reversal of merger

[Larry Trask]

On Wed, 25 Nov 1998, Miguel Carrasquer Vidal wrote:
 
> Larry Trask wrote:
>
> [on "reversal of merger":]
> >I do not claim that these six exhaust the proposals, especially since I
> >still have a small folder of relevant articles to read.  My final list
> >may be somewhat longer.
>
> The one that's certainly missing is "the distinction was reintroduced
> from outside (a different dialect)".  This may be seen as a "spatial"
> supplement to the socially motivated (3) [change in prestige dialect]
> and (6) [reintroductioon by conservative minority].  Sorry, I don't
> have a specific source.  I'm fairly sure this is the explanation that
> Leskien or Brugmann would have given.
 
Yes.  I've been looking for a good explicit source for a proposal along
these lines, but so far the only mentions I've dug up have been too
inexplicit to constitute a formal proposal.  Indeed, the ones I've seen
have amounted to little more than mouthing mantras.  I would be grateful
for a reference to a source that offers a fully explicit proposal of
this type.
 
 
Larry Trask
COGS
University of Sussex
Brighton BN1 9QH
UK
 
larryt at cogs.susx.ac.uk