Finnish

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Proto-Uralic to Finnish sound changes

Mostly based on:

Currently in process of reformatting and reordering to include the information from the last two documents.

Technotes

  • Here, /@/ is NOT an ASCIIfication of /ə/, but any vowel that assimilates to the preceding vowel. This comes useful with cases of compensatory lengthening and ecko vowels.
  • Similarly, /A O U/ are harmonic vowels which will assimilate to either /a o u/ or /æ ø y/ depending on the harmony.
  • /ˣ/ is the assimilatory final, pronounced as lengthening of the next word's initial consonant, or in case of null initial, [ʔː] or hiatus. Very rarely, it occurs within words, too (usually sandwiched between two instances of the same vowel.)
  • /C/ represents any consonant; /V/ represents any vowel; and /X/ represents any 2nd mora in a syllable (be it consonantal, difthongal or chronemical).

I've grouped similar changes together under sub-headings, so the order of unrelated changes might not be exactly chronological whenever no reference was available. Also, since the document is headed towards Standard Finnish, I've had to cut a few corners anyway when maneuvering around dialectal changes... in a few cases picking the most represented outcome wasn't all that clear.

Proto-Uralic to Proto-Finnic

[Ca. 4000 BCE to 2000 BCE] This section is very likely incomplete.

PU roots generally had the form (C)V(C)C{A I}; in pronouns and prepositions also CV; and a single lone-V root, the negativ verb [i]e-[/i].

---[b]Loss of /M/[/b]--- M :> Q / [+STR] 

 :> i / [-STR]

---[b]Loss of /x/[/b]--- What /x/ exactly was is subject to debate; suggestions range from [h] to [G]. x :> @ / _C ixi :> ø: uxi :> o: xi :> @ / elsewhere (*xA, *x# did not occur)

---[b]Loss of /N/[/b]--- UNA :> O: Ni :> @ / {A i u}_ (exception: [i]tyvi[/i]) N :> n_j / _(t)s\ 

 :> remains _k
 :> w / other _C & _V
 :> k / lativ case ending
 :> n / other _#

---[b]Vowels in the 1st syllable[/b]--- Q: æ: :> o: e: iw :> y / _C Q :> a V# :> V:

---[b]Vowels later in the word[/b]--- i :> e / _C (≠ j, w) ij :> i iw :> u æ :> e / _j Qw æw :> o Q :> e / {o u}[+STR](X)C_j 

 :> o / {a e i}[+STR](X)C_j

(Other instances of unstressed /Qj/ shift too, but analogical leveling has rendered it impossible to tell whether the original result was /ej/ or /oj/.) 

 :> a / elsewhere

---[b]Sibilants[/b]--- t:S :> t:s\ s\ :> S / _C, {# n r l}_ (also s\ -vs- S and ts\ -vs- tS contrasts develop medially, but I dunno how - loanwords? plus some /ts/ from I haven't got the foggiest)

---[b]Semivowels[/b]--- Uwi :> U: ewi :> ø: w :> v\ / other _V je :> @ / V[+STR]_({l r}(C)V) [size=10](ie. in open or liquid-final syllables immediately after stress)[/size] Lots of exceptions in this one, however: 

  :> j in [i]nai koi soi tai(pua) vo(o)i täi ui kei(ttää)[/i]
  • /yje/ :> */ø:/ :> [i]yö[/i]

---

This givs as the [b]phonology of Proto-Fennic:[/b]

Consonant inventory [code]lab dnt alv palv palzd vel /m n n_j / nasals /p t ts tS ts\ k/ plosivs / s S s\ / sibilants / D D_j / spirants / l l_j / laterals / r / rhotic /v j / semivowels[/code] (I'm marking [v\] as /v/ for brevity from now on.)

Syllable structure (C)V(@, i, U, C)(C) /N/ didn't occur morpheme-initially. Morpheme-finally, only /t k s m n j/ occured. Word-initial /r/ was rare (non-existant in PU) /#ji #je #vu/ did not occur.

Allowed medial clusters included the folloing (and possibly more, if consonantal root forms were in existence yet by this stage):[list][*] /p: pt t: tk kt tSk ktS t:s\ k:/ (/tsk kts/?) [*] /mp mt mts\ nt nts ntS n_jts\ Nk/ [*] /ns nS n_js\/ [*] /ps ks kS kSt/ (/kst/?) [*] /tn km/ (only intermorphemically) [*] /sm st sn sl sk Sm St Sn Sl Sr Sk/ [*] just about all approximant + non-approximant combinations [*] /lj rj lv rv jv/ [*] geminate plosivs preceded by a nasal or an approximant? [*] almost all allowed CC combinations preceded by Vj, VU or V@[/list]Vowel inventory [code]/i i: y y: u u:/ /e e: ø: o o:/ /æ æ: a a:/ /ew æw aw ow/ /ej æj aj oj uj/[/code]

/a: æ:/ were rare, only occuring in about half a dozen roots each. (These new instances are of fuzzy origin, apparently loanwords acquired between PU and PF?)

Only /i e A o u/ could occur in non-initial root syllables (plus /ej oj/ due to suffixal j). All verbal and nominal roots were bisyllabic.

Early Proto-Finnic to Late Proto-Finnic

[Ca. 2000 BCE to 1000 CE]

---[b]Depalatalization[/b] (attributed to Germanic superstratum influence)--- t:s\ :> t:s ts\ :> ts s\ :> s D_j :> D l_j :> l n_j :> i / {front V}_{sibilant} 

   :> 0 / {back V}_{sibilant}
   :> ni / #(C)V_V [size=10](short 1st vowel!)[/size]
   :> n / elsewhere

---[b]Difthong paradigm shift[/b]--- j w :> i u / V_{C #} [size=10](required for pre-difthongal consonants not to gradate)[/size]

---[b]Birth of consonantal suffixes[/b]--- i :> 0 / VC_, ks_ suffix-finally (with /ts tS/ counted as clusters, not phonemes)

---[b]Collapse of labial finals[/b]--- m :> n / _{t ts #} p :> U / _# (probably via [B]?)

