[Lexicog] rules when it comes to latin word roots

[John Roberts]

>
> Two comments **marked so**:
>
> John Roberts wrote:
>
>> <snip>
>
>> Also with some classical borrowings the phonological rules of the donor
>> language have been incorporated into English word formation rules. E.g.
>> *-al* 'pertaining to, relating to' is a very productive adjectival suffix
>> and comes originally from Latin, and can be found in words like *tribal*,
>> *judgmental*, *educational*, etc. It has an allomorph *-ar* in English
>> which
>> continues the dissimilation process from Latin of alternating with *-al*
>> when the root ends in *l*. E.g. *polar* (Latin), *scalar* (postLatin).
>

David Tuggy wrote:

> **"familiar" and "familial" make a nice pair: both well established and
> both based on or at least related to "family", but with quite different
> meanings.**
>

David,
I am not clear if you are offering "familiar" and "familial" as
counter-examples of the Latin borrowed "-al ~ -ar" dissimilation process.
"familiar" is an old word and can be traced back to the Old French
"familier". "familial" is a comparatively new English word - coined in the
early 20th cent. It is a clear derivation from "family" + "-al" 'relating
to'. Whereas "familiar" does not have this meaning. Should "family" + "-al"
'relating to' produce "familiar"? No, I don't think so. In fact, it can't
because there is already the existing word "familiar". But even if this word
did not exist "familial" would not be a counter-example. First, the stem
"family" does not end with "l". You also have a similarly shaped word
"pallial" 'of mollusc or brachiopod' where "-al" does not become "-ar".
There are some words, such as "linear", "planar" and "plantar", which don't
have stem final "l" but do have the "-ar" change. However, these words do
have an "l" in the stem. So this might trigger the change. On the other
hand, there are words such as "clausal", "plural" and "scleral" which have
an "l" in the stem but do not undergo the "-ar" change.

I think in the end you have to say this is a dissimilation rule by analogy
adopted into English rather than an obligatory phonological rule of English
word-formation. But anyone inventing new English words would still need to
be aware of this.

John Roberts



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