Campbell 2013

INSTRUCTOR'S MANUAL
for
Historical Linguistics: an Introduction

Third Edition
Lyle Campbell
University of Hawai‘i Mānoa
© Lyle Campbell, 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this manual may be reproduced in any form by any
electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information
storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher.
Not for sale – This manual is available only to instructors who have adopted the
accompanying textbook for course use. The manual is not available to students, or to
those studying the book by themselves. Instructors may not sell or transfer the manual to
others or make any of the solutions publicly accessible, on the Web or otherwise.
INSTRUCTOR'S MANUAL
Historical Linguistics: an Introduction
Table of Contents
PREFACE
Chapter 1 Introduction, Exercise and solutions 1
Chapter 2 Sound change, Exercise and solutions 10
Chapter 3 Borrowing, Exercise and solutions 26
Chapter 4 Analogical change, Exercise and solutions 55
Chapter 5 Comparative method, Exercise and solutions 58
Chapter 6 Language Classification, Exercise and solutions 90
Chapter 7 Models of Linguistic Change (No exercises)
Chapter 8 Internal reconstruction, Exercise and solutions 94
Chapter 9 Semantic and lexical change, Exercise and solutions 119
Chapter 10 Morphological Change (No exercises)
Chapter 11 Syntactic change, Exercise and solutions 123
Chapter 12 Language Contact (No exercises)
Chapter 13 Explanation (No exercises)
Chapter 14 Distant Genetic Relationship, Exercise and solutions 129
Chapter 15 Philology and writing, Exercise and solutions (No exercises)
Chapter 16 Linguistics prehistory, Exercise and solutions 141
Chapter 17 Quantitative Approaches to Historical Linguistics (No exercises)

PREFACE
The primary mission of this manual is to provide sample answers or possible solutions to
the exercises in the Historical Linguistics: an Introduction, 3rd edition. For many of the
exercises, of course, there is no definitive or unique single solution, and other answers
than those given here may often be possible. The purpose here is to provide sample
possible answers which indicate how the exercise might be approached and solutions
sought.
For ease of access, the exercises with their questions are repeated here, followed by
possible solutions.
The exercise instructions and examples are color-coded in BLACK.
Solutions are in BLUE.
Notes and incidental comments are in RED
EXERCISES FOR CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
Exercise 1.1
This exercise is about attitudes towards language change.
1. Try to find letters to newspapers or columns in newspapers or magazines, or on blogs, which

express which express opinions on the quality of English in use today and about changes
that are taking place. What do you think they reveal about attitudes towards language
change?
2. Ask your friends, family and associates what they think about language today; do they think
it is changing, and if so, is it getting better or worse?
3. Find books or articles on ‘proper’ English (prescriptive grammar); do they reveal any attitude
towards changes that are going on in today’s language?
4. Consider the many things that schoolteachers or school grammar books warn you against as
being ‘wrong’ or ‘bad grammar’. Do any of these involve changes in the language?
5. Compare books on etiquette written recently with some written thirty years ago or more; find
the sections which deal with appropriate ways of speaking and use of the language. What
changes have taken place in the recommendations made then and now? Do these reveal
anything about change in the language or in language use?
Anything the reader finds involving attitudes towards language change can contribute to
answering the questions of this exercise. An internet search for “attitudes towards language
change”, “language attitudes”, “proper language”, “improper language”, “correct language”,
“language etiquette”, “correct grammar”, “bad grammar”, or “prescriptive grammar”, for
example, should provide sources relevant to parts 1., 3., 4., and 5. of this exercise. For part 2.,
ask friends, family, and associates.
Exercise 1.2
Observe the language you hear around you, and think about any changes that are going on now
or have taken place in your lifetime. For example, if you are old enough, you might observe that
gay has changed its basic meaning: today it mostly means ‘homosexual’ although until recently
it did not have this meaning, but rather meant only ‘happy, cheerful’. Slang changes at a rather
fast rate; what observations might you make about recent slang versus earlier slang? Can you
find examples of ongoing change in other areas of the language besides just vocabulary?
Any observations about what may appear to be language change taking place currently are
appropriate as answers to this question. Examples of lexical change are the easiest to identify
1
for people not trained in linguistics; slang and obscenities typically offer examples. You might
notice such things as the tendency to lose the subjunctive in English, as in I wish Gollum was
smarter instead of I wish Gollum were smarter, or the use of is is where standard English would
have only a single is, as in The problem is is that his feet are too big, rather than standard The
problem is that his feet are too big – perhaps on analogy to sentences such as, What the problem
is is that his feet are too big. Some people are able to notice differences in pronunciation of
vowels in some regions that seem to reflect ongoing changes.
Exercise 1.3
Changes in spelling and occasional misspellings have been used to make inferences about
changes in pronunciation. This can, of course, be misleading, since spelling conventions are
sometimes used for other purposes than just to represent pronunciation. Try to find examples of
recent differences in spelling or of misspellings and then try to imagine what they might mean,
say, to future linguists looking back trying to determine what changed and when it changed. For
example, you might compare the spelling lite with light, gonna with going to, wannabee with
want to be, or alright and alot with all right and a lot respectively. In particular, variations in
spellings can be very revealing; see if you can find examples which may suggest something
about language change.
Any examples of spellings not generally considered standard or examples of frequent

