Re: Language change that complicates the syllable structure

On Wed, 27 Aug 2003, JS Bangs wrote:

> Arnt Richard Johansen sikyal:
>
> > What are some plausible diachronic processes that can expand the syllable
> > structure of a language?
> > [snip]
> >
> > What little I've read of historical linguistics suggests that weakening
> > and elision of consonants is much more common than elision of
> > vowels and epenthetical insertion, which by the way are the only two
> > syllable-complicating processes I know of.
>
> I would say that this is incorrect. It is not at all uncommon for vowels
> to be reduced to schwa, then elided. Every language I can think of has
> some process of vowel elision in its recent past. A quick rundown:
While it hasn't had a recent past, my understanding is that Etruscan dropped
non-boundary (initial and final) vowels, so that a word like 'understanding'
would've become 'undstnding'. One would initially imagine that this was a
typo, but no: I've seen it reproduced in a number of places with examples.

e.g.

        The loss of vowels in Etruscan spelling after the first syllable,
        resulting in clusters of consonants, was due to an intensive
        stress accent which around 500 BCE affected Etruscan as well as
        other languages of Italy (Latin, Umbrian, Oscan, Sabellian). The
        first syllable was heavily accented, with the result that following
        vowels weakened (a>e>i), and eventually dropped out. This abbreviation,
        or syncope, is most obvious in the later, neo-Etruscan inscriptions
        of the fourth century BCE and the Hellenistic period. On Etruscan
        mirrors, for example, we find the Greek name Alexandros written
        in the abbreviated form Alcsentre, and even Elcsntre. Ramutha
        (a woman's name) becomes Ramtha; Rasenna (the name of the
        Etruscans) Rasna; Klytaimestra (Clytemnestra) becomes Clutumsta,
        then Clutmsta.; turice 'gave', becomes turce. (The pronunciation
        of a 'syncopated' way.) This loss of vowels was only partly
        compensated for by nasal liquids (the 'l' in Atlnta, for the Greek
        name of the female athlete Atalanta, was pronounced something like
        the final syllable of English 'castle'). Conversely, sometimes in the
        internal syllables extra vowels were inserted in consonant clusters
        to make words easier to pronounce.  This tendency accounts for the
        transformation of the Greek name of the goddess Artemis into Aritimi,
        of the Etruscan name for Herakles (Hercle) into Herecele and of Menrva
        (Minerva) into Menerva.

http://users.tpg.com.au/etr/etrusk/tex/develop.html

--
Tristan                  <kesuari@...>

Yesterday I was a dog. Today I'm a dog. Tomorrow I'll probably still
be a dog. Sigh! There's so little hope for advancement.
                -- Snoopy

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