---[b]Consonant gradation[/b]--- These all occur on the general condition that the folloing syllable is closed. p: t: t:s k: :> p:\ t:\ t:\s k:\ :> p t ts k / {sonorant}_V [size=10](the half-long stage ensures that gradated consonants can still themself trigger gradation)[/size] p t s k :> B D z G / {V l r}_V mp nt Nk :> mb nd Ng (NB: gradation of modern /ht hk/ is analogy-borne)

---[b]Gradation-related changes[/b]--- p t s k :> B D z G / V_{l r j} (loanwords only!) G  :> j/v / a possible change involving a -GA suffix of fuzzy origin D G :> t k / #_; V_VCV 

   :> 0 / V_V#

Around this time there's also a paradigm shift wrt. [f] in loanwords: the reflex of [f] preceded by a vowel changes from /p/ to /v/.

---[b]Re-organization of initial /v/[/b]---

  1. vyC #voC :> #yC #oC
  2. y: #o: :> #vy: #vo:

---[b]Vowel shifts[/b]--- oi :> o / [-STR] (but reverted back in many, tho not all, cases where the [i]-i[/i] was morphological) ai :> ei / [+STR] (with many exceptions; also, surprizingly, /æi/ stays put) V: :> V / _i

---[b]Birth of consonantal root forms[/b]--- e :> 0 / root-finally after a coronal (This change could be much older and is actually more complex, but I don't kno what's the latest understanding)

---[b]Sibilant collapse[/b]--- Most changes here had some exceptions to them. t:s :> T: ts :> s / _{# C}_ and in [i]riisu-[/i] 

  :> D / in [i]o[b]d[/b]ottaa[/i] at least
  :> T / elsewhere

z :> s / root-medially 

 :> h / elsewhere

tS :> s / #_ 

  :> t / n_, _k_, V_V
  :> h / in [i]hapan hupa hetki kaha kehä piha puhki haa[b]h[/b]ka[/i]

(k)S :> h

---[b]Intermorphemic changes[/b]--- All of these require a morpheme boundary somewhere in the cluster. The root-medially occuring of these clusters, viz. /rn pt kt/, remained there. (t)(:)sn :> s: ln :> l: rn :> r: pn tn kn ktn ptn (etc.) :> n: pm tm km (etc.) :> m: pt kt :> t: hk :> k: (happens also across word boundaries, precluding the formation of /?/) mt :> nt pst tst kst :> st (The consequent obscuring of many inflected forms due to this and the previous change caused many, if not most, words to revert back, however.)

---[b]Assibilation[/b]--- t :> s / X_i (short i only)

---[b]Shifts involving /h/[/b]--- (unfinished) e :> @ / h_ in suffixes p k :> h / _t (With IE loanwords continuing to feed new /pt kt/, this rule remained activ up until to the 20th century.) aa uu :> ah uh in [i]hahmo huhmar mahla kahlata rahvas sahra[/i] ha :> haa in [i]haahka haaksi haapa haara[/i]

---[b]Random length[/b]--- a :> aa in [i]kaamea kaarne laakso paarma saarna saarni vaahtera vaati-[/i] æ :> ææ in [i]jäähty- kääntä- pääsky sääksi sääski ääni[/i] (Short vowels are attested in related forms)

Late Proto-Fennic to Standard Finnish

[Ca. 1000-1900 CE] These changes are, for the most part, only attested in the Finnish-Carelian continuum.

---[b]"Flavor"[/b]--- mb nd Ng :> m: n: N: e: ø: o: :> ie yø uo (also occured in many branches of Sami)

---[b]Changes involving /j/[/b]--- j :> i / C_ suffix-initially 

 :> 0 / C_i

---[b]More shifts with /h/[/b]--- t :> 0 / h_r s :> h / _l Vh :> hV / {Vi n l r}_# in eg. [i]vaihe venhe orhi urho alhainen ylhäinen[/i] k h :> ? / _#

---[b]Spirant loss[/b]--- B :> 0 / _UC 

 :> v / other _V
 :> U / _C

D remains V[+STR](X)_ iD :> j / V[-STR]_V D :> U / {A, e}[+STR]_{l r j n} (paitsi @ in <vaatia>) 

 :> t / _{v, j}
 :> l / l_
 :> r / r_
 :> 0 / elsewhere

G :> @ / _j, e_r{i e a o u} 

 :> i / {i e æ}_C (C!=j, r)
 :> U / {O U a}_C (C!=j); æ_r; e_r{æ ø y}
 :> j / C_e
 :> v / U_U
 :> ? / V1V2_V2 (including the cases of V1=V2; also V2≠U)
 :> 0 / elsewhere

h :> 0 / V[-STR](X)_V

---[b]Subsequent vowel changes in unstressed syllables[/b]--- (unfinished, may need to be meshed with the prev. section) AO :> A:, O: or U: (seemingly irregularly) Ae :> Ai Ue :> e: VU :> V: / _# iU :> U: OU :> O: ([i]kokoontu-[/i]; but [i]aitous[/i] etc.)

---[b]Initial-syllable labialization[/b]--- ey :> øy e i ie :> ø y yø | _(X)(C)Cy (if the /y/ is a part of the root) i :> y / _væ (this one is actually older than the others, but fits here better)

---[b]Standardization-introduced changes[/b]--- T T: :> ts D :> d

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