misspellings can be possible answers. An internet search of things such as “occasional
spelling”, “bad spelling”, “spelling errors”, etc. will turn up numerous examples.
Exercise 1.4 Shakespeare
A number of examples from Shakespeare’s plays, written in the Early Modern English period,
are presented here which illustrate differences from how the same thing would be said today.
Think about each example and attempt to state what changes have taken place in the language
that would account for the differences you see in the constructions mentioned in the headings,
the negatives, auxiliary verbs and so on. For example, in the first one we see: Saw you the weird
sisters? The modern English equivalent would be Did you see the weird sisters? Had the
heading directed your attention to yes–no questions, you would attempt to state what change
had taken place, from former saw you (with inversion from you saw) to the modern version
which no longer involves inversion but requires a form of do (did you see) which was not
utilized in Shakespeare’s version.
Treatment of negatives:
1. Saw you the weird sisters? . . . Came they not by you? (Macbeth IV, i)
2. I love thee not, therefore pursue me not (A Midsummer Night’s Dream II, 1, 188)
3. I know thee not, old man: fall to thy prayers (Henry V V, v)
4. Let not thy mother lose her prayers, Hamlet: I pray thee, stay with us; go not to Wittenberg
(Hamlet I, ii)
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5. But yet you draw not iron (AMidsummer Night’s Dream II, i, 196)
6. Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit (A Midsummer Night’s Dream II, i, 211)
7. And I am sick when I look not on you (A Midsummer Night’s Dream II, i, 213)
8. I will not budge for no man’s pleasure (Romeo and Juliet III, i)
9. I cannot weep, nor answer have I none (Othello IV, ii)
10. I am not sorry neither (Othello V, ii).
Negatives:
Auxiliary do is inserted with main verbs (not with forms of to be or modals); not (or its
contraction, -n’t) is placed after an auxiliary, modal verb, or a form of the verb to be:
1. Came they not by you? > Didn’t they come by you? (Auxiliary do).
2. I love thee not, therefore pursue me not > I don’t [or do not] love you, therefore don’t [or do
not] pursue me.
3. I know thee not ... > I don’t [or do not] know you ...
The former use of double negatives is no longer grammatical in Standard English:

8. I will not budge for no man’s pleasure > I will not budge for any man’s pleasure / I will
budge for no man’s pleasure.
9. I cannot weep, nor answer have I none > I cannot weep, nor do I have any answer.
10. I am not sorry neither > I am not sorry either.
Treatment of auxiliary verbs:
1. Macduff is fled to England (Macbeth IV, i) = ‘has fled’

