Re: THEORY: derivation question

On Wed, 24 Mar 1999, Nik Taylor wrote:

> Not to mention that /f/ --> /p/ is a much less probable change than /p/
> --> /f/.  Sounds frequently become less obstructed, that is stops tend
> to become affricates (stop+fricative series, like /tS/, English ch),
> affricates to fricatives, fricatives to approximates (frictionless
> sounds like /w/).  There are counterexamples, but overall, if two
> languages are related, and one has /p/, and the other /f/, */p/ is the
> more probable ancestor.
Two of my three children went through a period of saying /wolp/ for
"wolf". I can't find the etymological dictionary (we need a bigger
house, or at least a bigger bookcase) but I think the Dutch _welp_
"(wolf) cub" may be from the same root as "wolf".

   Irina

               ira@rempt.xs4all.nl (mailing list address)
                     irina@rempt.xs4all.nl (myself)
     http://www.xs4all.nl/~bsarempt/irina/frontpage.html (English)
    http://www.xs4all.nl/~bsarempt/irina/backpage.html (Nederlands)