Re: Language change that complicates the syllable structure

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
--
Pavel Iosad               pavel_iosad@mail.ru

Nid byd, byd heb wybodaeth
                 --Welsh saying

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