Re: Sound changes

At 23:31 19/08/2002 +0100, you wrote:
>Hi all!
>
>Are there any rules for sound changes in a language? I mean if I'd like to
>create a new dialect, or a new language from an existing one, is it just
>the question of my taste, which sound changes I use? Or are there any
>changes, that cannot happen together.... If I'd like to create 2 dialects,
>which sound changes can I use? (I mean if I use similar ones, I'll get
>only 1 dialect :) I hope you understand what I mean.....

Actually it depends first on your phonological system ;) But one great
principle in linguistics (I do love it!) is the tendency to do the less
possible. So almost all linguistic changes go easier. To make realistic
shifts, you should (must?) pay attention to assimilation. For example, a
sequence /ki/ will often turn to /ci/, or /t^Si/, or even /t^si/
(palatalization) but it is (almost) impossible that /ki/ > /qi/ (uvular
plosive). However, /ku/ (or /ko/) can easily become /qu/ as the vowel is
back. You may wonder if a palatalization of /k/ in /ku/ is possible. It is,
but if you have /ku/ > /cu/, you must absolutely have also /ci/, and /ce/,
because (/i e/ are front and /u o/ are back). This could happen because kk
simplifies to /k/, to keep the system coherent. I give you an example with
an hypothetical language :

** ORIGINAL SYSTEM **
p t k kk s

I don't discuss the fact that kk (or k:) is phonemic or not. But just
suppose you have a great number of minimal pairs with kk such as :
aki vs akki
toke vs tokke
puku vs pukku
soko vs sokko

then you can imagine that kk, which appears often, simplifies to k. But k
exists, so k palatalizes to c. Hence :

** NEW SYSTEM **
p t c (originally *k) k (originally *kk) s


aci vs aki
toce vs toke
pucu vs puku
soco vs soko

Of course, it doesn't happen at the same time, and for instance you can
have first ki > ci, then ke > ce and only after ku > cu and ko > co.

Here is an example, but a lot of changes can happen. Feel free to ask for
more details or explanations if it's not clear.
If you want, I can help you design those changes or just give you a few
ways to go from your original system ;).


Julien.

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