Historical Phonology

This paper presents a comprehensive phonetic and phonological description of Northern Sangtam, an essentially undescribed Tibeto-Burman language of central Nagaland belonging to the Aoic subgroup. It is a noteworthy language from a number of phonological perspectives, not least because its phoneme inventory contains two of the world's rarest phonemes: a pre-stopped bilabial trill, and a doubly-articulated labial-coronal nasal. These unique segments are described in detail, and an attempt is made to determine how they might have developed their phonemic status. The tone system is also of interest, as it demonstrates evidence of debuccalization resulting in the development of a new high tone. Following a systematic description of the syllable and word structure, the tone system, and the segmental phonology, some observed age-related differences in the phoneme inventory are discussed. The paper is linked to an online repository containing the audiovisual data and transcribed word lists of approximately 900 items, based on the recorded utterances of eight speakers.

This article proposes a new formal reconstruction of Proto-Indo-European (PIE) nouns containing the suffix *–oi–. I argue that both primary and non-primary derivatives in this class had stress alternating between the derivational suffix and the following inflectional ending (e.g., ACC.SG *[-óy-ṃ] vs. GEN *[-y-ós]) rather than the "amphikinetic" alternation between root and inflectional ending (ACC.SG *[´-oy-ṃ] vs. GEN *[-y-ós]) that is traditionally assumed for all primary nominals with suffixal *[o]-vocalism under the widely accepted “Erlangen Model” (Schindler 1975a,b, Rix 1992) of Indo-European morphophonology. Support for this alternative reconstruction comes from Hittite, which confirms that the suffixal stress seen in the Greek reflex of this noun class was inherited from PIE rather than root stress as in Vedic Sanskrit. More broadly, I contend that an adequate account of the prosodic behavior of PIE *–oi-stems requires (i) abandoning the traditional connection between suffixal *[o]-grade and "amphikinetic" word stress; and (ii) adopting a framework (such as the one articulated by Kiparsky 2010) in which the suffix's capacity to attract stress in both primary and non-primary derivation can be modeled in a unified way.

Neste trabalho, debruçamo-nos sobre a fonologia do Proto-Jabutí (PJab), língua da qual descendem o Arikapú (Ari) e o Djeoromitxí (Dje). Embora esta proto-língua já tenha sido alvo de estudos reconstrutivos (notavelmente VOORT, 2007), alguns aspectos do desenvolvimento diacrônico das línguas Jabutí ainda carecem de explicação.
Abordaremos alguns problemas relacionados à reconstrução das vogais do Proto-Jabutí. Examinaremos as correspondências Ari a : Dje ə/ɛ, ambas atribuídas por Voort (2007) a um desenvolvimento esporádico de PJab *a. Mostraremos que estas correspondências ocorrem nos mesmos ambientes que Ari a : Dje a (< PJab *a), Ari ə : Dje ə/ɛ (< PJab *ə). Argumentaremos que se trata de reflexos condicionados de PJab *ɔ, quando este faz parte do ditongo *ɔj. Dessa forma, propomos as seguintes reconstruções para o Proto-Jabutí: PJab *a(j) > Ari a(j), Dje a (*kra ‘pedra’ > Ari kra, Dje ta; *praj ‘pé’ > Ari praj, Dje pa); PJab *ə(j) > Ari ə(j), Dje ə (*kə ‘pele’ > Ari kə, Dje kə; *pakəj ‘com’ > Ari pakəj, Dje pakə) ou ɛ após coronais exceto *kr > t (*tə ‘trazer’ > Ari tə, Dje tɛ; *prəj ‘vir’ > Ari prəj, Dje pɛ); PJab *ɔj > Ari aj, Dje ə (*krɔj ‘filho’ > Ari kraj, Dje tə) ou ɛ após coronais exceto *kr > t (*nĩprɔj ‘banco, esteira’ > Ari nĩpraj, Dje nĩpɛ).
Para que tal explicação possa funcionar, é necessário considerar ainda uma lei sonora que apaga o segundo elemento dos ditongos PJab em Arikapú precedendo segmentos coronais: PJab *ɔjrã ‘ver’ > Ari arã, Dje ərõ; PJab *ɔjta ~ *ɔjtã ‘sumir’ > Ari ata, Dje ətõ.
Finalmente, revisaremos a reconstrução das africadas do PJab. Defenderemos a reconstrução de duas séries de africadas: PJab *ʈʂ > Ari h (tʃ diante de i), Dje h; PJab *ɖʐ > Ari tʃ, Dje r (com posterior r- > h-); PJab *tʃ > Ari tʃ, Dje tʃ; PJab *dʒ > Ari tʃ, Dje dʒ.

