--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Brian M. Scott" <BMScott@...> wrote:
>
>
> This is a well-known Late Latin development: when unstressed
> penultimate vowels were lost between /t/ and /l/, the
> resulting /tl/ was replaced by /kl/. Note 'vetulus non
> veclus and 'vitulus non viclus' (Appendix Probi).
>
> Brian
>
Note also that Proto-Finnic could already handel most combinations
plosive+liqvida, e.g. substituted:
-rtr- => -tr- *artra => atra- > aura 'plough'
-Kwn- => -tn- EarlyGmc *waxw-na- > *vatno- > vannoa 'swear'
This shows an acceptance, or even a preference for -t- in front of -r-
/-n-
But in stark contrast when it comes to -Tl- the substitution would be
=> *-kl-
as in
Gmc *se:thla- => *se:kla (Carelian > siekla) > seula 'sieve, siffer'
Gmc *ne:thla- => *nekla (Carelian > niekla) > neula 'needle'
Of course this is relevant only as one example of the worlds over
6000 languages...
Another observation of a contrary development: Modern Icelandic
treats Old Norse geminated -ll- in an odd fashion, it becomes
devoiced and a precursory -t- is inserted into the pronounciation,
for example <gull> [gutL] (where capital L is used for voiceless
lateral). Maybe a Celtic substratum here, does not welsh have
voiceless laterals?
The interesting point is that AFAIK Icelandic has no
contrastive consonant length, so the "affricate" must be interpreted
as one phoneme, much as spanish -rr- or Catalan -tll-, not a sequence.
Jouppe