[tied] Re: Laryngeals revisited

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Brian M. Scott" <BMScott@...>
wrote:

> At 2:23:11 PM on Thursday, June 30, 2005, Rob wrote:
>
> > English back vowels retain their quality both before and
> > after labial glides, e.g.:
>
> > 'water' (otherwise would be pronounced as 'waiter'),
>
> Or to rhyme with <hatter>: spellings like <wat(t)re> suggest
> ME /wAt&r/, not /wA:t&r/, in at least some dialects.
> (Doesn't Scots mostly have [a], from a short vowel?)
>
> > 'wolf' (otherwise as with the /O/ ~ /A/ in 'pot')
> > 'draw' (otherwise as with the /au/ in 'drought'),
>
> Not really an example of retention: /drAGAn/ > /drAU&(n)/ >
> /drAU/ > /drO:/. <Drought> is completely different, being
> from OE <drúgað>: the vowel is OE /u:/ > ME /u:/ > PDE /AU/.

Woops, forgot about that. Sorry.

> > English /l/ also preserves back vowels -- compare 'talk'
> > and 'walk' vs. 'tack' and 'whack'.
>
> Again, it isn't a matter of preservation: ME /tAlk&(n)/ >
> EME /tAU(l)k/ > PDE /tO:k/.

Yes it is. The postvocalic lateral prevented /a/ from becoming /&/.
Again, compare 'tack' /t&k/ which must have been earlier /tak/.

- Rob