hewitt - marburg - fricatives

7/27/2019 Hewitt - Marburg - Fricatives

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Building Blocks of Breton Grammar: Progress in Middle and Early Modern Breton Linguistics and PhilologyWorkshop at the Philipps University of Marburg 26-27 April 2012

The evolution and reflexes of Old Breton fricatives and approximantsSteve Hewitt, [email protected]

Note on symbols : this paper 2 v1 3Jackson, Hist. Phon. Breton - (?)

From Old Breton (OB) to Middle Breton (MB) and the Modern Breton (MdB) dialects

Table 1. Old Breton approximants and fricatives Most common graphemes1 -m- -b- -d- -g-2 f s x h f th, dt s ch, h h3 (fh) (h) (sh) (xh) ? ? sh, ss ?

OB had a relatively simple inventory of voiced approximants, , , , consonants which have undergonearticulatory weakening, rather like the Spanish intervocalicb, d, g , and voiceless fricativesv, , s, x, h.

Table 2. Middle Breton fricatives and affricate Most common graphemes1 v v () ff, fu v, u z ch, h2 v 1 2 z 3 h f, ff z, -tz s j, g ch, h h3 f s x ff zz, zh ss, sh ch ch4 t?/ cz, z, c,

OB voiced approximants > MB true fricatives (row 1). OB voiceless fricatives > MB voiced internally / borrfrom French (row 2). OB voiceless fricatives preserved in provection or found in borrowings from French (ronew MB phonemes, borrowed from French (rows 2 and 3);v, z, f , s, also found in French loanwords;, also

result from MBz+j , s+j ; finally (row 4) a new affricatet ~ (speltcz, c, z , cc, , almost never s or ss; the frequentuse of z suggests that it may have been dental rather than alveolar in articulation, only later falling together withs inEarly Modern Breton.

and of Early MB almost certainly fell together as, a lenis velar fricative, precise phonetic description problematic [h x, , ] etc., paired withx for purposes of final obstruent devoicing.

On the analogy of three-way oppositionsv-v-f (still attested in northern dialects today) and--x (assumed for EarlyMB), it seems reasonable also to assume an analogical three-way opposition- -: this is the only way to explain thevarious dialect reflexes of and if, as is extremely likely, voicing of OB voiceless fricatives preceded the loss dental articulation of fricatives (the latter most likely 18th early 19th centuries (cf. HEMON 1955, La spirantedentale en breton) In all three-way oppositions, it is the second and third series which are paired for voicing.

Langenscheidts Taschenwrterbuch Spanisch-Deutsch, Deutsch-Spanisch : juzgado court, tribunal [xua o], liderazgo leadership [lierao ] : (< d); (< ): MB (< < d); MB (< ).

Possible sources of MB < z> = /- -/

Old, Middle High German-z, -zz- s or ? da, waer, wien (written- , - - in textbooks to distinguish from z- and z after sonorants: zt, hrz, holz ). Merges with-s, -ss- s around 1250 too early and too remote to have influenceBreton.

1 v has more breath and friction than a normalv.2 has more breath and friction than a normal.3 is an abstract symbol representing a lenis fricative with various realizations: either with some velar friction [hx, , ], etc., or a

purely glottal voiceless [h], in which case it is not separate from /h/, if such a phoneme is present in the dialect in question.
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The evolution and reflexes of Old Breton fricatives and approximants 2Steve Hewitt [email protected]

Table 3. Sibilant readjustment in Early Modern Spanish (cf. PENNY2002, History of Spanish: 101) interdental dento-alveolar alveolar palatal velar

pre-1500 s z early 1500s s z s z mid-1500s s s

from 1650 s xSpanishc(e, i), z [d z > z > s ] goes to too late, around 1650 (cf. PENNY2002,The History of the Spanish Language )

Old French z (supposedly, but possiblyt ) always written z, never ever ts: m.s.sbj.granz ; m.s.obl.grant ; m.p.sbjgrant ; m.p.obl.granz, if [t+s > ~ t]. Possible explanation for the frequent MB graphemes cz, z for the~t affricate borrowed from French (MB z = - -).

