At 12:47:14 PM on Friday, October 7, 2005, Grzegorz
Jagodzinski wrote:
> willemvermeer wrote:
[...]
>> In the traditional formulation it is a very ordinary
>> phonetic rule, to wit a progressive palatalization of
>> velars preceded by high front vowels unless followed by a
>> consonant or a high rounded vowel.
> The traditional formulation is a little different: the
> process occured after a front vowel (including 'r.) and
> before a vowel, a more precise formulation is that the
> process occured after i, I, e, perhaps 'r. (in the
> dialects where such a sonant existed), and before a vowel.
Admittedly my knowledge of Slavic linguistics is minimal,
but Willem's version is the only one that I've encountered.
E.g., Terence R. Carlton (Introduction to the phonological
History of the Slavic Languages, 1990) gives it as follows:
/i(:)/, /e,/ + /k/, /g/, /x/ + vowel (except /u(:)/) >
/c/, /dz/ or /z'/, /s^/ or /s'/.
Certainly what I've read gives me no reason to doubt that
this is now the traditional formulation, even if it's not
the original one. (In my own field the traditional and
original definitions of 'compact space' are quite different,
for instance.)
Carlton also seems to look with some favor on the
possibility that the progressive palatalization is actually
very old, pointing out that this could explain a number of
exceptions; I'd like to ask Miguel and Willem what the
subsequent fate of this idea has been.
Brian