Re: Language change that complicates the syllable structure

Quoting Pavel Iosad <edricson@...>:

> Hello,
>
> > > You could also have the language undergo a process similar
> > to Havlik's Rule
> > > in Russian.  (Havlik's Rule was a natural  process that
> > really seems too
> > > weird to be true.  It seems like someone must have made it up
> > > artificially.)  Havlik's rule dramatically altered the
> > structure of a lot
> > > of Russian words leading to some great new consonant clusters.
> >
> > Isidora, would you care to elaborate a bit on this? I'm not
> > into Slavicistics, but now you've made me intrigued!
>
> Well, the essence is that the jers (Proto-Sl. *U and *I) are weak in odd
> syllables (counting from the last one), and so fall (disappear), but in
> even syllables they are strong and so appear as full vowels. So the neat
> Proto-Sl. syllable structure, where the maximum you can get is sTRV (T -
> plosive, R - sonant), you get monstrosities. Polish is noted for that
> even more than Russian - just look at words like _pstra,g_ or
> _gl/upstw_!
>
> Examples:
>
> *dInI (DAY-nom.sg) > R. den'
> *dIn'a (DAY-gen.sg.) > R. dn'a
> *dInIsUkUjI (an adjective, derived from the above) -> den'skoj.
>
> *sUnU (SLEEP-nom.sg.) > son
> *sUna (SLEEP-gen.sg.) > sna
>
> Of course there are some restrictions. Thus, in a TURT sequence (T -
> polsive, U - jer or jer', R - liquid), they always appear as full vowels
> in Russian (but in, say. Czech).
>
> Also, as one sees, the rule produces vowel-null alternations in the
> paradigms. In longer words, there could be two point of alternations,
> and Old Russian permitted only one, so the first alternation point
> became a full vowel regardless of what Havlik's rule says.
>
> Hope this clears things up a bit.
> Pavel
Yes, thanks.

For the purpose of complexifying a CV system, this of course just adds to the
cry "Kill the heretic unstressed vowels!". :)

                                                           Andreas