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--- In romconlang@yahoogroups.com, Benct Philip Jonsson <melroch@m...> wrote: > habarakhe4 wrote: > > > The Classical Greek system of vowels is: > > > > i, i: > > e, e: > > E: > > a, a: > > O: > > o > > u: > > y, y: > > > > So the question is, do you remove length first or lower first? > > IMHO it all depends on at what time you want to adapt the Greek > system to some other system. Also probably not all changes happened > at the same time, e.g. /e:/ is likely to have merged with /i:/ > before /E:/ did and before length was lost -- /E:/ probably rising > to [e:] for a time. NB /oi/ and /yi/ merged with /y:/, and this later > merged with /y/. There was an /y/ phoneme at least in some dialects > perhaps into early modern times. Some modern dialects have /u/ rather > than expected /i/ for */y/ at least in some words. I didn't know about /u/ being preserved. Somewhere I have a copy of the dates that various vowels merged. The beauty of a conlang based on Greek is that there is both Ionic and Doric koine and innumerable local dialects, which, if you start after Alexander's death, you could mix in any way you please. Even individual characteristics, such the Syracusan 3pl. pronoun /psin/ only require sufficient immigration to the place of choice. > > -- > > /BP 8^) > -- > B.Philip Jonsson -- melroch at melroch dot se > > Solitudinem faciunt pacem appellant! > (Tacitus)