The article describes Eugen Pauliny’s theory of the origin of the Central Slovak rhythmic law. Pauliny’s views on the rise of the rhythmic law involve the hypothesis that in Central Slovak, in contrast to Western and Eastern Slovak, the jers fell out or became vocalised before the vowel contraction occurred. A detailed historical linguistic analysis shows that this hypothesis has no basis in documented linguistic facts, and therefore neither has Pauliny’s theory, which consequently cannot be considered plausible.

This paper classifies dipping tones in the framework of the Multi-Register and Four-Level Model, using new, firsthand acoustic data. Seven dipping types are identified. Four of them are produced in normal clear voice and affiliated with the Modal Register: (1) Central Dipping, typologically transcribed as /323/, (2) Back Dipping /523/, (3) Front Dipping /324/, and (4) Double Circumflex /4343/. The remaining three are produced with non-clear voice qualities: (5) Slack Dipping /213/ in L Register, (6) Creaky Dipping /202/ in the Lower Register, and (7) Fortis-Creak Dipping /405/ in the Upper Register. Each of the seven dipping tones contrasts with one or another with four distinctive features [± RgM, RgL, Hfront, Hback].

Abstract : this study, which first aim was to demonstrate the correspondences between the Gaulish language and the Slavic languages, between which I found 500 common words, allowed me also to demonstrate, on the basis of genetical, archaeological and religious data, that those correspondences were linked with ancient migrations linked with the diffusion of the Dravidian civilisation of the Indus Valley to Iran, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, the Caucasus, the North of the Black Sea, Danubian and Balkanic Europe, towards Gaul and Iberia, where the Neolithic agriculturalists contributed to the formation of the megalithic civilisation which developed from -5.000. This explains also the linguistic correspondences I established between Gaulish and Dravidian languages – 250 common words from the 500 words I studied, as well as similarities I found in the organisation of the Society and the religion, which lead certain researchers to suggest, on the basis of the diffusion of the very ancient gene H2-P96 from India to Western Europe, that the first Europeans and the proto-Dravidians had a common origin.
Extrait : cette étude, dont l’objectif initial était de démontrer les correspondances entre le gaulois et les langues slaves, entre lesquelles j’ai trouvé 500 mots communs, m’a en outre permis de démontrer, sur la base de données génétiques, archéologiques et religieuses, que ces correspondances étaient liées à des migrations anciennes liées à la diffusion de la civilisation dravidienne de la vallée de l’Indus vers l’Iran, la Mésopotamie, l’Anatolie, le Caucase, le Nord de la Mer Noire, l’Europe danubienne et balkanique, la Gaule et l’Ibérie, où les agriculteurs néolithiques ont contribué à former la civilisation mégalithique qui s’est développée à partir de -5.000. Cela explique aussi les correspondances linguistiques que j’ai établies entre le gaulois et les langues dravidiennes - 250 mots communs sur les 500 mots étudiés, et les similitudes que j’ai constatées dans l’organisation de la société et la religion, qui amènent certains chercheurs à suggérer, sur la base de la diffusion du gène très ancien H2-P96 de l’Inde à l’Europe de l’Ouest, que les premiers Européens et les proto-Dravidiens avaient une origine commune.

В статье разбирается орфография и языковой материал «Начертания...» В. П. Вишневского (1836), одного из наиболее известных старочувашских памятников первой половины XIX века. Показано, что этот памятник утвердил и популяризовал целый ряд специфических приёмов орфографии, которые примерно до 1860-х годов использовались чувашскими книжниками. Язык «Начертания...» не идентичен языку какого-либо из обследованных ранее старочувашских памятников: частотные формы, соотносящиеся с северо-западной зоной верхового диалекта, конфликтуют с менее многочисленными формами, приближенными к среднечувашским образцам. Возможно, такое сосуществование свидетельствует о диалектном сдвиге как части истории т. н. «средненизовых» говоров чувашского языка.

