r and s

[Sheila Watts]

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Thank you for helpful postings to date. Apologies for suggesting that the
Latin development was peculiar to verbs - I had lost sight of the wood for
the trees.
 
If I have it right, English adhere comes from a Latin verb of which the
infinitive is hærere and the fourth principal part hæsum, so Latin
rhotacism must be more complex than just 'inlautend zwischen Vokalen',
which was the description I had found. What had struck me was the similar
effect (to Germanic) of having a change in consonant across the principal
parts of a verb.
 
Sheila Watts
 
_______________________________________________________
Dr Sheila Watts
Newnham College
Cambridge CB3 9DF
United Kingdom
 
phone +44 1223 335816