From: Mate Kapović
Message: 41380
Date: 2005-10-13
>That is also the case in Standard Croatian and in my native Štokavian
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Andrew Jarrette
> To: cybalist@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Thursday, October 13, 2005 7:49 PM
> Subject: [tied] Other IE language with /w/
>
>
>> Now I may regret having said that "all other IE languages" than English
>> have changed /w/ in initial position.
>
> English has preserved (nearly) all initial w's unchanged. However, I can
> give anonother example of preserving [w] unchanged (at least in most
> position), and two more examples of preserving [w] in a nearly unchanged
> shape.
>
> 1) The Sorbian languages have preserved initial w- in most positions.
> Anyway, w- remains [w] in Lower Sorbian except when before o, u in native
> words (where it changed into [h]).
> 2) Standard Dutch (I mean the standard variant which is being described in
> teach-yourself books etc.) changed the bilabial approximant /w/ (in
> anlaut)
> into the labio-dental approximant, so the change is less than in most
> other
> IE languages.