Re: Some Sound Changes

Rob Haden wrote:
>
> Hey,
>
> I have some sound changes that I'd like to have in my language, but I'm not
> sure how realistic they are:
>
> /ai/ > /e/
> /au/ > /o/
> /ei/ > /i/
> /eu/ > /ü/
> /oi/ > /ö/
> /ou/ > /u/
All sound good.  So far.  The first two, especially, are very common
changes.

> /¿E/* > /i:/
I *think* pharyngeals tend to *lower*, rather than *raise* vowels, but
I'm not confident.

> /Vi:/ > /i:/ or /Vi/ (which one is more realistic?)
Both seem probable.

> /a:i:/ > /ai/ or /e:/ (" ")
> /e:i:/ > /ei/ or /i:/ (" ")
> /o:i:/ > /oi/ or /ö:/
> /a:i/ > /ai/ or /e:/
> /e:i/ > /ei/ or /i:/
> /o:i/ > /oi/ or /ö:/
> /a:u/ > /au/ or /o:/
> /e:u/ > /eu/ or /ü:/
> /o:u/ > /ou/ or /u:/
All of these seem probable.  My preference would be to go with the
first, but that's just an esthetic issue, not a realism one.

> /ha/ > /a:/
> /he/ > /e:/
> /ho/ > /o:/
These last three seem a bit unrealistic.  /ah/, /eh/, and /oh/ to long
vowels would be plausible, but I can't see a syllable-initial /h/
causing lengthening.

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