Richard Wordingham wrote:

> --- In phoNet@yahoogroups.com, Miguel Carrasquer <mcv@w...> wrote:
>> On Sat, 01 Nov 2003 16:38:13 +0000, Richard Wordingham
>> <richard.wordingham@n...> wrote:
>>
>>> A wild possibility is /kt/ > /xt/ > /ft/ > /pt/.
>
>> The step /ft/ > /pt/ in
>> Romanian also offers no phonetic problems, although /f/ does not
>> otherwise yield /p/ in Romanian (only in the clusters /pt/, /ps/ <
>> */ft/, */fs/).
>
> Are there other examples of this limited change? I couldn't think
> of any, which is what bothers me about the idea.
>
> Richard.
>

About "ct"; Some examples in Rom:
cuptor(oven) < +coctorius, drept(right)< directus, faptã ( action)<
factum, lapte (milk) < lacte; noapte(night) < noctem; opt(eight) < octo

Rosetti considers that the "ct" group was not stable in any Romance
Language. The problem is that in Albanian the "ct" is once represented
as "ft"(luftë < lucta; troftë < *trocta, ftua < cotoneum) but as "it"
too:
dreitë > directus, traitoj > tractare.

The group "pt" is charachteristic for Balcans present in some Greek
dialects and in Macedonian , as well as in Thracian. Of course we have
"pt" in Latin too, but I am not aware if there are Latin words with "pt"
as reflex of an IE "ct".
G.R. Solta, consider that the "pt" is the reflex of the Thracian.

Why Albanian presents 3 treatments here for the group "ct"? I guess they
are chronologicaly to explain:
- ct > t ; this is the IE reflex inherited in Albanian from
Ilirian/Epyrothian Dialects
- ct > ft _via_ pt in the words which have been borrowed from Thracian
- ct > it in the loans from Latin

About "cs";"cs" > "s" in Rom as general rule. And this appear to be
normal because "cs" was already in Latin becoming "ss" in the Republican
time, thus there has been no chance to get it to other people as "cs"
Though there are some words where we have an "ps" there as coapsã <
coxa, frapsin(frasin=ash tree) < fraxinus
Alb. kofshë < coxa, lafhsë >laxa;

For explaining words as "berbec"(ram) and other examples there is used
the Latin ending "-cis" and not "x".
For Albanian "fsh" it appears more probably the loan into language from
the stadium "ps". We know for sure in several languages the p > f, thus
there is abnormal to try to explain the change as ct > ft > ct. There
can be that Albanians got it from Thracians or if one doesn't like the
word Thracian, then from becoming Romanians.

Alex