Re: 'Intrusive' phonemes in languages

> For instance take the initial flexion of 'head' in Irish:
>
> a ceann "her head" (c = k),
> a cheann "his head" (ch = ty. ch),
> a gceann "their head" (ge = g)
>
> depending on the fact that the possessive pronoun a once
> ended in 1) a vowel, 2) -s, 3) -m (-n).
>

There is a tendency in the Germanic languages (except Dutch) to mark
word boundaries with a glottal catch (Tacitus' "murmur fractum"?).
Perhaps Celtic tendency to obliterate word boundaries is attempt to
distance themselves from this ugly habit?


Torsten