Re: k(w)->p

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Constructed Languages List [mailto:CONLANG@LISTSERV.BROWN.EDU]On
> Behalf Of Ed Heil
> Sent: Monday, January 24, 2000 5:51 PM
> To: CONLANG@LISTSERV.BROWN.EDU
> Subject: k(w)->p
> Does any historical linguist out there know if we have any other,
> independent evidence of labialized velars becoming labials, or, on the
> other hand, of doubly articulated labial-velars becoming labialized
> velars?
I'm no historical linguist, but I know that in Sard and Romanian, two
Romance languages, it happened; thus Sard <limba> for Latin <lingua>. Other
IE languages with the change k_w>p include Greek (in some cases),
Oscan/Umbrian, the so-called P-Celtic languages such as Welsh and I think
Gaulish, and probably some others. I'm trying to think of non-IE languages
like that, but haven't come up with any so far, due simply to my lack of
familiarity with external histories of non-IE languages.

I think the change does make sense though, as much as k_j>c makes sense. I
imagine the sound might have gone through a phase where it was a
coarticulated k_p; if people progressively tightened their lips more and
more as they pronounced it it would become k_p, and from there I think it's
easy to imagine it dropping the velar component altogether.

Eric Christopherson
raccoon@elknet.net