DA:>In other words,
> it's an uncommon but not unheard of "un-satemization"?
PG:> It has nothing to do with Satem/Centum developments.
I wasn't suggesting that it was directly related to Satem/Centum
which is why I coined a term and put it in quotes. I was just
observing that the sound changes seem to be somewhat analogous in
that they go *k > *s ; but oddly enough they seem to have gone back
from s. > kh which is generally not widely seen.
Your point below got me re-reading Deshpande's article.
PG: >The source of <s.> is IE *s in the "ruki" context, not a velar
>stop, so it's quite clear that <kH> is secondary.
First of all, let me make sure I understand correctly: the sibilants
created in the Satem languages are different from the later 'ruki'
shift where Skt s. < IIR s?
It would make some sense that the <kh> would be secondary since it's
only reflected in the Shukla Yajur Veda which is considered later
than the Rig Veda.
DA:> > So then what we're seeing is probably s. > x > kh? >
PG:> I don't think the last step (x > kH) is real as a sound change
>(though it is very possible that in classical Sanskrit the
>dialecticisms in question had a spelling-pronunciation with [kH]).
>More likely, <kH> is merely an orthographic rendering of [x] (Skt.
>had no characters to spell <xV-> directly, so <kHV-> was used as an
approximation).
Perhaps I don't understand the comment "I don't think the last step
(x > kH) is real as a sound change" but I should point out that this
pronunciation of 'purukha' etc. is still very common wherever Shukla
Yajur Veda is chanted in North India, i.e all over the place. And
this is Vedic, not Classical, Sankrit. One would assume, given the
obsession with proper pronunciation in Vedic rituals, that it has
been passed down accurately, although the point of Deshpande's
(controversial) article is to question that.
How is /x/ pronounced? Are there any examples in nonSlavic European
languages that I might recognize? Is there a good web site to
illustrate these sounds? That would be a wonderful resource: a list
of the International Phonetic Alphabet with an attached mp3 sound
file so you could hear the sounds.