2. The king himself is rode to view their battle (Henry V IV, iii) = ‘has ridden’
3. Thou told’st me they were stolen into this wood (A Midsummer Night’s Dream II, i, 191) =
‘had stolen away/hidden’
Auxiliary verbs:
Forms of to be as the auxiliary verb in constructions with main verbs of motion in the Present
Perfect or Past Perfect have changed to corresponding forms to the auxiliary have:
1. Macduff is fled to England > Macduff has fled to England.
2. The king himself is rode to view their battle > The king himself has ridden to view their
battle.
3. Thou told’st me they were stolen into this wood > You told me they had stolen [hidden] in
the woods.
Treatment of comparatives and superlatives:
1. She comes more nearer earth than she was wont (Othello 5, 2)
2. This was the most unkindest cut of all (Julius Caesar 3, 2)
3. What worser place can I beg in your love (A Midsummer Night’s Dream II, i, 208)
Comparatives and superlatives:

The “double” comparatives and superlatives permitted in Shakespeare’s time are no longer
permitted, so there are no longer combinations of more ... -er, most ...-est, or worser:
3
1. She comes more nearer earth than she was wont > She comes nearer to earth than she was
wont [in the habit of doing].
2. This was the most unkindest cut of all > This was the unkindest cut of all.
3. What worser place can I beg in your love > What worse place can I beg in your love.
Differences in verb agreement inflections (endings on the verbs which agree with the subject):
1. The quality of mercy is not strain’d

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blessed;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes
(The Merchant of Venice IV, i)
2. The one I’ll slay, the other slayeth me
(A Midsummer Night’s Dream II, i, 190)
3. O, it offends me to the soul to
Hear a robostious periwig-pated fellow tear
A passion to tatters
(Hamlet III, i, 9–11)
4. And could of men distinguish, her election
Hath seal’d thee for herself: for thou hast been
As one, in suffering all, that suffers nothing
(Hamlet III, i, 68–71)
Differences in verb agreement inflections:

The -(e)th of 3rd Person agreement on verbs > -(e)s; and -(e)st of 2nd Person Singular was lost
when you replaced thou as the 2nd Person Pronoun, singular and plual.
1. droppeth > drops; blesseth > blesses; 2. slayeth > slays; 4. hath > has; (thou) hast > (you)
have.
Exercise 1.5 Chaucer
The following is a sample text of Middle English, from Chaucer c. 1380. It is presented three
lines at a time: the first is from Chaucer’s text; the second is a word-by-word translation, with
some of the relevant grammatical morphemes indicated; the third is a modern translation.
Compare these lines and report the main changes you observe in morphology, syntax, semantics
and lexical items. (Do not concern yourself with the changes in spelling or pronunciation.)
The Tale of Melibee, Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1380)
Upon a day bifel that he for his desport is went into the feeldes hym to pleye.
on one day befell that he for his pleasure is gone to the fields him to play.
‘One day it happened that for his pleasure he went to the fields to amuse himself.’
[NOTE: is went = Modern English ‘has gone’; with verbs of motion the auxiliary used
was a form of the verb ‘to be’, where today it is with ‘to have’]
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His wif and eek his doghter hath he laft inwith his hous,
his wife and also his daughter has he left within his house,
‘His wife and his daughter also he left inside his house,’
[NOTE: wif = ‘wife, woman’]
of which the dores wer-en faste y-shette.

of which the doors were-Plural fast Past.Participle-shut
‘whose doors were shut fast.’
Thre of his old foos ha-n it espied, and sett-en laddres to the walles of his hous,
three of his old foes have-Plural it spied, and set-Plural ladders to the walls of his house,
‘Three of his old enemies saw this, and set ladders to the walls of his house,’
and by wyndowes ben entred, and betten his wyf,

and by windows had entered, and beaten his wife,
‘and entered by the windows, and beat his wife,’
[NOTE: ben entred = ‘have entered’, a verb of motion taking ‘to be’ as the auxiliary]
and wounded his doghter with fyve mortal woundes in fyve sondry places –
and wounded his daughter with five mortal wounds in five sundry places –
‘and wounded his daughter with five mortal wounds in five different places –’
this is to sey-n, in hir feet, in hir handes, in hir erys, in hir nose, and in hir mouth, –
this is to say-Infinitive, in her feet, in her hands, in her ears, in her nose, and in her mouth, –
‘that is to say, in her feet, in her hands, in her ears, in her nose, and in her mouth –’
and left-en hir for deed, and went-en awey.