In his works on Slavonic historical phonology, the Ukrainian linguist George Y. Shevelov (1908–2002) studied the system of phonemes in its historical development. The classical phonological methodology, based on the study of synchronic oppositions within a certain language, underwent some modifications in his practical research, as the author was set on combining synchronic and diachronic methods. Shevelov’s definition of phoneme, given in 1951, treated it functionally, rejecting all psychologism. Nevertheless, while analyzing the language of written records, he could not avoid introducing some psychological facets.

Establishing the origin and dating of the palatalization of the CA and GA clusters in the Rhaeto-Romance languages and in the Cisalpine area is one of the most debated problems in Romance linguistics, also because of the classificatory implications ascribed to this phonetic mutation. In 1958 the Slovene romanist Anton Grad suggested a ‘low’ dating (XII-XIV centuries) for such palatalization in Friulian, on the basis of the loan words present in western Slovene dialects. However, on the basis of toponomastic data and other interlinguistic considerations, it is possible to predate the palatalization of the CA and GA in the Friulian area before the year 1000.

"Archaisms in the historical phology of Livonian"
In this talk I demonstrate how improved understanding of a deep-level proto-language, such as Proto-Uralic, can lead to improved understanding of the history of its daughter groups, such as Finnic. I present three features of Livonian which can be shown to be archaisms by external comparison, and which require amending the reconstruction of Proto-Finnic:
1. In Livonian, earlier *tk > *kk versus *dk, *čk > *tk, contrasting with South Estonian: *tk, *dk > *kk versus *čk > *ck; and with core Finnic: all three > *tk. These isoglosses must pre-date the general pan-Finnic merger of *d, *č into *t, and I propose that these mergers could be also shifted somewhat forward within the relative chonology of Finnic. In particular, the important sound change *ti > *ći can be still maintained as Proto-Finnic proper, if also *či > *ći is assumed to have taken place alongside. By contrast it appears possible that *di may have initially remained outside assibilation, and forms like *täwdə > Finnish täysi (: täyte-) 'full' are in origin analogical rather than soundlawful.
2. In Liv., earlier *wj > *jj, while earlier *jw > *vv, contrasting with both > *jv elsewhere. This finds key evidence however from only a single loanword: lōja 'ship' ← Germanic *flawja-.
3. In Liv., earlier *ojə > *oi, contrasting with *ojə > *ui elsewhere. This development has been mostly masked by the developments *oojə, *oj(C) > *oi in all of Finnic. It however appears to be related to the much more widespread development *oCə > *uCə, found in some shape widely across Uralic.

In de recente literatuur over de foiîölogische aspecten van taalcontact
wordt ongetwijfeld de meeste aandacht besteed aan de fonetische en
fonologische aspecten van ontlening zoals ze zich bij de individuele
spreker 'online' afspelen. Deze benadering is duidelijk synchroon en stelt
de perceptuele en fonologische competentie van de individuele spreker in het middelpunt. In dit werkstuk probeer ik echter enkele diachrone aspecten van de fonologische ontlening in het Nederlands te belichten. Dit gebeurt door middel van de beschrijving van de twee mogelijke processen die vreemde fonologische segmenten in de ontlenende taal kunnen ondergaan: adaptatie en integratie. Elk proces wordt geïllustreerd met behulp van een historische ontlening aan het Frans. Uit deze beschrijving blijkt dat er door de ontlening aan het Frans inderdaad structurele veranderingen optreden in de Nederlandse fonologie. Er wordt ook ingegaan op de vraag waarom de twee standaardvarianten andere strategieën hanteren ten opzichte van Franse ontleningen.

To appear in The Handbook of Portuguese Linguistics, João Costa, Sergio Menuzzi & W. Leo Wetzels, eds. Wiley-Blackwell. Expected late 2015.

