Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2000 17:30:53 -0800 From: Rich Alderson To: elfling@egroups.com In-Reply-To: <005501bf5bd2$4ebf4180$4f64e2c3@trusnd78 Message-ID: <13515112609.17.ALDERSON@m...> List-Help: List-Unsubscribe: List-Archive: Reply-To: elfling@egroups.com Subject: Re: avarin phonetics MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Christian Zwarg wrote: >if _kw_ becomes _k_, and there has already been _k_ in the language before, >then the "old" _k_ is likely to change to something else (maybe _g_ or >whatever you like) so that the distinction is kept, i.e. the two phonemes >likely won't sound identical and thus get confused with each other at any time >during the change... It is just as likely that the two would merge. For example, in the history of Germanic, there is a well-known shift called Grimm's Law, with a well-known exception known as Verner's Law. Taking the dentals to demonstrate, we see PIE PGmc. t T /'V_ D elsewhere d t dh D Note that except immediately following an accented syllable, PIE *t falls together with *dh, and nothing in the later history of the Germanic languages alone can tell you whether a *D derives from earlier *t or *dh. Rich Alderson -------