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Re: THEORY: Could Vowel Harmony be a Universal?

From:BP Jonsson <bpj@...>
Date:Sunday, January 23, 2000, 17:31
At 22:25 -0600 22.1.2000, raccoon@ELKNET.NET wrote:
> >Sanskrit had something similar to this. I don't remember the exact rules, >but retroflex consonants and high vowels tend to make dental/alveolar >consonants such as /t d t_h d_h s/ in the same word become retroflex. >However, the assimilation is halted if those consonants are separated from >the original retroflex ones by nasals, or something like that. It seems >pretty complex to me, and I don't quite grasp how high vowels cause coronals >to become retroflex. I could understand if they became palatal, but Sanskrit >has a separate series of palatals, separate from retroflexes.
There are two different rules: (1) An /s/ following /r/ /u/ /k/ /i/ becomes /.s/ -- called the "ruki" rule! (2) An /r/ turns an /n/ following in the same word into /.n/, if no non-labial consonant intervenes. /BP B.Philip Jonsson <mailto: bpj@...> <mailto: melroch@...> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~__ Anant' avanaute quettalmar! \ \ __ ____ ____ _____________ ___ __ __ __ / / \ \/___ \\__ \ /___ _____/\ \\__ \\ \ \ \\ \ / / / / / / / \ / /Melroch\ \_/ // / / // / / / / /___/ /_ / /\ \ / /Melarocco\_ // /__/ // /__/ / /_________//_/ \_\/ /Eowine__ / / \___/\_\\___/\_\ I neer Pityancalimeo\ \_____/ /ar/ /_atar Mercasso naan ~~~~~~~~~Cuinondil~~~\_______/~~~\__/~~~Noolendur~~~~~~ || Lenda lenda pellalenda pellatellenda cuivie aiya! || "A coincidence, as we say in Middle-Earth" (JRR Tolkien)