Knoschke

I have made a sketch of the phonology for a Noric language which as yet has no name. In the meantime I'll call it "B-Noric", short for "Benct's Noric language".

History

(To be filled in)

Historical phonology

Transcriptions preceded by * are the agreed-upon transcription. Other transcriptions (not always in slashes/brackets) are CXS.

• *CVLC tends to be realized as CLVC when the first C is a stop.

• Obstruents are weakened between vowels or between a vowel and a liquid, except where the preceding vowel is stressed:

*b > B	*p > b	*ph > f	*tc > S	*ts > s	*s/*c > h
*d > 4	*t > d	*th > h	*tch > S	*tsh > s	*x > j
*g > G	*k > g	*kh > x	*dx > Z	*dz > z	*h > h\

Obviously this leads to some mergers in this position: *tc/*tch, *ts/*tsh, *dz/*z, *th/*s/*c and *x/*j. OTOH the phonemes *b/*p, *d/*t, *g/*k and *th/*h do not actually merge, although there was possibly some realignment.

• Consonants are palatalized before *i, *î, *e, *ê though not before *y. Palatalized dentals and velars merge with each other. They however remain distinct from the old "palatals" *tc, *tch, *dx, *c, *x, the latter perhaps becoming retroflex, except for [G_j] which merges with *j. These two sets will be called primary palatals and secondary palatals respectively.

• Vowels before /j/ front/palatalize. For a while there were probably front rounded vowels, but these eventually merged with the unrounded front vowels.

/a(:)j/ > [&(:)j]

/o(:)j/ > /e(:)j/

/u(:)j/ > /[i(:)j/

/yj/ > /ij/

• All *VjC sequences become V:C, so there arises a new phoneme /&:/ from *ajC.

• Unrounded vowels round/retract before *w. The front vowels probably become rounded central vowels at first, but eventually they become back rounded. There arises no new phonemes, since *aw/*âw merge with *ow/*ôw.

/a(:)w/ > /o(:)w/

/e(:)w/ > /o(:)w/

/i(:)w/ > /u(:)w/

/yw/ > /uw/

• All *VwC sequences become V:C, but there arises no new phoneme since *awC merges with *owC and *ôC.

As a result of these changes the secondary palatals become distinct phonemes.

• The [G] allophone of /g/ merges with /j/ after /e(:)/ and /i(:)/ but with /w/ after other vowels.

• Palatalized labial stops become labiodental fricatives. The [B] allophone of /b/ merges with the new /v/; /m_j/ merges with /w/.

• Word initially and before vowels /w/ merges with /g/, probably by way of [gw]. Sporadically /j/ becomes /d_j/ under the same circumstances, suggesting that there existed a dialect where the parallell change of j > gj > d_j was general.

• Unstressed short vowels are weakened and eventually lost.

• Unstressed long vowels shorten.

• The consonant clusters that arose through the loss of unstressed short vowels are partly simplified through assimilation, dissimilation or loss.

• • In any cluster of three or more consonants the middle consonant(s) drop.

Main exceptions:

• • • All /VjC/ become /ViC/ and all /VwC/ become /VuC/ -- there is no phonetic change, but the /w/ phoneme disappears.

• • • Dentals before /j/ merge with the secondary palatals. Also [xj] and [hj] merge with /s_j/, and [h\j] merges with /j/.

• • • After primary palatals /j/ drops.

• • • Non-sibilant consonants before a sibilant drop; thus C(C)SC becomes SC. This affects affricates as well, so that they lose their closure part.

• • • A [d] next to an obstruent becomes [4], except if that obstruent is [d] or [Z].

• • Progressive voicing assimilation between obstruents; /?/ counts as a voiceless obstruent.

• • Complete assimilation of /?/ to any neighboring consonants, except for /?/ + sibilant which becomes an affricate.

• • All clusters of obstruent + obstruent become fricative + stop. Exceptions:
    • pp, tt, kk, bb, dd, gg, ff, xx remain.
    • bv > bb, gG > gg, pf/fp > ff, kx/xk > xx.

• • /h/ is wholly assimilated to an adjacent fricative. After an affricate this means loss of /h/.

• • A resonant + sibilant becomes resonant + affricate.

• • Velar + labial becomes velar + /v/.

• • Any stop + /h/ or /h/ + stop becomes a voiceless aspirated stop.

• • Initial unclustered stops or stops followed by r/l become voiceless aspirated stops.

• • Initial nasal + voiceless stop becomes aspirated voiceless stop.

• • Initial nasals before voiced stops are lost.

• • /t/ + nasal becomes /tt/. Also /pm/ becomes /pp/ but /pn/ remains.

• • Labial, dental or palatal voiced stop + nasal becomes geminate nasal with the point of articulation of the stop, while /g/ + nasal becomes/remains /gn/.

• • Initial resonants before stops are lost.

• • Initial geminates are simplified.

• • nl/ln/rl/lr/4l/l4 > ll.

• • mn > nn, nm > mm.

• • nr/n4 > rr.

• • Vr > Vrr.

• • V4 > Vr.

• The distinction of length in stressed vowels is replaced by a tenseness distinction, while all short vowels are laxed. There are some mergers:

I/e > e

E/&/&: > E

a/a: > a

U/o > o

O > /O/

• /?/ and /h\/ disappear, giving rise to a great variety of new diphthongs. High mid vowels become high after other vowels, giving Vi and Vi diphthongs. Va/VE/VO give new long vowels.

• Vh becomes V:

• Final V + simple nasal becomes V~.

• Final geminates are simplified.

• Vv becomes Vw, with /uv/ becoming /u:/.

More to come. Unfortunately there is not much vocabulary to demonstrate on yet!

BPJ 03:01, 31 May 2005 (PDT)