c-BLACKFOOT-11_phonology.htm
Tlazoltéotl

PROTO-LANGUAGE PHONEMES

in IE and Blackfoot (Algonquian)


by Patrick C. Ryan

(2/12/2001)

SUMMARY OF PHONOLOGICAL CHANGES

FROM PL TO BLACKFOOT



Assumptions

Blackfoot (Algonquian) shared early developments with languages which would also be derived from the Proto-Language:

    A) F and F[H] became W and W[H];

    B) But, though NE and N[H]E became LY and LHY in most PL-derived languages, in Blackfoot (as in Altaic, (Sino-)Tibetan, and Uralic) they developed into ny {see 5a) below};

      1) PL aspirated obstruents were de-aspirated and preceded by h in Blackfoot;

        a) PL P[H], PF[H], T[H], TS[H], K[H], and KX[H] became early Blackfoot hp, *hpf, ht, *hts, hk, and *hkx; *hpf was simplified to hp; *hts was simplified to ht *hkx was simplified to hk;

          1)) The h preceding these stops was lost in initial position;


      2) PL glottalized obstruents were de-glottalized in Blackfoot, and preceded by ?:

        a) PL P[?], P[?]F, T[?], TS[?], K[?], and K[?]X, became early Blackfoot *?p, *?pw, *?t, *?ts, *?k, and *?kx; *?pf was simplified to ?p; *?ts was simplified to ?t *?kx was simplified to ?k;

          1)) The glottal stop preceding these stops was lost in initial position;


          3) As seen above, Late PL affricates merged with the corresponding stops in Blackfoot;

          4) PL spirants are de-aspirated in Blackfoot;

            a) W/W[H] become Blackfoot o; S/S[H] become Blackfoot (h)s; X/X[H] are stopped, and become Blackfoot (h)k (14);

          5) PL N/N[H]+A/O become Blackfoot (h)n;

            a) PL N/N[H]E become early Blackfoot (h)ny, which is subsequently simplified to (h)n;

              1)) final avocalic -n from PL NA was nasalized to n and then disappeared (0) but re-appears as n when followed by a vowel;

            b) PL M/M[H] become Blackfoot (h)m; Q/Q[H] become Blackfoot (h)???;

            c) The conditions under which h+nasal is realized in Blackfoot for formerly aspirated nasals are yet to be clarified;

          6) The PL voiceless laryngal stop, ? (/?/), becomes Blackfoot (0) except ?E shows up in some positions as I, which does not palatalize preceding stops;

          7) The PL voiceless laryngal fricative, h (/h/), remains ??? h initially but becomes (0) non-initially in (Sino-)Tibetan but may be responsible for aspiration of an initial obstruent in #184;

          8) The PL voiced pharyngal fricative, $, becomes /i/ in Blackfoot but may occasionally become (y(i)) intervocalically or initially;

            1)) Under conditions which need to be clarified, avocalic i is devoiced to /ç/, which is the further modified to s (A5);

          9) The PL voiceless pharyngal fricative HH (/hh/) became Blackfoot 0 (10, 11);

          10) PL R/R[H] become Blackfoot 0 ;

          11) Palatalization was lost everywhere as also was velarization if it ever existed in the Blackfoot stage of the language;

            a) There is, however, a secondary "palatalization", which occurs whenever t or k are in immediate contact with i; the anticipated *y-glide was devoiced to a ç-glide, which was further modified to an s-glide, which, however, is not normally indicated as a glide: *ti/*ki become tsi/ksi.
              1)) Though not recognized at present, it is like that *pi similarly resulted in *psi, at least in an earlier stage of development.











        Blackfoot The notation of the Blackfoot forms and roots discussed in this essay follows the style of Donald G. Frantz 1991 except the glottal stop, /?/, is written ? rather than ‘. Consonants p t k w s h y ? (NOTE: Blackfoot stops are unaspirated; all consonants may be doubled, and are long, except h and ?) Long Consonants It appears that one source for long (doubled) consonants is deletion of a vowel due to lack of stress-accent, which rendered it unvoiced: C1V"C2V = C1 C1C2V. Vowels i , (ii), a, (aa), o (oo) Pitch Pitch is phonemic in Blackfoot, and the acute accent indicates high pitch: á. Final vowels are unvoiced.









        BLACKFOOT BLIOGRAPHY



        ADDITIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY





        to investigate these phonological correspondences in detail, see the



        TABLE OF PL / IE / BLACKFOOT CORRESPONDENCES





        Combinatory Modifications

        for modifications of the vowels and consonants in combination, see the

        Table of Modifications







        the latest revision of this document can be found at

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        Patrick C. Ryan * 9115 West 34th Street - Little Rock, AR 72204-4441* (501)227-9947

        PROTO-LANGUAGE@email.msn.com