Re: Umlaut, Vowel Harmony etc

Chris Bates wrote:

> Can anyone tell me how changes towards such a system work in practice? I
> understand that vowels influence neighbouring vowels, but for instance
> is it usually progressive or regressive, and how does it stop? I mean,
> if for instance one vowel influences a neighbouring vowel to becoming
> rounded, and then that vowel does the same, then roundedness would
> spread throughout the language before too long, so the application of
> such rules must be limited somehow since we don't find any languages
> with all rounded vowels, or all high vowels, etc that have taken harmony
> right to the extreme.

I think you're thinking too hard :)

There's a couple of points I can think of (I'm not a linguist, though,
so I can't promise I'm always accurate):

- Not every word has a conditioner (otherwise you don't get umlaut or
vowel harmony, you'd just get a general-purpose sound change).
- The sound changes don't need to be active forever. Once it's been
active, it can quietly disappear long forgotten, except that in a couple
hundred years linguists will try to work out why the plural of /fUt/ is
/fi:t/.
- The sound changes don't necessarily bring all vowels into positions of
influence. In germanic i-mutation, for instance, all that happened was
an /i/ or /j/ brought a backed stressed vowel forwards. It didn't touch
front vowels, and the only unrounded back vowel was /A/, so it didn't
come near /i/.
- Even if a domino effect causes all vowels in words with one rounded
vowel to become rounded, all that's needed is a words (and productive
inflexions) to have no rounded vowels, [and you get vowel hormonu],
[rithir thin i linguige with inli ine viwel].
- People aren't stupid and won't change their language in
incomprehensible ways (unless friggle cornure incomprehensenarow). Sound
changes aren't forced on us by god, they're drifts for presumably social
reasons.

(PS: /frIg@l ko:nja IncOmpr@hensn@rOu/, not /-s@n&r&u/.)

--
Tristan.

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