Re: Q Re: Sound Change (On Glide)

In Spanish the diphthongs "ie" /je/ and "ue" /we/ derive from Vulgar Latin
stressed è (open /e/) and ò (open /o/). However, Vulgar Latin é (closed /e/)
and ó (closed /o/) remain "e" and "o" in Spanish:

Lat. OSSUM > Vulgar Latin "òsso" > Spanish "hueso" /'we.so/, 'bone'
but
Lat. URSUM > Vulgr Lat. "ósso" > Spanish "oso" /´o.so/, 'bear'

Lat. CERVUS (short E) > Vulg. Lat "cèrvo" > Spanish "ciervo" /'øjer.bo/,
'deer'

Lat. CÉRA (long E) > Vulg. Lat. "céra" > Spanish "cera /'øe.ra/, 'wax'

The suggested development sequences are (cf. Ralf Penny 1991 "A History of
the Spanish Language"):

\è\ -> \éè\ -> \ie\ -> \je\
\ò\ -> \óò\ -> \uo\ -> \wo\ -> \we\

Similar changes also occurred in French ("ciel", Sp. "cielo"; "peuple", Sp.
"pueblo") and in other Romance languages but in different phonetic contexts.





-----Mensaje original-----
De: Constructed Languages List [mailto:CONLANG@LISTSERV.BROWN.EDU]En
nombre de David J. Peterson
Enviado el: sábado, 28 de junio de 2003 22:40
Para: CONLANG@LISTSERV.BROWN.EDU
Asunto: Q Re: Sound Change (On Glide)


Now, I've never actually been taught this in any linguistics class (hence,
why I'm asking), but in Spanish, it appears that Latin long mid vowels, when
stressed, became diphthongs with an on-glide.  Examples:

sentar "to sit" (stress on the /a/)

nosotros sentamos "we sit" (stress on the /a/)
yo siento "I sit" (stress on the /e/)

dormir "to sleep" (stress on the /i/)

nosotros dormimos "we sleep" (stress on the/i/)
yo duermo "I sleep" (stress on the /e/)

Note: I'm imagining that there was an secondary stage with "dormir" where it
was actually /dwormo/, at one time, and then the vowel fronted, for reasons
unknown.

My question: Does anyone have any examples of this happening in other
languages (nat or non)?  I don't believe I've ever seen another example of
this (though I've seen countless where obstruents become palatalized before
front vowels and labialized before back vowels, resulting *kind of* in
diphthongs with on-glides), so I was wondering how it worked, and if it
could work another way.

-David