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".

Transcriptions preceded by * are the agreed 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 as follows:

*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.

• Obstruents 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.

• 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 new palatalized obstruents 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 old [B] allobhone of /b/ merges with the new /v/.

• Unstressed short vowels are weakened and eventually lost.

• Unstressed long vowels shorten.

• The consonant clusters that arose through tghe loss of unstressed

short vowels are partly simplified through assimilation or loss. (To be described later!)

• 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. These are eventually realigned as Vj and Vw diphthongs or new long vowels in the case of Va/VE.

• Vh becomes V:

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

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

BPJ 12:31, 30 May 2005 (PDT)