LL-L: "Phonology" LOWLANDS-L, 28.JAN.2001 (01) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

 ======================================================================
  L O W L A N D S - L * 28.JAN.2001 (01) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
  Posting Address: <lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org>
  Web Site: <http://www.geocities.com/sassisch/rhahn/lowlands/>
  User's Manual: <http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/1.8c/userindex.html>
  Archive: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/archives/lowlands-l.html>
  =======================================================================
  A=Afrikaans, Ap=Appalachean, D=Dutch, E=English, F=Frisian, L=Limburgish
  LS=Low Saxon (Low German), S=Scots, Sh=Shetlandic, Z=Zeelandic (Zeeuws)
  =======================================================================

From: Stefan Israel [stefansfeder at yahoo.com]
Subject: Phonology

Joe Stromberg asked:

> Does anyone know of any scholarly treatments of the S-prefix
> issue, especially in Germanic, but also for Indo-European
> generally?
> Case of the phenomenon seem to be everywhere.  I am even
> beginning to wonder about Eng.

I can't think of specific articles off the top of my head, but
try looking under "s-mobile".  It wasn't a prefix, and you
probably won't find it listed under prefix.  The reference books
I have at hand are either too general or too out-of-date to
help.

Since Proto-Indo-European didn't seem to tolerate geminated
consonsants, a sequence of a word ending in -s plus a word
beginning with s- led to only one -s- being pronounced, leading
to confusion as to whether the word was smelt/melt,
schlecken/lecken, slippery vs. Latin lubricus and lubricate etc.

Further complicating the picture is that speakers may well have
tacked a historically unjustified s- onto a word as well as
leave it off words that had had s-, so it's particularly
treacherous trying to determine what was original.

Stefan Israel

==================================END===================================
  You have received this because your account has been subscribed upon
  request. To unsubscribe, please send the command "signoff lowlands-l"
  as message text from the same account to
  <listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org> or sign off at
  <http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html>.
  =======================================================================
  * Please submit contributions to <lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org>.
  * Contributions will be displayed unedited in digest form.
  * Please display only the relevant parts of quotes in your replies.
  * Commands for automated functions (including "signoff lowlands-l") are
    to be sent to <listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org> or at
    <http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html>.
  * Please use only Plain Text format, not Rich Text (HTML) or any other
    type of format, in your submissions
  =====================================================================