On 2007-12-09 16:44, Patrick Ryan wrote:
> Or, perhaps *sp > *sf > *sw ???
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* Piotr Gasiorowski <mailto:gpiotr@...>
> ...A more detailed
> scenario would perhaps involve something like *sp- > *sP > *sB- > *sw-
> in the prehistory of Irish.
The difference is minimal, anyway (by [P] I mean the bilabial
fricative). Some authors regard the outcome of *sp in Celtic as */sb/ in
phonemic terms, whatever the precise realisation. We find -p- > -b-
medially before liquids and archaic spellings suggest something like
bl-/Bl-/wl- as the intermediate stage between *pl- and l- at least in
Celtiberian, cf. Bletisama ~ Lataisama < *pleth2-ism.h2-o- (the ancient
name of Ledesma, Spain).
Piotr