, known as Modern Colloquial Minhast (aka the City Speaker dialect), is an admixture of several subdialects from both Upper and Lower Minhast. Spoken mostly by people in their 30's and earlier, it contains more loanwords from foreign languages than the standard language, especially in areas of technology and the Internet, and from foreign films and media. This new dialect is replete with slang and nonstandard jargon that is often looked down upon by older generations, and Speakers from the more conservative Prefectures.
In addition to the twelve traditional diaelcts, two new dialects have arisen in the National Capital Region (NCR). One is Modern Standard Minhast, a variant of Upper Minhast that serves as the standard dialect used for government, commerce, and media. The second dialect, known as Modern Colloquial Minhast (aka the City Speaker dialect), is an admixture of several subdialects from both Upper and Lower Minhast. Spoken mostly by people in their 30's and earlier, it contains more loanwords from foreign languages than the standard language, especially in areas of technology and the Internet, and from foreign films and media. This new dialect is replete with slang and nonstandard jargon that is often looked down upon by older generations, and Speakers from the more conservative Prefectures.