and left-Plural her for dead, and went-Plural away.
‘and left her for dead, and went away.’
(Lass 1992: 25–6)
Morphological changes:
hath > has
Replacement of 3rd Person Present agreement marker -th by -s.
wer-en > were
ha-n > have
sett-en > set
left-en > left
went-en > went
-(e)n ‘Plural agreement suffix’ of verbs was lost.
y-shette > shut

y- ‘Past Participle prefix’ was lost.
to sey-n > to say
5
-n ‘Infinitive suffix’ was lost.
laft in hath he laft > left
Syntactic changes:
Upon a day bifel that > Upon a day it befell that = One day it happened that
There is not enough evidence in this set of data to see this change properly, but English had
a rule that inverted subject and verb when something preceded them in the clause (as in
more or less frozen collocations such as Along came Jones, Never had he witnessed such
folly, etc.); in cases with auxiliaries or modals in a verb phrase, just the auxiliary or modal
was inverted, not the main verb. Thus here, upon a day comes first, and because the clause
that he for his desport is went into the feeldes hym to pleye is the subject of bifel, it
underwent subject-verb inversion to give Upon a day bifel that he for his desport is went
into the feeldes hym to pleye.
is went > has/had gone

ben entered > have/had entered
Forms of to be as the auxiliary verb with main verbs of motion in Present Perfect or Past
Perfect changed to corresponding forms to the auxiliary to have.
Lexical or Semantic changes:

bifel [befell] > happened
befall is archaic in Modern English, essentially replaced by happen (lexical change).
desport > pleasure
desport has been replaced in this context (lexical change).
pleye ‘play’ in hym to pleye > to amuse himself
(lexical change: play > amuse, semantic change: play in hym to pleye lost the sense of
‘amuse’, ‘to amuse himself’).
eek > also (lexical change).
sondry ‘sundry’ > various
sundry is archaic in Modern English, mostly replaced by various, different (lexical change).
Exercise 1.6 Caxton
The text in this exercise is a sample of Early Modern English, from William Caxton, Eneydos
(c. 1491). As in Exercise 1.5, three lines are presented: the first is from Caxton’s text; the
second is a word-by-word translation, with some of the relevant grammatical morphemes
indicated; the third is a more colloquial modern translation. Compare these lines and report the
main changes you observe in morphology, syntax, semantics and lexical items. (Again, do not
concern yourself with the changes in spelling or pronunciation beyond the most obvious ones.)
And that commyn englysshe that is spoken in one shyre varyeth from a nother. In so moche
and that common English that is spoken in one shire varies from another. In so much
‘And the common English that is spoken in one county varies so much from [that spoken in]
another. In so much’
6
that in my days happened that certayn marchauntes were in a ship in tamyse
that in my days happened that certain merchants were in a ship in Thames
‘that in my time it happened that some merchants were in a ship on the Thames’
for to haue sayled ouer the see to zelande/ and for lacke of wynde thei taryed atte forlond;
for to have sailed over the sea to Zeeland. And for lack of wind they tarried at.the coast;
‘to sail over the sea to Zeeland. And because there was no wind, they stayed at the coast’
[NOTE: Zeeland = a province in the Netherlands]
and wente to land for to refreshe them And one of theym, named sheffelde a mercer
and went to land for to refresh them. And one of them, named Sheffield, a mercer,
‘and they went on land to refresh themselves. And one of them, named Sheffield, a fabric-
dealer,’
cam in to an hows and axed [aksed] for mete, and specyally he axyd after eggys.
came into a house and asked for meat, and especially he asked after eggs.
‘came into a house and asked for food, and specifically he asked for “eggs”.’
And the goode wyf answerede. that she coude no frenshe.

