Orjan Johansen <oerjan@...> wrote:
>
> On Mon, 8 Mar 1999, BP Jonsson wrote:
>=20
> > That front vowels alone should have a voicing effect looks not
> > very realistic IMHO.
>=20
> Could the following be a realistic historical explanation for such a
> phenomenon?
It looks phonetically possible, but i haven't heard of anything like
it in any natlang.
/BP
> - First, front vowels (only) are diphthongized; [e] -> [ej], [i] ->
[ij].
> - Then, the [j] is assimilated with a following consonant, voicing it.
> - The diphthongization might even take place only when the following
> consonant is close to [j] in place of articulation, i.e. [k].
>=20
> Greetings,
> =D8rjan.
>=20
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