Re: Lateralization

On Tue, Nov 21, 2000 at 12:09:33AM -0600, Eric Christopherson wrote:
> I'm wondering if anyone has any info or insight on lateralization. E.g.,
> what kinds of things cause sounds to become lateralized; what outcomes
> develop from lateralized sounds? I recall reading somewhere that Arabic
> emphatics are at least sometimes lateralized (as well as being
> pharyngealized), which leads me to wonder if there is an established link
> between lateralization and pharyngealization.
>
> Thanks!
>
> --
> Eric Christopherson / *Aiworegs Ghristobhorosyo
I'm not sure if this answers your question, but I've been trying to sort
out the protosemitic consonants, putting together two sources. Part of the
problem is that semiticists (? semititians ??) use their own notation with
for instance /hl/ represented by s-acute and /hl'/ (voiceless pharyngealised
[l]) by s-acute-dot-subscript. Below is my attempt to convert the dental
sounds to something like IPA notation and arrange them in groups according
to whether they were originally voiced, voiceless or voiceless and ejective
(with simultanious glottal stop). I'm not sure I entirely believe this, [t']
I can manage, a stop with double articulation, alveolar and glottal, but
[(t)s'] ? and [T'] ?? let alone [hl'], I can't see how you can be making a
stop in one part of the vocal tract and a sibilant/fricative in another
(unless of course the original semites were aliens with two vocal tracts).
Pharyngealised consonants are possible but the received wisdon is that they
developed from earlier ejectives. Anyway I'd be interested in any comments
or corrections to this table.


Proto  /    d  dz   D   l       t  ts  s~S? T  hl       t' ts'  T' hl'    /

Arab.  /    d   z   D   l       t   s   s   T   S       t'  s'  D'  d'    /
Ethiop./    d   z   z   l       t   s   s   s  hl       t'  s'  s' hl'(?) /
Heb.   /   d~D  z   z   l      t~T  s   S   S  hl       t'  s'  s'  s'    /
Akk.   /    d   z   z   l       t   s   S   S   S       t'  s'  s'  s'    /
Aram.  /   d~D  z  d~D  l      t~T  s   S  t~T  s       t'  s'  t'  "     /


Notes: Classical Arabic keeps nearly all the contrasts but /T'/ is for some
reason voiced, and /hl'/ converted to /d'/. Was there an original /hl'/ and
if not what was the original shape of this phoneme?
Akkadian although ancient is more 'evolved' than Hebrew.
Hebrew /hl/ is 'sin' that is a 'shin' /S/ with a dot top left rather than
top right. Since the points are a rather late addition to Hebrew writing
can we be sure that this distinction really exited, and if it did that 'sin'
actually stood for a lateral fricative? (Could be serious if you're called
Sarah, sorry Hlarah!).
The /"/ is meant to be a "ayin, either a voiced uvular stop or a voiced
pharyngeal fricative (almost R). Again it makes me wonder about the /hl'/
reconstruction.

Keith