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From: deb5@midway.uchicago.edu (Daniel von Brighoff)
Subject: Re: Unlikely sound changes
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References: <adinkin-ya023180001703971944030001@news.usa1.com> <5grii2$ehi$1@news.sas.ab.ca> <3338ee8d.13895321@news.xs4all.nl> <5h6a9i$l16$1@news.sas.ab.ca>
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 1997 18:05:26 GMT
Lines: 32

In article <5h6a9i$l16$1@news.sas.ab.ca>,
 <adeptt@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca> wrote:

[mea culpa deleted]
>That being said, the sound change /w/ > /g/ appears to occur in other
>languages. Thus a geminate /ww/ develops into <ggw> in the course of the
>Gothic "Verschaerfung", e.g. the Gmc root _bleww-_ > Go. _bliggwan_. This
>is admittedly a controversial sound change (among other explanations, the
>presence of a laryngeal has been postulated). Yet Old Norse displays a
>development roughly parallel to that of Gothic, so the sound change is
>probably legitimate.
>
>The evolution of Germanic loans in Western Romance languages shows a
>similar fortition, e.g. Gmc root _ward-_ > French _guarder_, Gmc _want-_ >
>French _gant_, Gmc _werr-_ > Ital. _guerra_ , Gmc _wi:sa_ > Fr. _guise_,
>etc. Of course, one cannot rule out sound substitution in the latter
>instances.
>
>Similar developments are probably attested in other languages.

Welsh, for instance.  Brythonic *winnos to Welsh 'gwyn' (fem. 'gwen' by
a-umlaut) "white"; Latin VINOS to Welsh 'gwin' "wine".  A relationship to
the French change is highly doubtful as the Welsh fortition affects
inherited vocabulary and Latin borrowings--precisely the words *not*
affected in French (cf. French 'vin').  The French change affects only
early Germanic borrowings--which in Welsh retain initial 'w' (e.g. wel
"well" (excl.), widw "widow").

-- 
	 Daniel "Da" von Brighoff    /\          Dilettanten
	(deb5@midway.uchicago.edu)  /__\         erhebt Euch
				   /____\      gegen die Kunst!