Final fricative anomalies explained

Verb stems :-v > - v (~ f ); MB- > - (~ ). This may explain some apparent anomalies, such as widespread L and Tva instead of va, L skriva (T skwr:v ) insteadskriva , thus enabling the stem-final consonant to be devoiced in

final obstruent devoicing (v paired withf ; v not paired). Similarly, it may also explain such anomalies asdigoueoud happen, arrive (Welshdigwydd ), which behaves in Gwened and Leon as if it weredegouezhoud , from an OB, MB : some verb stems originally ending in - may have gone to - in order to facilitate final obstruent devoicing to-.Finally, the frequent cluster -r , judging by its modern reflexes, must have gone to -r , possibly also in order tofacilitate final obstruent devoicing. OBbar (bard )> MBbar > bar (barz, bartz ) > regular MdB reflexesbarz , barh , whereas Welsh hasbardd bar .

Modern Breton fricatives

Table 4. Modern Breton fricatives Etymological orthography1 v v v v

2 v1 z 3 h f zh s j ch 4 h3 f s x ff zzh ss ch ch 5

In MdB,v is no longer a separate phoneme, its reflexes are medially-v- , SE - -, and finally N- klav N kl , SWklw , SEkl (-v in back formations from forms with medial-v- : but intav ntv , prev pr v because of the far more frequent formsintaves ntv z, preved pr vd )

The sound, which was already of debatable status in Middle Breton, has coalesced with (one of whose realizationsin some areas is indeed, however, there is no possible opposition betweenh and). The MB affricate (possiblyactuallyt) has fallen together with the voiceless fricatives.

Different rule ordering Eastern dialects :krwaz+ju > krwa u ; Western dialects> krwazju > krwa u .

Table 5. Geographical reflexes in Modern Breton of the dental fricatives of Middle Breton

z,-h- - h s - z z h > s s - - - - zh z, - h zzh s h

The dental fricatives, , have been lost, giving the geographical reflexes shown schematically in table 5. MB > z in NW (Leon). In fact, medially-h- and finally-z : beza beha , ezomm ihum , but pa vez pa vez , newez nvz.Finally possibly MB- > - , explaining consistent final-z in L.

4 Or x.5 Or xx.


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3 Building Blocks of Breton Grammar: Progress in Middle and Early Modern Breton Linguistics and PhilologyWorkshop at the Philipps University of Marburg 26-27 April 2012

Table 6. Simplified modern system of fricatives Peurunvan (ZH) orthography1 v v z h v v z, zh2 f s (x) f zh z, -s j ch h

f sh s ch ch

Some MdB dialects simplification :v > v; > h (x > h ). Far SW onlyf ~ v , no v, but there, exceptionally,v > f :difenn di f n (must have beenv at some point, to account for the long vowel).

Underlying lenis and fortis series of initial fricatives in modern dialects

Table 7. Underlying L lenis and F fortis series of Modern Breton initial fricatives and realizationaccording to geographical area and mutation status 6: radical / lenition / provection

L f- s- j- chw-F ff- ss- ch-

Type 1: NW, far W, SW Type 2 : CW Type 3 : NE, C, (CS) Type 4 : SE radical radical radical radical

L f s xw7 f s xw v z w f s h F f s f s f s f s

lenition 6 lenition 6 (lenition) (lenition)L v z w v z w v z w f s h F v z f s f s f s

