andera 'woman' Celtic ?

[Larry Trask]

On Fri, 9 Apr 1999, Jon Patrick wrote:

> Larry, what is the phenomenom of Aquitanian that makes <andre>
> unpronounceable. thanks

The /dr/ cluster.  Pre-Basque absolutely lacked plosive-liquid clusters,
and, in all early borrowings from Latin and Romance, such clusters were
invariably eliminated in one way or another.  See sections 18.4-18.5 of
Michelena's Fonetica Historica Vasca for a list of examples, including
such familiar ones as these:

Lat <libru> --> Bq <liburu> `book'
Lat <gloria> --> Bq <loria> `glory'
Lat <granu> --> Bq *<garanu> --> <garau>, <garaun> `grain'
Lat <lucru> --> Bq <lukuru> `interest, usury'
Rom <cleta> --> Bq *<geleta> --> <gereta> `rustic gate'
Lat <claru> --> Bq <laru> `pale yellow'
Lat <pluma> --> Bq <luma> `feather'
Rom <regla> --> old Bq <erregela> `rule'
Rom <cruel> --> old Bq <kurel> `cruel'

Larry Trask
COGS
University of Sussex
Brighton BN1 9QH
UK

larryt at cogs.susx.ac.uk