Raymond wrote:
> I don't know - only Andrew can answer that one. But one must remember, I
> think, that Brithenig - for all its apparent Welshness - is a Romancelang.
> I guess that since no Romancelang exhibits umlaut, then the i-umlaut
> plurals seemed out of keeping - tho I see no reason why it might not have
> developed if Brithenig has such a strong Brittonic substrate influence.
In many galloitalic dialects vowels undergo umlaut processes:
southern Lombard: cavell /ka'vEl/ > pl. cavij /ka'vij/
Bolognese is particularly rich in metaphonic plurals:
sacc 'dry' /sak/ > pl. sécc /sek/
dänt 'tooth' /d&nt/ > pl. dént /dent/
biånd 'blond' /bjAnd/ > pl. biónd /bjond/
våul 'flight' /vAUl/ > pl. vûl /vu:l/
vaider 'glass' /vajder/ > pl. vîder /vi:der/
ciôd 'nail' /tSOd/ > pl. ciûd /tSu:d/
stròlg 'wizard' /strOlg/ > pl. strûlg /strulg/.
Luca