Proto-Transnovaguinea reconstruuitur cum usitato inventario simplice Papuano: quinque vocales, /i e a o u/, tres phonationes occlusivorum in tribus locis, /p t k, b d ɡ, m n ŋ/ (Andreas Pawley seriem dictam reconstruit in nasalis /mb nd ŋɡ/), affricato palatale /dʒ ~ ndʒ/, fricativo /s/, et approximantibus /l j w/. Syllabae plerumque sunt (C)V, sed CVC in finibus vocabulorum fieri potest. Multae ex his linguis tonum verbalem habent.
Pronomina
Ross insequens paradigma pronominale pro Transnovaguineana reconstruit, cum *a~*iablautum pro singulare~non-singulare:
ego
*na
nos
*ni
tu
*ga
vos
*gi
is, ea, id
*(y)a, *ua
ei
*i
Est forma coniuncta pro 'nos', minus saepe testificata, *nu, atque *ja pro 'tu', quod fortasse, apud coniecturam Rossianam, fuit forma urbana. Praeterea fuerunt suffixadualia*-li et *-t, et plurale suffixum *-nV, (n cum vocale), ac suffixa pro numeris collectivis*-pi- (duale) et *-m- (plurale), quae pro nos inclusivum fuerunt cum ad primam personam adhibentur. Reflexa autem suffixorum collectivorum solum in terris altis mediis et orientalibus inveniuntur, et ergo tam vetus quam proto-transnovaguineana fortasse non sunt.
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