Re: Umlaut (was: More questions)

Hallo!

On Wed, 26 Nov 2003 16:08:57 -0500,
Paul Bennett <paul-bennett@...> wrote:

> On Wed, 26 Nov 2003 21:15:35 +0100, Jörg Rhiemeier <joerg_rhiemeier@...>
> wrote:
>
  [...]
>
> > ObConlang: My conlang family provisionally designated "Q" has i-umlaut
> > and u-umlaut; I am considering adding a-umlaut, but I am not sure about
> > the latter.  However, as I think about it, I think a-umlaut is a good
> > idea.  Makes matters neatly symmetrical and more complex.
>
> My still unnamed project (provisionally WC8, de facto, it seems) has vowel
> mutation that works like umlaut, and which may have historically been
> umlaut (or more properly vowel harmony followed by umlaut).
>
  [details and examples snipped]
>
> The entire table is as follows:
>
>         A       I       U
> a       a       e       o
> e       a       i       o
> i       e       i       u
> o       a       e       u
> u       o       i       u
In Proto-Q, a vowel undergoes a-umlaut if followed by /a/,
i-umlaut if followed by /i/, and u-umlaut if followed by /u/.
Precedence is from right to left.  For example, if an /i/
follows an /a/, the /a/ is umlauted to /e/, and a vowel
preceding the /a/ no longer undergoes a-umlaut.

The vowel changes are listed in the following table:

radical  A    I    U

   a     a    e    o
   e     e    e    ø
   i     e    i    y
   o     o    ø    o
   u     o    y    u
   ø     ø    ø    ø
   y     ø    y    y

All seven vowel letters have their IPA values.

This can be analysed in terms of vowel features.  The vowels have
the following features:

         a   e   i   o   u   ø   y

[+open]  +   +   -   +   -   +   -
[+front] -   +   +   -   -   +   +
[+round] -   -   -   +   +   +   +

A vowel with only one feature transfers its feature to the vowel
in the preceding syllable.  That's it.

In some of the Q daughter languages, some vowels have been changed
or lost, leaving "fossilized" umlauts behind.

Greetings,

Jörg.