Re: Gmc. w-/g-, j-/g-

From: stlatos
Message: 68118
Date: 2011-10-20

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "stlatos" <stlatos@...> wrote:
>

> He's also hindered by attempting to find a regular rather than optional expl. at:
>
> http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/books/piep09.html
>
> he says:
>
> "
> In chapter 7 we have seen that in some verb forms reflexes of laryngeals were preserved in PGmc. as continuants. If e:2 developed from e plus reflex of laryngeal (written Z below), at some time in early Gmc. there were found side by side forms with a pattern: leZd- and le:2d. Besides these there were words of the pattern: mizd-; the allophone of /i/ before /z/ was apparently very low, see Twaddell, Language 24.147. The allophone of the /i/ in mizd- was then very similar to that of leZd. Thus on the pattern
>
> leZd- : le:2d
> mizd- : x
>
> alternate forms with me:2d were made. As we might expect from such an analogical development, only a few such forms were made, and beside these survived the original forms. We find only those cited above, and OE ce:n, OHG kien from *keznos, cf. Russ. sosná `pine' and MLG he:de beside OE heorde, MDu. herde `tow'.
> "
>


He didn't mention cases such as * waizda- 'woad'. Also, at:

www.sean-crist.com/professional/publications/crist_z_loss.ps

a larger list is given. The expl. there also relies too much on a nonexistent regularity (and so problems remain for him).