Zompist Bboard Again

I think what Nakrotam is looking for is something like the following: Imagine the following letters <a b c d e> have the values 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Now, suppose you want to find all words with the value of '5'. You could have: aaaaa = 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 5 aaab = 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 5 aaba = ... abaa baaa ab...

So I have a language I'm working on (surprise, surprise), and as a design goal I'm interested to have a pitch-accent system kind of like Japanese in it. General Qs: 1. What other languages have comparable systems? 2. Are there particular resources you'd recommend for learning about such? Spec Qs: 3....

Does anyone know of substantiations/justifications of /q/ > /h/ occuring? Either direct or via an intermediary, or restricted to certain environs (I'm thinking word-finally is probably a sure bet).

@Vardelm Even though your main question has been answered, it might also interest you to know what a maṣdar (verbal noun) taking a direct/indirect object can either be in an iḍāfa with the object in the genetive(majrūr), or with it in the accusative(manṣūb). E.g. 'astaṭī3u qirāyat-a l-kitāb-i 1s.be....

@ zompist, Pabappa, and cedh

Thanks for your swift replies. All good solutions - I'll mull for a bit. Though, I envisage using a mixed solution, depending on whether a syllable is stressed or not.

So I have /j w ɥ/ as allophonic consonants for /i u y/. This means when I get strings of vowels together that break the phonotactic rules (more than two in sequence, more or less), then they can resolve easily. e.g. /iiu/ > /iju/ However, I'm having trouble with what might happen in the environment ...

@Arelvustw

It seems you’re not keen on digraphs. If so, why?

I heard it said (I believe on this thread) that /w/ > /v/ unconditionally is so common as to be unremarkable. Is /Cʷ/ > /Cv/ likewise common unconditionally? And if not, what sorts of things might condition it? My thoughts on possible environments to encourage /Cʷ/ > /Cv/: 1. dissimulation: Cʷ/Cv/_[...

I’ll post my full sound changes once I’ve answered this question: if I have a series of palatilised and labialised consonants, can they be analysed as being viable codas, or if they occur in a coda-esque position should they be analysed as really short CV sequences? Look towards none other than Rom...

I heard a neat shift today where someone pronounced "monosyllabic" as /mɒnəʊsɪ ˈlɪ bɪk/, which was neat to see the /a/ raised to an /ɪ/ (perhaps thanks to the surrounding /ɪ/s), but it struck me as weird because it was on a stressed syllable. An alternative explanation I can think of is t...

I’ll post my full sound changes once I’ve answered this question: if I have a series of palatilised and labialised consonants, can they be analysed as being viable codas, or if they occur in a coda-esque position should they be analysed as really short CV sequences? I would expect the first approac...

Q1 yes, it's just voicing assimilation. However, I'd expect other voiced obstruents to have the same effect. Excellent. I have no voiced obstruents presently, so shouldn't be an issue (other than /ʕ/). Q2 Any of the following could happen, based on a number of factors. Some changes are more likely ...

I’ll post my full sound changes once I’ve answered this question: if I have a series of palatilised and labialised consonants, can they be analysed as being viable codas, or if they occur in a coda-esque position should they be analysed as really short CV sequences?

I heard a neat shift today where someone pronounced "monosyllabic" as /mɒnəʊsɪˈlɪbɪk/, which was neat to see the /a/ raised to an /ɪ/ (perhaps thanks to the surrounding /ɪ/s), but it struck me as weird because it was on a stressed syllable.

Monosyllibic.

Q1. Is is realistic to have /ʕ/ voicing voiceless stops and sibilants /p t k s t͡s/ when adjacent to them, regardless of whether it follows or precedes? Or more simply: ʕC -v > ʕC +v = realistic? C -v ʕ > C +v ʕ = realistic? Q2. If yes to Q1, would the voicing effect not affect aspirated stops? /pʰ ...

Capuchin: “he-sleeps-wedged-in-branches” = branch.LOC-sleep-crush-AG

Next: frog

@Ser and dhok

Thanks for the feedback, and for the correction apropos Hindi using dative marking.

Can anyone explain or point me in the direction of why in PIE descendants (I'm thinking Russian and Hindi for sure, and no doubt others) why the animate direct objects are usually/always in the genetive case? (Or rather why the accusative case of animates looks the same as the genetive)

lucubrate/ lucubration - to work earnestly or labouriously, as by candlelight.

Related to Latin 'lux', and 'lucubro'.

How plausible would a general merger of all the pairs of voiced and voiceless consonants in a language, into the voiced forms, be? Alternatively, how plausible would it be to merge some, but not all, pairs of voiced and voiceless consonants into the voiced forms? If it would be plausible, what othe...