User:Chrysophylax/Phonology

Evolution from Proto-Indo-European

Establishing the “upper boundary” of Proto-Hirathic is a very tricksy business. The “lower boundary” even more-so! And somewhere, I'll have to split up the purto-langwjey into an early (EPH) and a late (LPH) stage.

Phonology

Vowels

Vocalisation of laryngeals

1. ASSUME GREEK TRIPLE REFLEX
2. Exceptions: -h₃w-, -gH- → -gw-, -gʰ-.

Short vowels

1. The short vowel system inherited from Late Indo-European remained surprisingly stable with only a raising of IE *o to u and a diphthongisation of IE *e in some phonological contexts.
   1. IE *a was preserved as a
   2. IE *o was preserved as o except R_Cʷ where it was raised to u.

      bori ‘hill’ < IE *gʷor̥

      nyps ‘night’ < EPH *núpts < IE *nókʷts

   3. IE *e was preserved initially as e.

      thémmi ‘I say’ < IE *ḱéh₁mi

   4. EPH *e would later diphthongise into je between a resonant and a consonant.

      khirjéthōi ‘harder’ < LPH *χĭrjéθōi < EPH *χrétʲōi < IE *kret-yō-s

   5. IE *i yields i except after a labial and before a consonant where it becomes e.

      limpimos ‘we allow’ < EPH *linpimós < IE *linkʷm̥ós

      pes ‘who’ < IE *kʷis

   6. IE *u was preserved as u

Long vowels

1. The IE long vowels are well preserved, if not always in the original form.
   1. IE *ā → ā
   2. IE *ē → ē
   3. IE *ī → EPH *ī → i
   4. IE *ō → ō
   5. IE *ū → EPH *u̯i → y

Diphthongs

1. The IE system of diphthongs was fully preserved in the earliest stages of the language but would later be much simplified.
   1. IE *ai → ai
   2. IE *oi → ai
   3. IE *ei → ei
   4. IE *au → au
   5. IE *ou → au
   6. IE *eu → ū~eu
   7. IE *Vi̯ (where V is a long vowel) → V

Sonorants

1. 1. Both nasal *ṃ *ṇ become EPH *a.

      áphros ‘storm cloud’ < EPH aphrós < PIE *n̥bʰrós

      káton ‘a hundred’ < EPH katóm < PIE *ḱm̥tóm

   2. Syllabic liquid sonorants have multiple reflexes.
      1. *ri appears before *s *ʃ *tʲ
      2. *ir appears before all other consonants.
      3. *al appears before other sonorants.
      4. *la before all other stops.
   3. Asyllabic sonorants remain largely unchanged
      1. *y → EPH *j, EPH *Cʲ in C_V, and *i̯- → *dj-

         drū́j ‘to the tree’ < EPH dreuej < *dr-éw-ey dat. sg. of *dóru

         thōránā ‘season’ < EPH djōranā́ < IE yōr-mṇ-ā̬́