Re: Sound change rules for erosion

On Wed, 19 Nov 2003 23:15:53 -0500, Amanda Babcock <ababcock@...>
wrote:
> pamawape --> pámawpé    woman
> kowapo --> kówap       child
> taloki --> tálok       house
> serumu --> sérum       sit (intrans)
> lelipe --> lélip       go (intrans)
> teluhehu --> téluhhú    burn (intrans)
>
> Any more suggestions for how to make it sound deep, naturalistic in a
> Germanic way, and have more phonemes and fewer syllables?
Well, I havnt studied enough to help you in making it sound Germanic.

But I can tell you:
If you want fewer syllables you'll hafta be more brutal on your vowels.
If you want more phonemes, you'll hafta be brutal on everything.

I'll give examples with my sound changes, which generally give what I
consider are pleasing shapes.  [Query: what kind of time-frame are you
looking at here?  The more time you give yourself, the more changes you
can get away with.  These changes span from PIE date to the modern day.]

*pamawape > Proto-Hadwan *famøwafe
    - *p > f  [standard fare; Germanic does this]
    - *a becomes *ø before *w (an odd change, but mirrors *a > *e
      before *y)
PH *famøwafe > Kirumb famuvaf /famy"waf/
    - the stress system changes, so we dont know (and it doesnt
      matter) what it was originally.
    - the mid vowels raise: *ø > /y/, *e > /i/.
    - final unstressed /i/ drops.
K famuvaf > Âdlanke famvaf /'fAmvAf/
    - The stress moves to the original syllable, dropping what
      vowels may come between.
 famvaf > Atlantic famvaf /'fAmvAf/
    - No changes.

*kowapo > PH *šuwafo
    - Yes, it's satem; *k > *š (this *isnt* [S], btw)
    - *o > *u before *w.  Another diphthong shift.
PH *šuwafo > K sovafo /suwa"fu/
    - mid-vowel-raise
K sovafo > Â sovfo /'sOwfO/
    - stress-change + vowel drop
 sovfo > A sovfo /'so:fO/
    - diphthong change.

*taloki > PH *taloši
         > K talosi /talu"si/
         > Â talhse /'tA5sE/
         > A tovse /'to:sE/

*serumu > PH *herumu
         > K hiromo /hiru"mu/
         > Â hermo /'hErmO/
         > A hermo /'ErmO/

*lelipe > PH *lelife
         > K lilifi /lili"fi/
         > Â lelfe  /'lElfE/
         > A lelfe  /'lElfE/

*teluhehu > PH *celwaw
    - assuming *H1 for *h; drops anyway
    - ew > aw
           > K cílaw  /tSi:"law/
    - loss of *w in *-lw- causes compensatory lengthening
           > Â cilau  /`tSilo/
    - aw > o:
    - loss of vowel quantity, in favor of quality
    - low pitch accent [!]
           > A šilau  /`Silo/
    - tS > S

So <famvaf>, <sovfo>, <tovse>, <hermo>, <lelfe>, <šilau>.
Given the A tendency for final vowels to drop after heavy sylls, too, you
get <sovf'> /so:f/ ; <lelf'> /lElf/; <tovs'> /to:s/; <herm'> /Erm/...
which seem easily enough to pass.  (Even better would be /ko:f/ and
/to:k/, assuming centumism).

The thing that strikes me as less-than-Germanic about here is the lack of
voicing of intervocalic fricatives.


   lelikepe --> lélikpé  go to
   lelirupe --> lélirpé  bring, carry, take
   lelikipe --> lélikpé  make go, send
   lelilope --> lélilpé  go on, ride

       *lelikepe > *lelišefe > lilisif > lelsef > lelsef
       *lelirupe > *lelirufe > lilirof > lelrof > lelrof
       *lelikipe > *lelišife > lilisif > lelsef > lelsef
        *lelilope > *lelilofe > lililof > lellof > lellof

Since 'lelikepe' and 'lelikipe' fall together fairly early, you get a
chance to invent inflections, drop distinctions, create circumlocutions,
or espouse ambiguity, any of which are cool.

        *Muke!
--
http://frath.net/
http://kohath.livejournal.com/

E jer savne zarjé mas ne   (You put music in my heart
Se imné koone'f metha       And with the spirit of an artist
Brissve mé kolé adâ.        I will make the dreamtime)

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