Sen, R. orcid.org/0000-0002-1558-7938 and Zair, N. (2022) Liquid polarity, positional contrast, and diachronic change : clear and dark /r/ in Latin. Diachronica, 39 (3). pp. 409-448. ISSN 0176-4225
Abstract
Apparently disparate sound changes in Latin, involving both vowels and consonants but sensitive to /r/, can be explained by reconstructing a positional clear/dark contrast in /r/, motivated by the seldom-mentioned “liquid polarity” effect. Examining these diachronic processes together allows us to see a larger picture, providing evidence for the reconstruction of successive past synchronic states. Latin /r/ mirrored the behaviour of Latin /l/ up to the first century BC: /l/ was dark and /r/ was clear in codas, and /r/ was dark and /l/ was underspecified for tongue body position in onsets. Darkness in /r/ was partly implemented through the selection of r-type: dark onset approximant and clear coda tap. Later, coda /r/ became an approximant like onset /r/, and subsequently both became trills, resulting in the erosion of the positional contrast and the liquid polarity effect.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 John Benjamins Publishing. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in Diachronica. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Latin; Historical Phonology; phonetic reconstruction; clear and dark resonance; liquid polarity; positional contrast; rhotics |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Arts and Humanities (Sheffield) > School of English (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 11 May 2021 07:10 |
Last Modified: | 02 Dec 2022 11:13 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | John Benjamins Publishing |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1075/dia.17032.sen |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:173069 |