Re: Gmc. w-/g-, j-/g-

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "stlatos" <stlatos@...> wrote:

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> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "stlatos" <stlatos@> wrote:
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> > He's also hindered by attempting to find a regular rather than optional expl. at:
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> > http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/books/piep09.html
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> > he says:
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> > "
> > In chapter 7 we have seen that in some verb forms reflexes of laryngeals were preserved in PGmc. as continuants. If e:2 developed from e plus reflex of laryngeal (written Z below), at some time in early Gmc. there were found side by side forms with a pattern: leZd- and le:2d. Besides these there were words of the pattern: mizd-; the allophone of /i/ before /z/ was apparently very low, see Twaddell, Language 24.147. The allophone of the /i/ in mizd- was then very similar to that of leZd. Thus on the pattern
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> > leZd- : le:2d
> > mizd- : x
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> > alternate forms with me:2d were made. As we might expect from such an analogical development, only a few such forms were made, and beside these survived the original forms. We find only those cited above, and OE ce:n, OHG kien from *keznos, cf. Russ. sosná `pine' and MLG he:de beside OE heorde, MDu. herde `tow'.
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> He didn't mention cases such as * waizda- 'woad'. Also, at:
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> www.sean-crist.com/professional/publications/crist_z_loss.ps
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> a larger list is given. The expl. there also relies too much on a nonexistent regularity (and so problems remain for him).
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The solution involves knowing that the irregular cases of z were actually z. (seen by comparing Indo-Iranian that didn't change many T. and T.-clusters to T (as Vedic Skt did in "unconditioned" env.)).


As in other IE, opt. T.>Q meant z.>R was opt. This R>G in Gmc, merging with a common reflex of x() (the main source of ex>e: (e:2)).


I use R for both the uvular r and fric. (since they each opt. change into the other), since it doesn't seem important.