Liquid dissimilation with a special regard to Latin (e-paper)

Daniela Müller

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
 

 

 

Liquid dissimilation is a process whereby a liquid changes its category from lateral to rhotic or vice ve sa if another liquid of the same category is found in a nearby syllable within the same word. While many cases of liquid dissimilation seem to occur sporadically throughout the history of the Latin language, allomorphy of the -ālis/-āris suffix in Latin arose out of systematic dissimilation. A close examination of the corpus of adjectives and deadjectival nouns affected by liquid dissimilation suggests that linear distance between the liquids involved plays a significant role in the process. This paper seeks to study the preponderance of dissimilation in non-words with liquids in a language with a similar liquid system, Modern Greek. Results show that both the distance between liquids as well as the position of the
liquid within the syllable structure have an effect on the occurrence of liquid dissimilation as well as on liquid assimilation.

 

 

 

The complete book is available as a hardcover copy ISBN 9783862884452 and as an e-book copy ISBN 9783862887828.