Carpathian historical development: Difference between revisions

The combinations with ''*w'' and ''*j'' as a second element survived, although the clusters of dental consonants and *j underwent [[w:Iotation|iotation]]: ''*weĩśśinjāh'' > ''weisiniā'' “cherry” (Eastern [weɪ̀.si.ɲɑ], Western [weɪ̀.ʂi.ɲɑ], later degemination of *ś after a diphthong); labial consonants were not affected, while velar consonants show variation among various dialects: ''liaugā'' ~ ''liaudiā'' “puddle” (''"diV"'' represents the [ɟ] sound). Thus, while the clusters with ''*j'' as their second element were resolved, the palatal articulation of that element affected the first element of the cluster, causing '''palatalisation''', e.g. moving the articulation of that consonant towards palatal with only labial consonants remaining unchanged (they probably lost their palatalisation later, although this cannot be confirmed, since no Carpathian dialect preserves any evidence of the palatalisation of labials). This new distinction resulted in an opposition of plain and palatal consonants: ''wa'''l'''ītei'' “to prefer” (plain consonant) – ''wa'''li'''ā'' “will” (palatal). The palatal reflexes of the clusters ''*kj'' and ''*gj'' did not merge with the respective reflexes of ''*tj'' and ''*dj'' in Proto-Carpathian, as can be seen from dialects, which have distinct affricate phonemes. In those dialects ''*tj'' and ''*dj'' became ''č'' and ''dž'' (or ''ts'' and ''dz'') respectively, while all other dialects merge both into one palatal series. The rare cluster ''*hj'' usually simply dispalatalised, following the same path, as the labial consonants: ''*stāhjā'' - ''stāhā'' “shelter”. A consonant cluster followed by ''*j'' palatised as a whole: Proto-Carpathian ''*nìštjas'' – modern ''nistias'' [nìɕ.cɑs] “poor”.

The only source of the ''š'' sound in the Eastern dialect of Carpathian was the '''ruki''' law. However, the law was reversed before plosive consonants later, making the original ''š'' a relatively rare phoneme. This was likely the reason for why it gained an affective nature, substituting the original ''*s''. This change was not regular, however, and it did not affect Western Carpathian, in which ''š'' was common. Examples of such words include: Eastern ''pal'''š'''as'' “commotion”, ''pil'''š'''as'' “dormouse”, '''''š'''armas'' “harm” (from ''*śar̃mas''), but Western ''pol'''s'''as'', ''pel'''s'''as (“mouse”), '''''š'''armas'' (with a regular outcome of ''*ś'').

 

The nasal consonants did not assimilate to following consonants in Proto-Carpathians, which is also true for almost all modern dialects: Western Carpathian ''šu'''m'''ta'' “hundred”, Eastern Carpathian ''i'''m'''tei'' “to take, to have”. However, in Eastern Carpathian a nasal consonant always assimilates to its following fricative: dial. ''gassis'' “goose” (standard ''gansis''), ''sassēdas'' “neighbour” (dial. ''sansēdas'', Western ''samsēdas''). In the standard only ''*m'' assimilates, while ''*n'' usually stays intact, only becoming [ŋ] before velars. The dialect of the Eastern Carpathian Highlands keeps the cluster ''nh'' distinct from ''n'', usually as voiceless [n̥], since /h/ is typically voiceless near other consonants in that dialect: ''swanhas'' “sound”, ''tinhus'' “thin” (most dialects have ''swanas'' and ''tinus'', Western standard ''swonas'', ''tinus'').

Initial *a and *e (as well as their long counterparts) tend to alternate between two Carpathian dialect groups. In Eastern Carpathian the reflex is usually '''a''', while in Western Carpathian it is '''e''' instead. Long "ē" and "ā" are more stable, but can appear in affective terminology: Western ''d'''ē'''dis'' — ''d'''ā'''dis'' “uncle”; ''d'''ē'''la'' ― ''d'''ā'''la'' “deed, action”; ''r'''ē'''nā'' — ''r'''ā'''nā'' “wound”. A special case in the ''er-ar''-vacillation, because the process is regular in the two branches: Western '''''e'''r'''e'''llas'' — Eastern '''''a'''r'''a'''llas'' “plough”, '''''e'''rmū'' — '''''a'''rmū'' “shoulder”. Rozwadowski's rule, shared with Balto-Slavic, may be a part of this general trend. According to this rule the original *e and *a were mixed, and both became "e" in Western Carpathian and "a" in Eastern Carpathian with few rare exceptions: Proto-Carpathian ''*éźera'' “lake” resulted in Western '''''e'''žera'' and Eastern '''''a'''zera''; ''*eske'' “still” → ''eske'' — ''aske''; ''*àlawa'' “lead” → ''elowa'' — ''alawa''; ''*àpsā'' “aspen” → ''espā'' — ''aspā'' (dial. ''àssis''). The rule only affected the absolute initial position, and is thus different from other e-a-vacillations.