Re: Vocalic patterns & BrSc

Raymond Brown wrote:
>Prompted by recent discussions on reforming BrSc (so I can give it a proper
>name  :)  and by some other recent discussions, I've done a little
>investigating while having a rest from the list.  I've been looking at
>vowel patterns in different languages.
>
>There can be little doubt that the 'classical' pattern of having front~
>back contrasts at the high & mid levels but not at the low level, is the
>most frequent and widespread, i.e.
>                /i/ ---- /u/
>                 |        |
>                 |        |
>                /e/ ---- /o/
>                 \       /
>                  \     /
>                    /a/
>
>It's found not only in Spanish, Modern Greek, Russian and Czech, but also
>in many of the African languages, native American languages, Japanese and
>the languages of Pacific islands.  If BrSc were simply proposed as yet
>another IAL, then IMO I'd be foolish not to adopt it.  Apart from Volapük
>for a very brief period, no con-IAL that has adopted a different system
>seems to fared well.
>
>"Old-style" BrSc, indeed, basically had this pattern, supplemented by two
>diphthongs: /aj/ & /aw/.  But the phonology, if you recall, restricted the
>total number of morphemes to somewhere between 2 to 2.5 thousand.
>
>But BrSc has two other aims: (a) morphemic self-segregation, and (b)
>compactness/brevity.  The former has little direct bearing on vowel
>patterning but the latter does if I adopt a Dirk-like 'Roman syllabary'
>(which might be seen as a 'half-way' house between a 'normal natlang' and
>Lin).
>
>Dirk's syllabary (which I've always found attractive) means only one
>contrast of tongue height: high ~ low.  In Dirk's original scheme there was
>a three dimensional contrast at both hights, thus:
>               /i/ --- /1/ --- /u/
>                |       |       |
>                |       |       |
>               /e/ --- /a/ --- /o/
>
>Now I find, in fact, that 3x2 distributions like this seem pretty uncommon.
>Indeed I could find only one - Sranan (or Taki-Taki), which has, I
>understand:
>               /i/ --- /y/ --- /u/
>                |       |       |
>                |       |       |
>               /e/ --- /a/ --- /o/
>
>I wonder if the high 'central' vowel should not rather be [}] (I would be
>content to accept a vowel with [1] or [{] as allophones).
>
>But I find the 2x2 vowel system, which I first proposed in my modified
>version of Dirk's syllabary, rather more widespread, being found - I'm told
>- in Apache, Fox, Shawnee and other native langs of north & south America,
>namely:
>               /i/ ----- /u/
>                |         |
>                |         |
>               /e/ ----- /o/
>
>According to some theorists, the same pattern was also found in
>Proto-Germanic.  What is certain is that Etruscan had a similar 2x2
>pattern:
>               /i/ ----- /u/
>                |         |
>                |         |
>               /e/ ----- /a/
>
>....and the (probably) related Lemnian also appears to have had:
>               /i/ ----- /o/
>                |         |
>                |         |
>               /e/ ----- /a/
>
>(Tho one cannot be 100% certain in this case; it may simply be fortuitous
>that no inscription with /u/ survived.)
>
>It seems to me that if I do adopt a Dirk-like 'Roman syllabary' in any
>reformed BrSc, I must chose between a 3x2 or a 2x2 distribution.  I am not
>persuaded that high (or even mid) central vowels are a "good thing" in an
>IAL; and the apparent rarity of the 3x2 pattern also dissuades me.  It
>seems the 2x2 pattern is is, or has been, more widespread, being found in
>both the new and old worlds.
>
>All comments or observations, whether pro or con, are invited ;)
Have you considered a 2x3 pattern? That is, something like:

/i/----/u/
|      |
/e/----/o/
|      |
/a/----/A/

/a/ could be realized as either [a] or [{], or have both as free allophones.

I can't think of any natlang with this system right now, but then I'm no
language typologist.

                                                  Andreas

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