Re: plausible sound change?

--- Roger Mills <romilly@...> wrote:
> >   (1)_  fricativize after a front vowel
> >   (2)_  voices before a front vowel, which affects
> > the previous vowel
> >    what would happen is both vowels were front?
> >    etir > eidir or ithir?
> Same problem:  eidir < 2,1; ithir < 1,2 (why does e-
> change to i-??).
   e to i is a typo. Oops.

  1,2 > etir to ethir by 1, to eidhir by 2.
  2,1 > etir to eidir by 2, to eidhir by 1

  If fric was cause only by high front vowels (i) then
I'd get

  1,2 > eidir
  2,1 > eidhir (maybe...)


> As to plausibility, IMVHO not.  (Though I'm suppose
> someone will cite a
> natlang ex.)
  I couldn't see how it was plausible either. I was
hoping someone would provide me with a way it could
be, because it would solve a problem I'm trying to
resolve at the moment.

> However, I can see front vowels
> > fricativize front (dental) consonants, perhaps
> along with back vowels >
> fric. back (velar) consonants, etc.; similarly,
> voicing of cons. between
> (all) vowels;  or changes to vowels depending on the
> following vowel--
> that's sort of what umlaut is.
   Yes, I had an idea that labial cons would cause
u-umlaut or rounding, dental > i-umlaut, and velar >
a-umlaut. Fric of only dentals might work fine...

  I'm also wondering if a common welsh derivation
could work in reverse:

  in plosive clusters, the second element is
fricativized, then the first element assimilates to
it, and then vocalizes, forming diphthongs.

  frex: latin nocte > nokT > noxT > noeT /nojT/
approximately.

  So, could i develop into a palatal fricative, and
then cause fricativization by assimilation? In welsh,
i: often > /ij/, with the /j/ becoming /D/. If this is
plausible, then I've got my solution:

  i:, e:, i all > ij in tonic syll
  j > pal fric before cons
  assimilation of fric
  loss of pal fric

  itir 'between' < OI itir
   > ijtir
   > ijTir
   > iTir <ithir>

  Does this seem plausible now?

  Aidan





__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Get personalized email addresses from Yahoo! Mail - only $35
a year!  http://personal.mail.yahoo.com/

Reply