[gothic-l] Re: Pronounciation

[Francisc Czobor]

Dear Ravi,

This is also for me not very clear.
For "C" the palatalization before e/i is attested in inscriptions
beginning from the 3rd century, and according to specialists the
palatalization of "G" before e/i should be parallel, thus beginning
also from the 3rd century.
But there are two facts that suggest that these changes were not
quite parallel.
1. As shown in my previous message, the palatalization of "G" is
attested in inscriptions only from the 6th century, and for St.
Augustine (4/5th century) the Latin "G" before "e" was still
pronounced like in Greek, i.e. velar.
2. The two changes were not quite parallel. The "G" before e/i
evolved the same way in all Romance languages: it became first a
palatal affricate like the English "j" (this is the pronounciation in
Italian, Romanian and Old French, whence in the French loanwords into
English), than evolved further in the Western Romance languages: it
became French "j" in French and Portuguese, whereas in Spanish this
sound became a "sh" like in English, and finally the actual "jota"
sound.
On the other hand, the "C" before e/i evolved in two ways: in Italian
and Romanian it became a sound like English "ch", whereas in the
Western Romance languages it became first a [ts] sound, and later [s]
in French and Portuguese, and the interdental sound in Spanish.
Thus, it is very possible that the Latin "G" before e/i was still
velar (maybe slightly palatalized, but still perceived as the same
sound like the "G" before a/o/u or consonants) until the 5th century.

Best regards,
Francisc

--- In gothic-l at y..., "ravichaudhary2000" <Ravi9 at h...> wrote:
> --- In gothic-l at y..., "Francisc Czobor" <fericzobor at y...> wrote:
> ...
> According to Carlo Tagliavini ("Le origini delle lingue
neolatine"),
> the palatalization of Latin G before E and I (resulting "j" like in
> English, later in some Romance languages French "j") was parallel
to
> that of C, that is attested beginning with the 3rd century.
>
> Ravi> here is my confusion, Could you clarify, if you do not mind.
>
> Are you saying the the G in the para above was  pronounced with the
J
> as in John sound  from the 3rd century.
>
> Send me a personal E mail if you wish!
>
>  I would very much to see this point cleared up for myself.It is
> important in some lines of inquiry I have
>
> Ravi


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