RUKI rule (forwarded from Linguist list)

[Loren A. BILLINGS]

Dear fellow Slavi(ci)sts,
I'm forwarding this from another list.  Please reply her directly.  --LAB

Date:  Mon, 27 Jan 1997 11:31:03 -0330 (NST)
From:  Linda Longerich <lindal at morgan.ucs.mun.ca>
Subject:  RUKI rule


I am investigating the conditioning environment which triggered the
shift of PIE alveolar /s/ to palatal, retroflex or velar /s/ in
Indo-Iranian and Balto-Slavic.  That is - following either an /r/,
/u/, /k/ or /i/.

My hypothesis is that the conditioning may be acoustic (originally
suggested by Vennemann, Linguistics 130 (1974),91-97).  If this
hypothesis is correct, there should be at least a few similar examples
in other languages.

I am looking for any examples of similar diachronic shifts or
synchronic variants in a NON-Indoeuropean Language.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Linda Longerich lindal at morgan.ucs.mun.ca
Linguistics Department
Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada