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Re: CHAT: liaison (was: Re: CHAT: Synesthesia and conlanging (wasRe:The ConlangInstinct))

From:Grandsire, C.A. <grandsir@...>
Date:Monday, December 13, 1999, 9:14
Nik Taylor wrote:
> > Don Blaheta wrote: > > The [t] for inversion, though, is present *regardless* of the final > > consonant of the verb, and is written if the verb ends in vowel (thus > > mange-t-il, a-t-elle), > > Interesting. Is this from the fact that most 3rd persons end in /t/? > Perhaps the /t/ became re-analyzed as a general inversion-marker? >
I think it comes from the 't' which ended all third person verbs in Latin. It stayed in liaison and became thus reanalysed as an inversion-marker. But it's just a guess. -- Christophe Grandsire Philips Research Laboratories -- Building WB 145 Prof. Holstlaan 4 5656 AA Eindhoven The Netherlands Phone: +31-40-27-45006 E-mail: grandsir@natlab.research.philips.com