Re: Biwa (was: YAC: ...)

> Do you know how this split happened? What was the original
> reason for splitting intransitive predicates? Control? Or
> was it animacy then too?
>
> > Probably Old Biwa had long and short vowels:
> >   i i:   y y:  u u:
> >    e e:  2 2:  o o:
> >          a a:
> > but those vowels had different evolution:
> >   i -> 1     i: -> i:  -> i
> >   y -> y     y: -> 2:H -> 9Y
> >   e -> E     e: -> e:  -> e
> >   2 -> 9     2: -> @\: -> @
> >   a -> V     a: -> A:  -> A
> >   o -> O     o: -> o:w -> ow
> >   u -> U     u: -> }:  -> }
Is there any pattern to this at all?  Generally, vowels tend to move en
masse, either all raising, all lowering, all long vowels diphthongize,
etc., or only one at a time.  Taking examples from English, the Great
Vowel Shift raised and dipthongized all long stressed vowels, but
afterwards an isolated phonetic change (in my dialect) changed [au] to
[&u].

So, did the vowels here ever have a distinct shift?  Or are all the
changes random?

>
> This evolution reminds me of the Swedish vowel changes.
> From Old Nordic to Rune Swedish. That is from a 5 vowel
> system to a 9 vowel system with length and nasalization
> features. But Biwa does this rather differently. Very
> neat! The differences between A and O and @ and 9 are
> minimal to my ear though when they are all short. Though
> I guess I shouldn't say anything with the Swedish /i/ -
> /y/ - /{/ - /2/ distinction. :)
>
> What I like the most are the diphthongs 9Y and ow mixed
> with all the other monophthongs. Very cool.
>
> > /p/, /t/, /k/ vs /b/, /d/, /g/ are actually fortis vs
> > lenis and not voiceless vs voiced.
>
> But the difference isn't that big, is it? Although, I can
> imagine it makes a difference for sound changes.
>
> daniel
>
> --
> <> BEKÄMPA SPRÅKDÖDEN <> daniel.andreasson@telia.com <>
> <>    SKAPA ETT SPRÅK <> Daniel Andreasson           <>
>
Jesse S. Bangs jaspax@u.washington.edu
"It is of the new things that men tire--of fashions and proposals and
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