The present chapter explores the main phonological changes that characterize the linguistic evolution of Portuguese from Latin, with special attention to those that distinguish it from its neighbors, although as a descendant of Latin, Portuguese shares many traits with its Romance language sisters, particularly in the Iberian Peninsula.
The chapter is organized as follows: section 2 treats various issues related to the evolution of syllable structure from Late Spoken Latin through Hispano-Romance to Modern Portuguese. This will include treatment of (inter-)related phenomena that affect segments, both individually and in combination, of vowels and consonants, including some that occur only sporadically. Section 3 further addresses salient characteristics of the vocalic system. Section 4 treats morphophonological issues of grammaticalization, contraction and prosody that characterize Portuguese in contrast to other Romance varieties. Section 5 offers a brief conclusion.

This paper analyses vowel and consonant epentheses in the history of German from the typological perspective of syllable and word languages (Auer 1993, 2001; Szczepaniak 2007a). The prosodic analysis reveals a shift of the epenthetic domain from the phonological syllable in Old High German (OHG) towards
the phonological word in Early New High German (ENHG): The OHG epentheses improved syllables by simplifying consonant clusters, e.g. OHG durh > duruh ‘through’ (CVCC > CV.CVC) or resolving hiatuses as in OHG sāen > sāwen ‘to sow’ (CV.VC > CV.CVC). In contrast, epentheses operating since ENHG have highlighted the phonological word by producing hiatuses and, thus, raising the word-internal sonority, e.g. MHG bûr(e) > (E)NHG Bauer ‘peasant’ (CVC > CVṾVC) or by producing complex word-external syllable codas, e.g. MHG mâne > (E)NHG Mond ‘moon’ (CVCV > (CVC) > CVCC). This domain shift is part of the phonological change of German from a syllable to a word language type, which has brought about a series of word-optimizing processes.

A word-by-word explanation of the translation of the so-called creation hymn of Rigveda. The translation is very different from traditional ones.

As I demonstrate, the hymn has been completely misunderstood by previous translators.

The hymn has nothing to do with the origin or creation of the Universe. It is in fact, simply a prayer to God.

This thesis presents an exploration of the historical phonology of the West Katuic language family (< Katuic < Austroasiatic). West Katuic (WK) is divided into two sub-groups called Kuay and Bru (Ferlus 1974a, Diffloth 1982, Sidwell 2005). As no previous publication has concerned itself solely with the comparative phonology of WK, it was determined that this thesis should provide a review of previously published phonological descriptions of WK languages, a reconstruction of the segmental inventories of Proto-West Katuic (PWK), Proto-Kuay (PKuay) and Proto-Bru (PBru), and an isoglossic analysis of the phonological changes apparent in a representative sampling of modern Kuay and Bru languages. Additionally, a word list data collection tool was developed, which is aimed at eliciting etyma from other, previously undocumented WK varieties that will provide data pertinent towards the isoglossic analysis of those varieties.
The lexical data supporting the analysis in this thesis comes from three previously published sources and seven new data sources collected by the author. A 973-item comparative lexicon of WK that is cross-referenced with Sidwell’s (2005) comparative dictionary and lexical reconstruction of Proto-Katuic (PK) is provided as an appendix.
It was found that WK languages are differentiated from other Katuic languages based on the combination of the following four innovations/retentions: 1) the split in Sidwell’s (2005) PK *ia, *ua to PWK *ea, *oa and PWK *ɛɛ, *ɔɔ; 2) the split in PK *ii, *uu to PWK *ii, *uu and PWK *ia, *ua; 3) the maintenance of PK *ie, *uo as PWK *iə, *uə and 4) the reanalysis of PK *ɛɛ in open syllables to PWK *-aj. Also noteworthy is that PWK had four levels of height contrast in its back long vowel inventory due to the intrusion of PK *ua > PWK *ɔɔ, which caused the lowering of PK *ɔɔ > PWK *ɒɒ. No register split is reconstructed for PWK vocalism on account of the transitional, pre-register vocalism described for modern Suay (Ferlus 1971). This precludes the possibility of PWK and PKuay being marked by register contrast. No significant consonant changes were found between PK and PWK, though the process of initial stop devoicing likely did begin in the PWK period or slightly after under Middle Khmer influence.
An analysis of the phonological isoglosses discovered here reveals that the Kuay sub-group may be further divisible into an eastern branch and a western branch. This makes sense based on the geographic isolation of the western Kuay languages (Suay) of Laos. While intra-Bru isoglosses were discovered, no indications were found of sub-groupings within the Bru language community and the entire Bru area remains best described as a dialect continuum.
It is hoped that this thesis will serve as a synthesis of the WK research that has gone on up to this point and provide a starting point for the further investigation of WK languages.

