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 except where the preceding vowel is stressed:

*b > [β]	*p > [b]	*ph > [f]	*tc > [ʃ]	*ts > [s]	*s/*c > [h]
*d > [ɾ]	*t > [d]	*th > [h]	*tch > [ʃ]	*tsh > [s]	*x > [j]
*g > [ɣ]	*k > [g]	*kh > [x]	*dx > [ʒ]	*dz > [z]	*h > [ɦ]

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 [ɣʲ] 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 > æ(:)j

*o(:)j > e(:)j

*u(:)j > i(:)j

*yj > ij

• All *VjC sequences become V:C, so there arises a new phoneme /æ?/ 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 [ɣ] allophone of /g/ merges with /j/ after /e(:)/ and /i(:)/ but with /w/ after other vowels.

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

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

• After 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 [ɾ], except if that obstruent is [d] or [ʒ].

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

• Complete assimilation of /ʔ/ to any neighboring consonants, except for /ʔ/ + 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/. Non-affricate sibilants become geminate.

• 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/ɾ 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/ɾl/lɾ > ll.

• mn > nn, nm > mm.

• nr/nɾ > rr.

• Vr > Vrr.

• Vɾ > Vr.

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

ɪ/e > e

ɛ/æ/æː > ɛ

a/a: > a

ʊ/o > o

ɔ > /ɔ/

• /ʔ/ and /ɦ/ disappear, giving rise to a great variety of new diphthongs. High mid vowels become high after other vowels (Ve > Vi, Vo > Vu, except ee > ê and oo > ô giving Vi and Vi diphthongs. Va/Vɛ/Vɔ give new long vowels.

• Vh becomes V:

• Final vowel + simple nasal becomes nasalized vowel.

• Final geminates are simplified.

• Vv becomes Vw, with uv becoming û.

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

BPJ 01:36, 1 Jun 2005 (PDT)