(provection) (provection) provection 6 provection 6

L f s xw f s xw f s xw f s h F f s f s f s f s

K ERGOAT1974 Reolenno an doare-skriva nevez , p. 22 : Er memes lech eo diaes a-wecho diazeza ur reoleneeun. E Plogoneg (Kernew Izel) da skwer e lrer :chupenn / ar chupenn medchiletenn / ar jiletenn pe saro / ar saro med sach / ar zach . Faltazius kena eo ar yezh war ar poent-se. Un doare-skriva nhell ket beza. (In a sin place it is sometimes difficult to establish a straightforward rule. In Plogoneg (Kerne Isel), for instance, peopchupenn / ar chupenn jacket butchiletenn / ar jiletenn vest or saro / ar saro smock butsach / ar zach sack.The language is extremely capricious in that regard. An orthography must not be.) [Treger radical (unmutated) f

ypn, iletn, saro , zax ].As confirmed by a questionnaire administered in 1999, in large areas of Treger and Kerinitial fricatives today appear to behave as if they came in two separate series, either overt, in Treger and Kerne or, in many other parts of central and southern Kerne, underlying. In both central areas (CW and NE, C, (CS)distribution of lexical items between the two series is very similar. We shall call the two series, for lack of a bterm, L(enis) and F(ortis), and propose to write them as in tables 3 and 7. The distribution of realizations of themutated radical and under conditions of lenition and provection according to the four geographical types is fotable 7.

In type 1 (NW, far W, SW), both the L and F series are subject to lenition (there is effectively no distinction betthe series there, although some common words, such asssukr sugar, resist lenition practically everywhere.

In type 2 (CW), words with the L series lenite, but those with the F series resist lenition, with the result that lenition, type 2 is identical to type 3 both in the radical and under putative lenition; these two taken together app be in the majority.

6 Effective mutation within a given type highlighted and in bold + italics.7 Also, variously,x, , h, and, notoriously, in the far SW,f . The important thing is that bothxw and x undergo lenition.


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The evolution and reflexes of Old Breton fricatives and approximants 4Steve Hewitt [email protected]

The L series does not lenite in type 3 (NE, C, (CS) because the radical of L is pronounced as if already new-lenitedthe F series in type 3 resists lenition, as in type 2.

Finally, type 4 (SE) has as reflexes all voiceless fricatives, with the exception of . The voiceless fricatives do notlenite, and the sole voiced fricativedoes provect to .

The existence of the L and F series of fricatives must be posited for the NE, as the difference shows up in the radicof the fricatives there; that there are also two series in the CW is demonstrated by the differential treatment undeconditions of lenition, and the lexical items resisting lenition there correspond almost exactly to those that have thunvoiced/fortis pronunciation in the NE, C and (CS). Types 2 and 3, with a clear differentiation of the L and F serieprobably account for a majority of speakers; this suggests that the typical Treger split between voiced and voiceleinitial fricatives is underlyingly considerably more widespread than previously thought.

Table 8. Voicing of initial fricatives in loanwords in Treger

/v-/ foenn hay foss bottom

fonta melt forest forest forssi force fourniss furnish, provide ar Frass France frisa curl; whizz along

/f-/ ffamilh family ffbl weak

ffblessite weakness; blindness ( ffi faith) ffelloud want, need ffri iron [clothes] ffin end; sly, crafty ffleur flowers ffota want, need ffoura put, bung ffoutr [give] a damn ffri a crush

/z-/

sach sack, bagsantoud feel seblant semblance, sign, ghost serri close, gather sigaretenn cigarette sina sign (document) siniffoud mean, signify simant cement soup soup soubenn broth sourssenn source, spring sur sure

/s-/

ssampar recovered, back in good health ssaro smock ssauti explode (sseizh 7 da seizh...) (sseiteg 17 da seiteg...) sstier worksite sseulamant only, however ssekl century ssidr (S) cidre ssort sort, kind ssukr sugar ssystem system, way of doing sth.

