Re: [tied] Nominative: A hybrid view

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Miguel Carrasquer <mcv@...> wrote:

> On Fri, 23 May 2003 01:12:23 +0200 (MET DST), Jens Elmegaard

Rasmussen

> <jer@...> wrote:

> >[...] It would be much as
> >in the many IE languages where the voiced aspirates fell in with

the

> >voiced unaspirated stops by loss of the once-distinctive feature.

For

> >sibilants I would guess it has actually taken place in Spanish,

but I am

> >outside of my field there. There is certainly nothing revolting

about a

> >merger /s/ : /z/ => /s/.
>
> In Spanish, all voiced fricatives have merged with the voiceless

ones

> (except /v/ -> /b/): /z/ > /s/, /dz/ > /T/, /dz^/ > /z^/ > /s^/
> /x/.
> Likewise in the Catalan from València ("apitxat"): /v/ > /b/, /z/ >
> /s/, /dz^/ > /c^/, /z^/ > /s^/.
>
> The same tendency can also be seen e.g. in colloquial Holland Dutch
> (/v/ > /f/, /z/ > /s/, /G/ > /x/).

Thanks for the support. I hardly dares adduce it, and I would still
like to hear if you know of evidence that proves that
intervocalic /s/ was ever voiced in Spanish? It is elsewhere, and <j-

> [x-] was obviously once voiced, but is there real evidence for [z]
> [s]?

Jens