Abstract: This chapter discusses the application of Optimality Theory to phonological change, and reviews work that treats various aspects of historical phonology, including segmental and prosodic changes, analogy, paradigmatic leveling, and other shifts due to functional considerations of systemic markedness and perceptual or listener-based factors that pose challenges to the original framework of the standard theory.

Keywords: sound change, comparison with derivational- or rule-based phonology, Optimality Theory and modeling of phonologization, analogy, restructuring, lexicalization and variation, gestural model, Dispersion Theory, markedness, grounding, perception, lexicon optimization, alternative models of Optimality Theory

Languages: English, French, Germanic, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, Latin, Leonese, Polish, Portuguese, Romance, Russian, Slavic, Spanish.

This is a draft section of a reference work explaining Manx spelling and pronunciation for a general (not specifically academic) audience of students of Manx and the Gaelic languages.

This section consists of an alphabetical index of graphemes representing vowels and diphthongs, with lists (exhaustive unless otherwise indicated) of Manx lexemes with particular grapheme-phoneme correspondences, with sounds explained with IPA transcriptions, phonological terminology, as well as comparisons with roughly equivalent English sounds (Isle of Man / RP - non-rhotic), and Gaelic cognates or other etymologies given for each item. The orthography is the standard of the Manx Bible (1772/1819) and Classical Manx more generally.

The complete work will contain extensive introductory material, a corresponding section on consonant spellings, and phoneme-to-grapheme indices. It is intended that audio recordings of the word lists will also be provided.

I would be grateful for feedback on (a) general typos etc. - many of the sections were copied and pasted from one another with minor modifications, so there may well be errors arising from this;  (b) any omissions or errors in the Manx data; (c) errors or alternatives in the Irish and Scottish Gaelic etymologies.

I am grateful to Culture Vannin (Manx Heritage Foundation) for supporting this project.

The discovery of sound laws by comparing attested languages is the method which has unlocked the history of European languages stretching back thousands of years before the appearance of written records, e.g. Latin p- corresponds to English f- (pes, foot; primus, first; plenus, full). Although Burmese, Chinese, and Tibetan have long been regarded as related, the systematic exploration of their shared history has never before been attempted. Tracing the history of these three languages using just such sound laws, this book sheds light on the prehistoric language from which they descend. Written for readers with little linguistic knowledge of these languages, but fully explicit and copiously indexed for the specialist, this work will serve as the bedrock for future progress in the study of these languages.

Fundamentals of English Phonetics and Phonology has been written out of our sincere desire to help the learners of English (especially as second language) to understand better, the definition, formation, description, classification, transcription of not only English sounds or sounds of other languages across the world; but the other terms related to phonetics and phonology. Designed for students of Universities and Colleges of Education, especially students undergoing courses related to Phonetics and Phonology, it is hoped to give both the undergraduate and postgraduate students a basic introduction to the phonetics and phonology of English.  Apart from the expressive and comprehensive nature of the text, it has elaborate references of materials consulted, and theses that are also meant for further reading. It also has index for easy referencing. The lucidity of presentation in the text makes it a unique addition to the existing literatures on this aspect of language study.  The book is divided into nineteen chapters.  Each of the chapters covers different aspects to give a good foundation to the course – phonetics and phonology.

