LL-L "Phonology" 2008.05.26 (03) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L  - 26 May 2008 - Volume 03
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From: Mike Morgan <mwmosaka at gmail.com>
Subject: LL-L "Phonology" 2008.05.25 (08) [E]

Sorry, it is REALLY a busy day today -- too busy to avoid work by answering
all the comments and questions that my short reply of last night generated.

So, for now just one:

Sandy wrote:

My feeling about both languages is that the idea that mutations or
> aspirations affect only the start of a word is an illusion. I suspect
> that at some point in history these phonetic changes started to occur
> throughout the consonants of words, both internally and initially, and
> also terminally, but they became permanent internally and terminally
> because they were influenced by what preceded them, which internally and
> terminally would generally be constant.


Well, my message yesterday was perhaps too short -- and I don't have time to
go back and look at it now. But, if what I said implied that the sound
changes only affected the initial consonants then I apologize. What I meant
to say was:
1) Diachronically all consonants regardless of where they are located in the
word are effected (that is, a -t- between two vowels becomes a -d- just as
an initial t- is mutated to d- between a final vowel and the vowel after it)
2) Synchronically, however, all of the consonants except for the initial
ones are stably changed: a -d- in the middle of a word is always a -d-. The
initial consonants, however, STILL mutate ... depending on syntax or
semantics ... or both (as Sandy prefers). (Historically of course it
depended on none of the above, but on phonetics.)

So what Sandy says is exactly correct. And he DOES know a considerable
something, though he claims not to.

... and Daniel later in the same email as Sandy's gives a good overview of
the historical sound changes involved.

MWM || マイク || Мика || माईक || માઈક || ਮਾਈਕ
================
Dr Michael W Morgan
Managing Director
Ishara Foundation
Mumbai (Bombay), India
++++++++++++++++
माईकल मोर्गन (पी.एच.डी.)
मेनेजिंग डॉयरेक्टर
ईशारा फॉउंडेशन (मुंबई )
++++++++++++++++
茂流岸マイク(言語学博士)
イシャラ基金の専務理事・事務局長
ムンバイ(ボンベイ)、インド
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