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Kelt: Difference between revisions
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(Created page with "'''Kelt''' is the extinct native language of the island of Jacques (''Tśak''), believed to have been a language isolate. Relatively little is known of the language; there are...") |
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The maximal structure for a syllable is therefore C''r''VCC or CVVCC (e.g. ''heent'' "vision, view"). | The maximal structure for a syllable is therefore C''r''VCC or CVVCC (e.g. ''heent'' "vision, view"). | ||
:: '''Note:''' it has been proposed that, historically, Kelt roots were limited to CVC structure but that these syllables could be augmented with prefixed consonants plus the main vowel repeated. Evidence for this comes from the relationship between certain CVC roots and longer roots, e.g. ''palat'' "spear" seems to be an ancient derivative of ''lat'' "thrust, pierce", ''hatal'' "child" looks to be from ''tal'' "raise, nourish". In this way, initial CVC roots gave rise to CVCVC roots and, either directly or through a later process of elision, to C''r''VC roots. The meaning of these consonant prefixes is not understood. CVVC roots are also thought to have developed in the same way from earlier CVC roots with a now lost initial consonant, perhaps a glottal stop ('' ' '') or ''h'' (later ''h'' being a reduced form of /x/). Thus ''*han'' or ''*'an'' yielded ''*lahan/la'an'' then ''laan''. | |||
===Stress=== | ===Stress=== | ||