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Finnish

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Revision as of 05:55, 3 October 2008 by Tropylium (talk | contribs) (→‎Proto-Uralic to Proto-Finnic: sort; mostly no cleanup)
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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].

Loss of /ɯ/ ɯ :> Q / [+STR] 

 :> i / [-STR]

Loss of /x/, strike 1 What /x/ exactly was is subject to debate; suggestions range from [h] to [G]. x :> @ / _C

---[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)


ixi :> ø: uxi :> o: xi :> @ / elsewhere (*xA, *x# did not occur)

---[b]Loss of /N/[/b]--- UNA :> O: Ni :> @ / {A i u}_ N :> j / Cʲ 

 :> remains _k
 :> w / _U_ _O_, other _C 
 :> k / lativ case ending
 :> n / other _#

---[b]Semivowels[/b]--- Uwi :> U: ewi :> ø: wI :> i w :> v\ / other _V ji :> @ / front V_ 

  :> j / A_#, O_ U_
  :> @ / A_{l r}(C)V (due to [je]?)
  :> i / C_{# C)
  • /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]


Initial deaffrication. Newer initial affricates are found in loanwords and onomatopoeia.

  • ʧ ʦʲ → ʃ sʲ / #_


Depalatalization, commonly attributed to Germanic superstratum influence.

  • ʦʲ(ː) sʲ ðʲ lʲ → ʦ(ː) s ð l
  • nʲ → ni / #(C)V_V (i.e. before a short stressed vowel), → n (elsewhere)


Loss of /ʧ/ ʧ ʧː → t tʃ


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

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

Collapse of labial finals[/b]--- m → n / _{t ts #} p → U / _# (probably via [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 ts s k → B D s z G / {V l r}_V mp nt Nk → mb nd Ng (NB: gradation of modern /ht hk/ is analogy-borne)

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/.

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 i → e / C_C

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)

Assibilation

  • t → s / _i

except before a coronal (/t ʦ s ʃ/)

Fricativ drift

  • ʦ(ː) → θ(ː)
  • ʃ → ʂ → x


Assimilation of many consonant clusters to geminates, etc. All of these require a morpheme boundary somewhere in the cluster. A basically equivalent criterion is requiring a preceding unstressed syllable. Of these, only /pt kt rn/ occurred root-medially, and these were retained.

  • (t)(ː)sn → sː
  • kʃ (tʃ) → ʃː
  • rn ln → rː lː
  • pn tn kn ktn ptn (etc.) → nː
  • pm tm km (etc.) → mː
  • hk → kː (happens also across word boundaries, precluding the formation of /?/)
  • pst tst kst → st

(The consequent obscuring of many inflected forms due to this and the previous change caused many words to revert back, however.)

Fricativ collapse, part 3

  • z → h
  • x(ː) → h (a spirantic pronunciation can still be found in coda position)


Re-organization of initial semivowels

  • j → ∅ / #_i(ː) #_e(ː)
  • ʋ → ∅ / #_yC #_oC (#_u(ː))
  • ∅ → ʋ / #y: #o: → #vy: #vo:

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]

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.

"Flavor": Voiced prenasal stops become geminate nasals, and (around the same time as in a whole lot of other European languages!) long mid vowels become opening difthongs:

  • mb nd ŋg → mː nː ŋː
  • eː øː oː → ie yø uo

Changes involving /j/ j → i / C_ suffix-initially 

 → 0 / C_i

More shifts with /h/ 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 → ? / _#

Spirant loss 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

Subsequent vowel changes in unstressed syllables (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.)

Initial-syllable labialization

  • 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)

The final stages of interdental loss began after or around the time of the creation of the literary language, seen in spellings such as <tz dh>. By standardization it was however practically complete. The standard outcome is largely a spelling pronunciation based on the example of German and Swedish:

  • θ(ː) → ts
  • ð → d (commonly alveolar)

Most common dialectal variations for the former are t(ː) and ht~t, for the latter r and ∅.


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