/ -/ jardin garden ervij serve, service ikour help jiletenn vest istr (N) cidre ojal, T josal think journal newspaper

/ -/ chass luck chapel chapel cheich change chik handsome, nice choas choose, choice chom stay, remain, live chupenn jacket


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5 Building Blocks of Breton Grammar: Progress in Middle and Early Modern Breton Linguistics and PhilologyWorkshop at the Philipps University of Marburg 26-27 April 2012

Table 8. 1999 questionnaire (in ZH orthography)

radical lenition provection article; precedingrchoari da choari o choarichwech da chwech eur ho chwech ti ar chwech ti

chas kalz a chas, ur chas ho chaschik re chik chom da chom o chom

fall re fall o fallaat mor fall fellout a ra din me a fell din fota a ra din me a fot din film daou film da filma fin re fin fival da fival o fival fri da fri ho fri ar fri jardin da jardin ho jardin ar jardin jiletenn da jiletenn ho jiletenn ar jiletennsantier da santier ho santier ar santier saout da saout ho saout ar saout selaou da selaou o selaousellet da sellet o sellet soti (tarzha) da soti o sotisukr da sukr ho sukr ar sukr sur neo ket re sur

AbbreviationsALBB Atlas linguistique de la Basse-

Bretagne (LE R OUX1924-1953)C centre, centralE EastG Gwened VannetaisK Kerne CornouailleKI Kerne Isel Basse-CornouailleKU Kerne Uhel Haute-CornouailleL Leon LonMB Middle BretonMdB Modern Breton NALBB Nouvel atlas linguistique de la

Basse-Bretagne (LE DU 2001) N NorthOB Old BretonS SouthT Treger Trgor W West


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Building Blocks of Breton Grammar: Progress in Middle and Early Modern Breton Linguistics and PhilologyWorkshop at the Philipps University of Marburg 26-27 April 2012

ReferencesD (LE) Jean. 2001. Nouvel atlas linguistique de la Basse-Bretagne . 2 vols. Centre de Recherche Bretonne et

Celtique (CRBC), Universit de Bretagne Occidentale (UBO), Brest.FALCHUN Franois. 1981.Perspectives nouvelles sur lhistoire de la langue bretonne , Union gnrale dditions,

Paris. (revised and expanded version of his doctoral thesis, Rennes, 1951, first published as Histoire de la languebretonne daprs la gographie linguistique . Presses universitaires de France (PUF), Paris, 1963.)

FLEURIOTLon. 1964. Le vieux-breton: Elments dune grammaire . Klincksieck, Paris.FLEURIOTLon. 1964, 1985. Dictionnaire des gloses en vieux-breton. Klincksieck, Paris; English edition: Claude

EVANS & Lon FLEURIOT. 1985. A Dictionary of Old Breton/Dictionnaire du vieux-breton: Historical and Comparative . 2 vols. Prepcorp, Toronto.

HEMONRoparz. 1975. A Historical Morphology and Syntax of Breton . Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.HEMONRoparz. 1955. La spirante dentale en breton, Zeitschrift fr celtische Philologie 25/1-2:59-87. HEWITTSteve. 1987. Rflexions et propositions sur lorthographe du breton. La Bretagne Linguistique 3:41-54.JACKSONKenneth H. 1953. Language and History in Early Britain , Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.JACKSONKenneth H. 1967. A Historical Phonology of Breton , Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.K ERGOATLukian. 1974. Reolenno an doare-skriva nevez [The Rules of the New Orthography]. Skol an Emsav,

Roazon [Rennes].MERSER Andreo. 1980. Les Graphies du breton (Etude succincte) , Ar Helenner, No. 15, Brest.PENNYRalph. 2002. A History of the Spanish Language . 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press.R OUX(LE) Pierre. 1924-1953. Atlas Linguistique de la Basse-Bretagne . 6 fascicules of 100 maps each. Rennes-Paris

(reprint 1977: ditions Armoricaines, Brest; currently available online in jpg format at:http://sbahuaud.free.fr/ALBB/

WMFFREIwan. 2007. Breton Orthographies and Dialects: The twentieth-century orthography war in Brittany .2 vols, Peter Lang, Bern.

WRIGHTJoseph. 1917. Middle High German Primer, with grammar, notes, and glossary . 3rd edition ClarendonPress, Oxford (numerous other editions and reprints).
http://sbahuaud.free.fr/ALBB/http://sbahuaud.free.fr/ALBB/http://sbahuaud.free.fr/ALBB/

hewitt - marburg - fricatives

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