Begemann's Law: Difference between revisions
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Begemann's Law affected the [[Proto-Hesperic]] aspirated and voiced stops, while the neutral stops remained unchanged. | Begemann's Law affected the [[Proto-Hesperic]] aspirated and voiced stops, while the neutral stops remained unchanged. | ||
* ''Aspirated stops'' become voiceless fricatives everywhere ''except'' after nasals, after *s and in gemination, where they become voiceless stops, merging with the neutral stops. | |||
* ''Voiced stops'' become voiced fricatives everywhere ''except'' after nasals, after *s and in gemination, where they remain voiced stops. | |||
This change, especially the fact that the neutral stops remained unaffected, suggests that the Proto-Hesperic aspirated stops formed a class with the voiced stops at the exclusion of the neutral stops. There are two suggested explanations for this: | This change, especially the fact that the neutral stops remained unaffected, suggests that the Proto-Hesperic aspirated stops formed a class with the voiced stops at the exclusion of the neutral stops. There are two suggested explanations for this: | ||
Revision as of 07:50, 19 April 2018
Begemann's Law is a sound change characteristic of the Hercynian languages, named after the fictional linguist Winfried Begemann.
Begemann's Law affected the Proto-Hesperic aspirated and voiced stops, while the neutral stops remained unchanged.
- Aspirated stops become voiceless fricatives everywhere except after nasals, after *s and in gemination, where they become voiceless stops, merging with the neutral stops.
- Voiced stops become voiced fricatives everywhere except after nasals, after *s and in gemination, where they remain voiced stops.
This change, especially the fact that the neutral stops remained unaffected, suggests that the Proto-Hesperic aspirated stops formed a class with the voiced stops at the exclusion of the neutral stops. There are two suggested explanations for this:
- The Proto-Hesperic voiced stops actually were breathy-voiced. Under this assumption, the change affected stpps with the feature [+breath], resulting in breath loss in some positions and spirantization in others.
- The Proto-Hesperic neutral stops were phonologically marked some way, such as being ejectives.
A similar change occurred in Viddan. The Alpianic languages, which share a number of sound changes with Hercynian, did not undergo this change.