This paper aims to discuss the linguistic features of Three Han's toponyms (country names Mainly in Mahan 馬韓 and Byeonjin 弁辰) which are based upon the historical records in San Guo zhi 三國志․Wei zhi 魏志·Dong Yi zhuan 東夷傳 by Chen shou 陳壽 in 280. To decipher the morphological and phonological features of toponyms, firstly the textual research of Dong Yi zhuan is thoroughly carried out by comparing the different versions of different periods in China. Secondly, the phonographs of the toponyms which were written in Chinese characters are selected by analyzing the morphological components which can be divided into Hunpyoso(훈표소, 訓表素, semantographic morpheme) and Eumpyoso (음표소, 音表素, phonographic morpheme). Thirdly, the distributions and percentages of consonants(initials) of the selected phonographs are quantitatively analyzed separately, meanwhile, the reconstructions of Old and Later Han Chinese, Middle Chinese are based upon Schuessler(2009). According to the result of quantitative approach, the diachronic development of Korean phonological system and Middle Sino-Korean system, Chinese historical phonological system, Ko-on, Go-on and Kan-on of Sino-Japanese,  the consonant system of Three Han's toponyms which includes ‘**p-, **t-, **k-, **ts-, **-s-, **h-, **m-, **n-, **-ŋ, **-l-’ are deciphered. Alongside the result, the limitation of this study and the future research outlook on vowel and suprasegmental systems are put forward reasonably.

It is a well-known fact that Pashto belongs to those Eastern Iranian languages which show lambdacism. While similarities exist with Bactrian and Munji-Yidgha, which also underwent lambdacism, the situation in Pashto is not exactly the same, and is in any case far more complicated. Especially interesting is in this respect the development of Old Iranian *t, which is sometimes shifted to l in Pashto proper and y in Waneci, sometimes yields the voiced dental d, or, as a third outcome, disappears in all varieties. In this paper, it is argued that the first lambdacism of (Old Iranian *d >) *δ > l, in the early first millennium CE, spread from Bactrian, the prestigious lingua franca of the Kushan and subsequent Empires, into the contemporary ancestors of Munji(-Yidgha), Pashto and Prasun. Almost a millennium later, there was another, geographically far more limited lambdacism. This time, one subgroup of Pashto, from which all Pashto proper dialects would emerge, changed, at least in certain environments, (Old Iranian *t >) *d > *δ to l, while it was changed to a palatal glide in Waneci. In other phonological environments, *d had disappeared before it could be shifted to l and y, respectively, and left no traces in contemporary dialects. In those cases where *t corresponds to d in all contemporary varieties of Pashto, we are dealing with a secondary restoration of the dental or sandhi which lead to a voicing of initial *t.

In historical linguistics, the prevailing view is that sound change is phonetically regular: within one language variety, the same sound in the same phonetic environment always undergoes the same sound changes, regardless of other factors like word meaning or part of speech. Many of the sound changes previously identified for Biblical Hebrew, however, seem to operate irregularly or only affect certain categories of words. Earlier attempts to make sense of these processes are either hindered by outdated assumptions about the nature of Hebrew, rely on implausible appeals to analogy, or offer explanations that are contradicted by other Hebrew data. This dissertation takes a fresh, holistic look at the sound changes affecting the vowels of Biblical Hebrew, starting from the reconstructed Proto-Northwest-Semitic stage. The sound changes investigated include the Canaanite Shift (*ā > *ō), the contraction of diphthongs and triphthongs, (pre-)tonic and pausal lengthening, changes of *i > *a and *a > *i, and the loss of word-final vowels. Additionally, the interaction of these sound laws with various morphological changes is examined in a concise historical morphology of Biblical Hebrew. The conclusion is that purely phonetic conditions can indeed be established for practically all sound changes affecting the Biblical Hebrew vowels.

Bailang est une langue transhimalayenne conservée seulement dans les trois « Chants de Bailang » (Bailang ge 白狼歌) reproduits dans l'Histoire des Han postérieurs, le Hòu Hàn shū 漢書漢書 (entre 58 et 75 ec). Profitant pleinement des récents progrès de la phonologie historique du chinois, cet article tente de mieux comprendre la langue Bailang et l'état de la langue chinoise de la dynastie des Han, telle qu'elle devait être parlée par le scribe qui a retranscrit les poèmes.

Mots-clés : phonologie historique du chinois ; langue Bailang ; linguistique transhimalayenne.

Abstract Bailang is a Trans-Himalayan language preserved only in the three 'Songs of Bailang' (Bailang ge 白狼歌) in a Chinese historical text, the Hòu Hàn shū 後漢書 (58–75 ce). Taking full advantage of recent progress in Chinese historical phonology, this paper attempts to gain a better understanding of the Bailang language and the version of Han Chinese that must have been spoken by the scribe who committed the poems to writing.

