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Sorting out Rhodrese U-umlaut



Salud,

and apologies for cross-posting!

I've sorted out the order of changes needed in
Rhodrese historical phonology so that 1.sg present
shows 'u-umlaut' but the -US/-UM nom./acc. and
1.pl of verbs don't: vowels in final syllables
became @ and were lost gradually, the least
sonorous high I U going thru the whole cycle to
loss before the mid ones even became @.
Any reports on inclarities, contradictions or
implausibilities will be gratefully received!

One interesting fact is that the nominative pl.
of the 2. declension will not be -i when the
accusative pl. of the same is -i, but rather zero
and identical to the acc.sg.  No wonder case
distinction was lost!  I guess for a time it
was preserved in the sg. but lost in the pl.


i > I > I\ > @ / _C*# -- unstressed
  -- AMATI > > *ama:d@
  -- AMATIS > > *ama:d@s (-@z / _ [+voiced] )

u > U > U\ > @ / _C*# -- unstressed
  -- AMATU(M) > > *ama:d@
  -- AMATUS > > *ama:d@s/z
  -- AMAMUS > > *ama:m@s/z

o > u / _# -- AMO >> *a:mu

@ > 0 / _(C)#
  -- *ama:d@ > *ama:d
  -- *ama:d@s/z > *ama:ts/dz

{e,o} > @ / _C*#
  -- AMEM >> *a:m@
  -- AMATOS >> *ama:d@s/z

z > j / _[+C,+voiced]
  -- *a:m@z > *a:m@j
  -- *ama:d@z > *ama:d@j

s > h > 0 / V_# -- only in pausam!
  -- *a:m@s >

{a,@} > e / _j#
  -- AMES >> *a:mej
  -- AMATOS/AS >> *ama:dej
  -- AMAS >> *a:mej
  -- but -a# still [a]!

@ > 0 _(C)#
  -- AMEM >> *a:m@ > *a:m
  -- AMET >> *a:mt
  -- SENIOR >> *seJ4 > sei4 -- but SENIOREM > se'Jou4
  -- but AMAT still *a:mat, AMANT still *a:m@~nt!

ej > Ij > i / _#
  -- *a:mej > *a:mi
  -- *ama:dej > *ama:di (AMATOS/AS)

{0,@s,s,z} > i / {{PLURAL,2.SG.}}
  -- compensates for the loss of former
  --   -Vs endings before pause and reduces
  --   allomorphy elsewhere

{e,E} > i / _ C* i
  -- CREDIS >> *kre:4z > *kri:4i
  -- *METOS >> *mE:di > mi:di

a > E / _ C i
  -- *a:mi > *E:mi

a > Q / _ C* u
  -- *a:mu > *Q:mu

[+back] > [-back] / _ C* i

u > @ > 0 / _#
  *Q:mu >> *Q:m

e: > ei
 -- CREDO >> *krei4u
 -- FIDES >> *fei4

o: > ou
  -- MO:TUS >> *moudz/*mouts#

E: > iE
 -- METUS >> *miEdz/*miEts#

O: > uO
 -- COR >> *kuO4

a: > &: > E@
 -- *a:mat > E@mat

Q: > O@
  -- *Q:m > O@m

a > @ / _C*#
  -- *E@mat > E@m@t

E@ > ia -- _hiamet_

O@ > ua -- _huam_

Doh, I really don't have time for this!

/BP 8^)>
--
Benct Philip Jonsson -- melroch atte melroch dotte se
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 "C'est en vain que nos Josués littéraires crient
 à la langue de s'arrêter; les langues ni le soleil
 ne s'arrêtent plus. Le jour où elles se *fixent*,
 c'est qu'elles meurent."           (Victor Hugo)