> > I thought that "hearth" was /h3rT/? If it has /Ar/ instead, I guess that
> > makes "heart" a little more regular then. (Maybe there was a minor shift
>of
> > */E:/ > */a/ between h and r+coronal...)
>
>Nup, "hearth" definitely isn't /h3rT/... I know there was at one stage
>a change of /Er/ -> /ar/;
>I assumed this
>was the same change (with the /E:/ > /E/ earlier), which would help
>explain why "heard" is /h3:d/, if it shortened after the change.
>--
>Tristan.
I still think the h might play a part in it too - or how do you explain
"earth" not going thru the same shift then?
John Vertical