The chapter addresses, after a brief historiographic overview of Ryukyuan historical linguistics, those topics on phonology (vowels, consonants, accent/tone), grammar (verbs, adjectives, case, kakari-musubi) and lexicon (pronouns, demonstratives) for which the contribution of Ryukyuan is, or has been claimed to be, important for the reconstruction of proto-Japanese-Ryukyuan (pJR), the common ancestor of Japanese and Ryukyuan.

The present study discusses the borrowings from older Indo-Aryan — Sanskrit, Gandhari Prakrit and Proto-Dardic — and early New Persian that have entered the Pashto language. This is carried out through specific phonological features in Pashto that betray both the relative age and foreign character of the borrowing. In addition, the older loanwords provide us with some clues of the scale and nature of the historical contacts that the Pashto speakers
enjoyed with culturally more advanced neighbours in the region that encompasses eastern Iran, Afghanistan and northern Pakistan.

Evidence from various Semitic languages suggests that 'hollow' verbs should not be reconstructed with a vowel as their middle radical, but with three radical consonants, the middle one being *w or *y. In the past, forms from Biblical Hebrew have been cited as being incompatible with such a reconstruction. This paper shows that almost all parts of the Hebrew hollow paradigm can easily be derived from their strong counterparts, leaving only the nip̄ʿal imperfect and the hip̄ʿil participle as anomalies. These two forms are then investigated in more detail. The nip̄ʿal imperfect, yikkon, is argued to be an analogical extension of the stem found in the perfect, nåk̠on, based on the model of the geminate roots. The hip̄ʿil participle, mešib̠ , is shown to be the regular outcome of earlier *mihatīb-, a reconstruction which is supported by cuneiform transcriptions .

This thesis elucidates some of the hitherto poorly understood aspects of the diachronic development of Manx phonology. By tracing phonological changes from earlier varieties of Gaelic, and within the attested period of written and recorded Manx, it frames these developments within the wider contexts of Gaelic dialectology and historical linguistics. Manx provides an important source for understanding the linguistic development of the Gaelic languages. A lack of systematic treatments and reliable datasets for the language, however, has obscured this fact and led to its neglect within Gaelic studies.

The thesis focuses, in particular, on the development of the language’s prosody, suprasegmental features, vowel system and sonorants, the latter having a particular bearing on vowels. Five principal methodologies are deployed to investigate these topics:

• Re-evaluation of existing descriptions and datasets provided by previous scholarship, especially those collected by Rhŷs in the 1880s and 1890s, and material from the last generation of speakers presented by Broderick in his Handbook of Late Spoken Manx.
• Interpretation of the evidence of the two main Manx orthographies and non-standard variations thereof.
• Analyses based, as far as possible, on the whole attested lexis of the language, making use of Cregeen’s and Kelly’s dictionaries.
• Quantitative approaches to all of these sources of data where appropriate.
• Instrumental phonetic analysis of recordings of the terminal speakers of Manx.

Chapter one places Manx in its historical and dialectological context, reviews previous scholarship, discusses the primary sources, and introduces the interpretative difficulties of the orthographies.

Chapter two examines developments in the short and long vowels, and the impact of the consonant system on vowel changes.

Chapter three examines the development of the vowels ao(i) /əː/ and ua(i) /uə̯/ in Manx. The written evidence, description and recorded data are complex, and some scholars have claimed that these vowels fell together with one another and with other vowels. It will be shown that these vowels in fact remained contrastive for the most part in Late Manx.

Chapter four investigates developments in the sonorant consonants, especially the R, L and N phones. Changes in vowels preceding historically tense sonorants are also examined, as well as the origins and spread of the phenomenon of preocclusion.

Chapter five examines suprasegmental and prosodic features including stress shift, unstressed long vowel shortening, and the conditioning factors for these.

Chapter six provides concluding remarks assessing the thesis’ contribution to current scholarship, and the prospects for future research.

[This doctoral thesis was completed in the University of Edinburgh with supervision from Dr William Lamb (Celtic and Scottish Studies) and Dr Pavel Iosad (Linguistics and English Language). I am grateful to the AHRC Centre for Doctoral Training in the Celtic Languages for funding the research.]