Re: Is this sound change plausible?

> I was doodling out a new language sketch, which contains an open /O/ and
> close /o/. Later, as I went along, I kept finding myself wanting to
> change /o/ to /2/ (i.e. as a development from a parent language to a
> daughter language). Now I know that in several languages (such as
> English and Occitan) original /o/ changed to /u/, but is /o/ to /2/
> feasible? I can't think of any natlang I've encountered it in, so I was
> wondering if anyone else has, or if someone more knowledgeable in
> phonetics and/or historical linguistics could tell me whether it is
> possible/plausible, or if it would never (or not likely) happen in a
> "real" language.
I don't think this is too terrifically unlikely. It could be made more
likely if the /o/ were pushed there by /O/, i.e. /O/ started getting
higher and threatened to merge with /o/, so /o/ fronted. Being combined
with /u/ -> /y/ would also increase the likelihood.


Jesse S. Bangs jaspax@u.washington.edu
http://students.washington.edu/jaspax/

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