Re: C (was: Acadon (was: Lingwa de Planeta))

Mark J. Reed wrote:
> "Back vowels" would include O, yes?  So originally there was QO as well as QU?
Yes, that's correct. That convention was also found in some areas of
Greece (i.e. koppa - not kappa - used before all the back vowels.

> Correct me if I'm wrong, but in the reformed spelling (that is, using
> the alphabet that includes G), the letter Q was preserved to allow the
> CU/QU alternation to distinguish /ku/ from /kw/.
That's quite correct.

> That still doesn't
> explain why they kept both C and K, though.
K virtually disappeared. It was retain as an abbreviation for the proper
name Casca, and also, where context made clear, for Carthage, Calends,
calumny (calumnia) and 'caput' (head). In judicial documents KK stood
for 'calumniae causa' (in the case of calumny). We also find: KA =
capitalis (relating to life; punishable by death); KK = castrorum
(pertaining to the camp); K.S. = carus suis (dear to his own people).

The only words regularly spelled with K in the Classical period were
Kalendae (Calends - the first day of the month), and its derivatives:
Kalendaris/ Kalendalis = of or pertaining to the Calends; Kalendarium =
the debt book or interest book of a money lender [because monthly
interest was reckoned by the Calends].

The preservation of K in these words was almost certainly due to
religious conservatism, as the calendar was the property the Pontifex
Maximus (Chief High Priest). But even these words gave way to being
spelled with initial C- in the late Classical period. It survived only
as a letter of the alphabet, but not used.

But its survival on a life support machine, so to speak, did allow it to
be brought back into use later to express /k/ before front vowels. A
notable early example is 'Kyrie eleison' (Lord, have mercy), which has
been part of the Catholic Mass since the earliest times.

--
Ray
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ray@carolandray.plus.com
http://www.carolandray.plus.com
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Nid rhy hen neb i ddysgu.
There's none too old to learn.
[WELSH PROVERB]

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