Re: How Does This Look? (Sound Changes)

Sorry, I'll elaborate:

On Thu, 28 Aug 2003 16:57:19 -0400, David Peterson <ThatBlueCat@...>
wrote:

>For me, a list of sound change rules would be easier.  Anyway:
>
> Sound Change 1: Why is the first /na/ not attached?  Was it a separate
> word?  As to the change, I've heard of diphthongs with /o/ going to [wa],
> but never /o/ by itself--especially not in medial position.
At that stage, 'na' was an independent word.  The rounded vowel /o/ causes
a labialized articulation of the preceding consonant, and then the vowel is
levelled to /a/: no > nwo > nwa.  The 'w' is a labial glide.

> Sound Change 2: I've never heard of deaffrication causing compensatory
> vowel lengthening, nor /wa/ > [u].  I could see /n/ > [N]...
The labial glide is syllabized.  The compensatory vowel lengthening is not
due to de-affrication, but due to de-aspiration: kxha > kxa: > kha:.

> Sound Change 4: I don't know what the /e/ with the dots over it means.
> In Russian, it's [jO].  Also, is the dotted /i/ an inflectional affix, or
> something that was permanently added, like a nominative case ending, or
> noun class suffix?  Anyway, if it was added (and presuming it sounds
> something like [i]), then I can see it fronting the /o/ to become /2/.
The dotted /e/ is a mid-back unrounded vowel; the dotted /i/ is a high-back
unrounded vowel.  The -i/ï ending was the old dative case, extended
analogically to become the absolutive case.  Before then, all unstressed
rounded vowels were de-rounded: /o/ > /ë/, /u/ > /ï/.  Later, /ï/ merged
with /i/ and /ë/ merged with /e/, and then all unstressed /i/ merged
with /e/.

> Sound Change 5: I don't know about the vowel lengthening, since you
> already have a long consonant in /nn/.
The vowel lengthening is again due to de-aspiration.

> Sound Change 6: /i/ > [e] is fine, of course, and while I've never heard
> of /nn/ > [nt], for some reason, it seems plausible...  Has anyone heard
> of this kind of sound change?
My reasoning behind /nn/ > /nt/ was that /nn/ was pronounced emphatically,
with a puff of air or something like that, to distinguish it from /n/.
This came to be pronounced as if there was a dental stop after the dental
nasal, giving /nt/.

- Rob