Sound Change

This is a thoroughly revised and expanded version of a book published earlier under the same title in 1972. It has been redrafted as an introductory text-book for students of linguistics by giving copious examples and also exercises and recommended readings. It has been prepared with students of the Indian Subcontinent in mind, as the examples derive primarily from the languages (Dravidian, Indo-Aryan and Tibeto-Burman) of this area.

D.N.S. Bhat is a retired professor of linguistics. He has taught linguistics in Pune (Deccan College and University of Poona), Manipur (Manipur University) and at several Summar schools and Institutes of Linguistics. His publications include about 100 papers and about 25 monographs, such as "Introduction to Linguistics" (Imphal 1986), "Grammatical Relations" (London 1991) and "The Adjectival Category" (Amsterdam 1994).

This is the revised and enlarged version of the book first published in 1972. All the chapters have been redrafted. The second chapter of the first edition has been removed and the points relevant to the present edition have been shifted to other chapters, especially to the one on reconstruction. Additional illustrative examples have been added in most places. As a result, the chapter on reconstruction is four times its original size.

The first chapter lists and evaluates different kinds of evidence that form the basis for postulating sound changes. The second chapter examines the most important characteristics of sound change, namely regularity and irreversibility. It also shows how some of the additional characteristics that are generally ascribed to sound change are yet to be authenticated.

The third chapter describes various effects that sound changes can have upon the structuring of language. It examines them from five different points of view and shows how these provide different classifications of these effects. The last chapter examines the two well- known methods of reconstruction—internal and comparative—and shows how these could be due to several procedures of reconstruction. It also points out that the validity of each of these procedures depends upon the validity of the underlying hypothesis.

The first edition of the book was much appreciated by students and teachers. An effort has been made to make this revised version even more accessible to them by including suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter and by providing a set of exercises for each chapter at the end of the book. An appendix lists all the sound changes described in the book, which could form the basic for additional exercises.

Preface
1. Evidence for sound change

• 1.1 Introduction

• 1.2 Diachronic and synchronic evidence

• 1.3 External and internal criteria
• • 1.3.1 Limitations of the external criterion
  
  
  • 1.3.2 Internal criteria: descriptive evidence
  
  
  • 1.3.3 Internal criteria: comparative evidence
  
  
• 1.4 Summary

• Further readings

2.Characteristics of sound change

• 2.1 Introduction

• 2.2 Mechanism of sound change

• • 2.2.1 Gap in the continuity of language
  
  
  • 2.2.2 Order of acquisition
  
  
  • 2.2.3 Mutations in the acquisition
  
  
• 2.3 Regularity hypothesis
• • 2.3.1 Regularity of sound change
  
  
  • 2.3.2 Irreversibility of sound change
  
  
  • 2.3.3 Absence of sharp boundaries
  
  
• 2.4 Exceptions to regularity
• • 2.4.1 Effects of borrowing
  
  
  • 2.4.2 Effects of grammar-oriented change
  
  
  • 2.4.3 Onomatopoeia and phonetic symbolism
  
  
  • 2.4.4 Hypercorrection
  
  
  • 2.4.5 Sporadic change
  
  
  • 2.4.6 Free variation
• 2.5 Gradualness hypothesis
• • 2.5.1 Phonetic gradualness
  
  
  • 2.5.2 Lexical gradualness
  
  
  • 2.5.3 Individual gradualness
  
  
  • 2.5.4 Additional derived assumptions
• 2.6 Direction of sound change
• • 2.6.1 Some general tendencies of sound change
  
  
  • 2.6.2 Marked and unmarked sounds
  
  
• 2.7 Sound change as rule change

• 2.8 Summary

• Further readings

3. Effects of Sound Change

• 3.1 Introduction

• 3.2 Chronological relationship
• • 3.2.1 Elison and addition
  
  
  • 3.2.2 Monophonization and diaphonization
  
  
  • 3.2.3 Phonetic shift
• 3.3 Syntagmatic relationship
• • 3.3.1 Assimilation
  
  
  • 3.3.2 Dissimilation
  
  
  • 3.3.3 Metathesis
• 3.4 Paradigmatic relationship

• 3.5 Effects of sound change on morphophonemic alternations
• • 3.5.1 Aspects of alternations
  
  
  • 3.5.2 Characteristics of alternations
  
  
  • 3.5.3 Effects of sound change on alternations
  
  
  • 3.5.4 Introduction new alternations into a language
• 3.6 Effects of sound change on contrasts
• • 3.6.1 Obliteration of contrasts
  
  
  • 3.6.2 Shift of contrasts
  
  
  • 3.6.3 Partial or complete shifts
  
  
  • 3.6.4 Syntagmatic and paradigmatic shifts
• 3.7 Summary

• Further readings

4. Reconstruction of sound change

• 4.1 Methods of reconstruction
• • 4.1.1 Comparative method
  
  
  • 4.1.2 Internal reconstruction
  
  
  • 4.1.3 Multiplicity of the bases of reconstruction
• 4.2 Nature of the sound-meaning relationship
• • 4.2.1 Phonetic distinctions and sets of oppositions
  
  
  • 4.2.2 Nature of phonetic distinctions
  
  
  • 4.2.3 Regularity and irreversibility
• 4.3 Procedures of reconstruction
• • 4.3.1 Reconstructing a set of oppositions
  
  
  • 4.3.2 Principle of phonemic identificatin
  
  
  • 4.3.3 Natural direction of change
  
  
  • 4.3.4 Majority rule
  
  
  • 4.3.5 Principle of economy
  
  
  • 4.3.6 Additional procedures
• 4.4 Summary

• Further readings

Exercises

• Chapter 1

• Chapter 2

• Chapter 3

• Chapter 4

Appendix:List of sound changes

Bibliography

Index