r and s

[Ralf-Stefan Georg]

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Regarding the question how common rhotacistic phenomena are, here are some
further examples from Greek dialects:
 
- in intervocalic position -s- gets rhotacized to -r-   in the Eretria and
Oropos local varieties of Ionic (pairin = paisin)
 
- only in Auslaut position rhotacism is found in later Laconian, which is
(partly) retained in modern Tsakonian
 
- and in later Elian (Dior = Dios, tir = tis etc.)
 
Othe examples or near-examples incude:
 
 
In the Mongolian language Dagur several stop consonants (b, G, g, d) + s
are changed > r in syllable final position.
 
In Tundra Yukaghir, under certain assimilatory conditions including
secondary intervocalic position in compounds, initial s- is rhotacized > r-.
 
>From East Caucasian languages: the Akush and Urakh dialects of Dargwa seem
to respond with -r'- (r + glotal stop) and -r to a proto-Dargwa input
-z-/-z.
 
In Tibetan dialects, in some positions (always involving an initial sC-
cluster) s- may yield to r-:
Written Tib. sna "nose" > Panakha (Banag, a NE dialect) rna, WT sku "body"
> Panakha rku, WT stag "tiger" > Golok rtag. But this process depends
strongly on the following C, instances of rC- > sC- are also found.
 
So far, Latin rhotacism has been mentioned, but not the similar phenomenon
in Umbrian (but not Oscan), which, however, might be seen in connection
with the Latin process (though the precise nature of this connection, i.e.
the chronology, is unclear to me).
 
St.G.
 
 
Stefan Georg
Heerstrasse 7
D-53111 Bonn
FRG
+49-228-69-13-32