Funny W

[Rankin, Robert L]

Let me see what I can do about putting together a list.  The ones from *wr may be difficult because there are many, but the more "mysterious" ones aren't all that numerous.  Maybe John Koontz already has a comprehensive list -- he's spent quite a bit of time on this phenomenon.
 
Bob

________________________________

From: owner-siouan at lists.colorado.edu on behalf of BARudes at aol.com
Sent: Mon 11/13/2006 9:28 PM
To: siouan at lists.colorado.edu
Subject: Re: Funny W



I share with Bob a mistrust of abstract solutions to problems in historical phonology; I would have been one of those skeptical folks who did not believe Saussure's solution to Indo-European vocalic alternations until the discovery of the supporting Hittite data. 

 

Having said that, I do not know if it will help further the discussion or not, but I would be happy to provide the (presumed) cognates in the Esaw and Saraw dialects of Catawba, as well as Woccon, for the roots that show *R and *W in Siouan if someone (Bob ?, John ?) would send me a complete list of such roots. Based on the few such roots I am familiar with, I suspect that *R and *W are internal Siouan developments that post-date the split of Siouan and Catawban, and I do not think the conditioning factors will be apparent from the Catawba data. But I would love to be proven wrong. In any event, the Catawba data would at least push the chronology back somewhat. 

 

Blair