[tied] Re: Stative/Perfect; Indo-European /r/

Well, French has got a new W, as in the word "oui". In Italian W is
preserved after consonants, ex. "suino", "aqua", "guerra", but is
perhaps to be regarded as an allophoneme of v.

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Richard Wordingham"
<richard.wordingham@...> wrote:

>
> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Andrew Jarrette <anjarrette@...>

wrote:

> >
> >
> > tgpedersen <tgpedersen@...> wrote:
> >
> >
> > > Are you saying that the replacement of /w/ by /v/ in all IE
> > languages that have done this is due to French influence? A

change

> > that is so widespread I would think would be carried out
> > independently in all the languages in which it occurred (e.g. I
> > hardly think that French influence accounts for /v/ in

Lithuanian).

> >
> >
> > It took place in stages. French influenced German, German

influenced

> > north and south. Baltic German influence perhaps? According to
> > Piotr, /w/ is alive in Belarussian.
> >
> > Torsten
> >
> > _________________
> >
> > That's interesting that /w/ (from IE *w?) is alive in

Belarussian -

> English is therefore not alone (but if /w/ survived in Belarussian,
> why did it disappear in /kw/ /gw/ /gwh/, which became k/c^ and

g/z^?).

> But I still have difficulty believing that French alone is the
> ultimate cause of /w/ > /v/ in so many diverse languages, even
> Sanskrit (admittedly the /v/ of Sanskrit was apparently an

approximant

> rather than a fricative)? You say this as though it is a

documented

> fact, not just a theory. Is it the orthodox view of the origin

of /w/

> > /v/?
>
> If we're not careful, we'll end up attributing /w/ > /v/ in Lao and
> Khmer to French influence, mopping up a couple of large-scale
> recipients of IE (more precisely, Sanskrit / Pali) loans.
>
> Richard.