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Re: initial mutation or trigger? Re: re Mutations initial (in Welsh,

From:Mark J. Reed <markjreed@...>
Date:Thursday, October 14, 2004, 13:50
On Thu, Oct 14, 2004 at 11:12:44AM +0200, Rodlox wrote:
> > becomes: pryn + odd (3rd singular past tense) > > > > Then in certain contexts, the "p" mutates to "b". > > Since the "p" is at the beginning of the word, it is > > called "initial consonant mutation". > > ah...though, maybe it's just my foggy mind...(dang cold)...but that sounds > like a trigger language, as I understand it. > > is a "mutation" when it's attached to a word (ie, prynodd), and a > "trigger" when it isn't attached?
Rodlox: now I'm confused. What are you talking about? As I read it, "initial consonant mutation" isn't any kind of technical linguistics terminology; it's just plain English. The initial consonant (e.g. /p/) undergoes a mutation (to /b/), therefore it's called initial consonant mutation. I suppose could have been called "first consonant change", but I can't think of any way to make it plainer than that. What the heck does a phonetic change like that have to do with triggers? -Marcos

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Rodlox <rodlox@...>