--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@...>
wrote:
> Note Haitian Creole 'zétwal' "star" (< 'les étoiles' /lé-z-étwal/,
> from which a new singular is extracted).
> Lousiana French 'zadiko' (< 'les haricots' /lé-z-arikó/), whence
> AmEng 'zydeco' (music).
>
Also zieuauter stare.
A thought: celtic substrate.
I'm thinking of stage changes (if I recollect the term correctly)
where previous endings have made the first consonants
voiced/unvoiced/fricatives.
This is perhaps even earlier substrates along the European west
coast?
The fact is, however: yeux never occur without the preceding -z-
except when dictating facts for a scribe editing a passport:
yeux, bleus.
The cajuns and their slaves didn't seem to be aware of the fact
that 'haricot' has an h aspiré.
Lars