Re: Kijeb sandhi

BPJ:
<<
I'd like your input on how realistic (phonetically
plausible) the sandhi changes look. Any suggestions that may
make them more realistic or interesting are welcome!
 >>

Wow!  That's a really innovative way of presenting that information!
Zhyler, a language where what happens to consonants coming into
contact with one another is vitally important, has an explanation for
consonantal sandhi, but I kind of lump it in with other consonantal
allophonic rules like word-final devoicing:

http://dedalvs.free.fr/zhyler/phonology.html

(Go to "Consonantal Allophonic Rules".)

This is a *much* more elegant way of presenting the same information!
I may have to borrow it.

The change *rr > dr strikes me as a bit bizarre--especially since
there's no change with *wr, *yr, *tr, *dr, *nr and *sr.  I would
expect *rr to pattern with the either the approximants (*wr and
*yr = no change), the alveolars (*tr, *dr, *nr, *sr = no change), or
the doubled consonants (*pp > p, *bb > b, *ff > f, *tt > t, etc.).

But then, they do belong to this class, which strikes me as a bit
bizarre:

*rr > dr
*ww > gw/b
*yy > wy

These can be grouped together as belonging to a class where a
doubled approximant produces...an unexpected result?  I can
see these two belonging to a set:

*rr > dr
*ww > gw

Then it's like the doubled consonant undergoes fortition, the
first segment becoming a stop, and the latter an off-glide.  You
might, then, expect *yy to do something like this:

*yy > gy

I know there are no palatal consonants other than /y/ in this
inventory, but /g/'s pretty close.

Oh, wait!  I misread the table!  I need more practice at this.  I see
that is, indeed, *exactly* what you did:

*rr > dr
*ww > gw/b
*yy > gy

Makes sense!  I see we came to the same conclusion independently.
Hurrah!

(The cell I was looking at was *yw.  Oops...)

-David
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"A male love inevivi i'ala'i oku i ue pokulu'ume o heki a."
"No eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn."

-Jim Morrison

http://dedalvs.free.fr/

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