LL-L 'Phonology' 2006.10.01 (06) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 01 October 2006 * Volume 06
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From: Luc Hellinckx [luc.hellinckx at gmail.com]
Subject: LL-L 'Phonology'

Beste Ron,

You wrote:
> Recently we discussed the "American flap" and its Low Saxon counterpart (again),
> as well as the Low Saxon tendency toward developing it to an /r/. I wrote:
>
>> The articulation of the American flap (written _tt_, _dd_) is close to that of
>> single-flap aprical /r/, including the Spanish (single) /r/ and als what in
>> Japanese is romanized as _r_ (though these two are not phonetically identical).
>> In other words, it doesn't surprise me that a child renders it as an apical /r/.
>>
>> Incidentally -- and some of you may remember me mentioning this previously -- the
>> same rule applies in several Northern Low Saxon dialects; e.g., _vadder_ ["fad3`]
>> ~ ["far3`] (sometimes written _Varrer_) 'father'.
>>
>> By the way, a related d > r (and in some dialects t > r)* rule applies in
>> many Lowlands Saxon (Low German) dialects as well, though they do not apply
>> across word boundaries. In some dialects this applies sporadically, in
>> others regularly. In actual fact, I believe it is a relative of the
>> American "flap" or "tap" (as in "better" and "butter").
>>
>> [* In most dialects /t/ and /d/ surface identically between vowels, just not
>> word-initially.]
>>
>> Typically, the tapping rule requires a short vowels on each side (in some
>> dialects any sort of vowel); e.g., _bodder_ ~ _botter_ ~ _budder_ ~ _butter_
>> ['bOr6] ~ ['bUr6] 'butter', _vadder_ ['far6] 'father', in some dialects
>> _beter_ ['be:r6] ~ ['bE:r6] 'better', etc.
>>
>> Interesting developments:
>>
>> _wedder_ ['vEd6] 'again' has become _werrer_ ['vEr6] in some dialects. In a
>> few dialects, the Saxon shift /er/ > /ar/ (e.g., _berg_ > _barg_ 'mountain')
>> then applied: _warrer_ ['var9].
>>
>> In some dialects, the word _bed_ [bEt] is pluralized as _bedden_ ['bEd=n].
>> Interestingly, "flapping" / "tapping" has come to apply to the plural form
>> and then been treated as an /r/: _berren_ [bE.3n], and this has affected the
>> singular form in some: _ber_ [bE.3]. This is interesting in that _berren_
>> [bE.3n] is phonetically not intervocalic, since the dialects are
>> "non-rhotic" (_berren_ being pronounced much like "bairn" is in "non-rhotic"
>> English). I wonder if this is is a historical hangover (thus is
>> phonemicized as /ber at n/) or is due to some productive rule sequence.
>>
>> As a final note, let me say that the sound involved here is pretty much the
>> same as the American flap, also much like what in Japanese is Romanized as
>> : (SAMPA [4]), a voiced alveolar tap. It is perceived as [r] and in some
>> varieties may have become /r/. It is very close to a [d], seems to be the
>> "tapped" variant of [d].
>
> Meanwhile it occurred to me that in certain English and/or Scots dialects
> something similar seems to have happened. However, I can come up with no more
> than one example at this time, and I wonder if there are more.
>
> porridge < (poddish <) pottage < potage < French _potage_

The phenomenon d > r also occurs in Western Brabantish, e.g.:

"Willen we wedden?" (D) = "Wille me wörn?" (B)
"Een hoop vodden" (D) = "Nen oeëp vorn" (B)
"Hij kon niet uit zijn bed" (D) = "A kost ni oët zön bérre" (B)
"Wat?" (D) = "Warre? (B)
"Dat!" (D) = "Darre! (B)
...

In conjugations, the rule also applies:

"Ga je mee?" (D) > "Ga-de mee" > "Gojre mee?" (B)
"Moet je daar zo kwaad voor worden?" > "Moet-de daar zo kwaad voor
worden?" > "Mürre dà à zoe kwà à d vö wörn?"
...

The rule must be quite old, because its effect (in reverse) can be seen
in an old word like "böddeloët" (B, a babbler) < "borl-uut" (also the
last name of a very famous medieval family from Ghent). _Borl-uut_
(litterally "brul-uit" (metathesis) in contemporary Dutch), was
re-engineered though in Brabantish because they knew that they
spontaneously changed d > r, so they decided to r > d ...
hypercorrection *s*.

_Father_ however, has become either "våår" (now vulgar) or "vadder"
(meaning "bad guy"...??? "mo(e)yer" (B)
(now vulgar too); just like "leder" (D) > "lèèr" (B), "weder" (D) >
"weer" (B).

Kind greetings,

Luc Hellinckx

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From: R. F. Hahn [sassisch at yahoo.com]
Subject: Phonology

Thanks a lot, Luc!

I believe that the following are the conditions for the shift of /d/ or /t/ to _r_:

(1) apical [r]
(2) absence of aspiration (for the case of /t/)
(3) absence of primary stress

All Low Franconian varieties meet 2, many 1 as well.  Low Saxon does too;
aspiration can only apply to the syllable with primary stress (as in American and
some other English dialects, and unlike Standard German and many South English
dialects).

I believe that American English -- which has the "American flap" for /-t-/ --
does not "complete" the deveopment by way of the shift to [r] because it does not
have an apical /r/.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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