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Re: Ubykh suspicions (was brz reloaded!)

From:Shreyas Sampat <ssampat@...>
Date:Wednesday, September 28, 2005, 13:40
Paul Bennett wrote:

> Well, that's just it. How do you tell those two patterns apart? > > To me, /1/ + /C/ > /iC/ is isomorphic with /i/ + /k/ > /iC/ (absent > any other data), and that's the crux of the biscuit for Ubykh: only > certain vowel and consonant combinations (I think it's CV rather than > VC) are allowed. I lack an understanding of how it can be proven one > way or the other.
Well. You need more data, that's how. Suppose you have some forms, MEREG MERIK And you know that these decompose to merV-C, morphologically. Either there are two merV forms and the C is varying phonologically, or vice versa. Suppose that you are certain C is a number marker... now you have two possibilities: MEREG means something like "one tapestry", and MERIK is the same stem but with a different number, like, "excess tapestries." Thus, you have consonant triggering a vowel alternation. Or, MEREK and MERIK have the same number, but, like, one means "moon" and the other "tapestry." Thus, you have vowels triggering consonant alternation. -- The "Million Style Manual" is a set of sixty-four jade stones marked with pieces of Chinese characters. It expresses the kung fu of the void, as taught by P'an Ku's axe. Shreyas Sampat http://njyar.blogspot.com