and the good woman answered that she could no French.
‘And the good woman answered that she knew no French.’
And the marchaunt was angry. for he also coude speke no frenshe.
and the merchant was angry, for he also could speak no French,
‘And the merchant was angry, because he couldn’t speak any French either.’
[NOTE: coude = ‘was able to, knew (how to)’]
but wolde haue hadde egges/ and she vnderstode hym not/
but would have had eggs; and she understood him not.
‘but he wanted to have eggs; and she did not understand him.’
[NOTE: wolde = ‘wanted’, the source of Modern English would]
And thenne at laste a nother sayd that he wolde haue eyren/

and then at last an other said that he would have eggs.
‘and then finally somebody else said that he wanted to have eggs.’
then the good wyf said that she understod him wel/
then the good woman said that she understood him well.
‘Then the good woman said that she understood him well.’
(Source of Caxton’s text: Fisher and Bornstein 1974: 186–7)
Morphological changes:
varyeth > varies
Replacement of 3rd Person Present agreement marker -th by -s.
7
NOTE: eyren (ey singular) was native English for eggs, but was replaced by Scandinavian
egg(s), a borrowing. Eyren also has the -en ‘plural suffix’ which was later lost.
Syntactic changes:
In so much that in my days happened that certayn marchauntes were .... > So much that in my
day it happened that certain merchants were ...
There is not enough evidence in these data to see the change properly, but English had a
rule that inverted subject and verb when something preceded them in the clause (as in
more or less frozen collocations such as Along came Jones, Never had he witnessed such
folly, etc.), but in cases with auxiliaries or modals in the verb phrase just the auxiliary or
modal was inverted, not the main verb. Thus here, with in my days at the beginning of
the clause, that certayn marchauntes were ... happened ... underwent inversion to ...
happened that certayn marchauntes were ...
for to haue sayled > (in order) to have sailed [or to sail]
for to refresche them > (in order) to refresh themselves
The former for to infinitival complementizer was reduced to just to when the subject of
the main verb and of the infinitive were the same (i.e. co-referential), for example, they
wanted to refresh themselves, where the subject of wanted and of to refresh is they for
both, but they wanted for John to refresh himself) when the subject of wanted (= they) is
different from the subject of to refresh (= John).
refreseh them > refresh themselves

Addition of self in reflexives.
could speke no frenshe > could not [couldn’t] speak any French
vnderstode hym not > did not [didn’t] understand him
Main verbs when negated came to take a form of do in do-support, and the negative
came to be placed next to auxiliaries and modals, including the form of do inserted in
do-support.
Lexical or semantic changes:

shyre ‘county’ > county (lexical change).
forlond ‘foreland’ > coastal promontory
‘Foreland’ now archaic (lexical change).
taryed ‘tarried’ > stayed, delayed
‘Tarry’ now feels archaic (lexical change).
mercer > textile dealer (lexical change).
mete ‘food’ > meat
Change in meaning from meat as ‘food’ generally to the narrower meaning of meat as
‘food from animal flesh’ (semantic change).
wyf ‘woman’ > wife
Change in meaning from wife as ‘woman’ generally to ‘married woman, female spouse’
(semantic change).
coude in coude no frenshe > knew (no French)
Change in meaning from can / could ‘know (how to)’ / ‘ knew (how to)’
8
Meaning narrowed as can / could was grammaticalized as a modal verb only.
wolde ‘wanted’ > wanted

Change in meaning from wolde (Past tense of will ‘want’). The meaning narrowed as
will and wolde were grammaticalized as modals only.
9
EXERCISES FOR CHAPTER 2 SOUND CHANGE
Exercise 2.1 Sound change – Proto-Germanic to Old English
Compare the Proto-Germanic forms with their descendants in Old English and determine what
sound changes involving vowels have taken place. Write out the sound change involved, and
identify (by name) the kind of change found. Ignore changes involving second syllables.
(NOTE: ī, ō, and ū, are long vowels.)
Proto-Germanic Old English
1. *fimf fīf ‘five’
2. *gans- gōs ‘goose’
3. *grinst grīst ‘a grinding’ ‘grist’
4. *hanh- hōh ‘heel, hock’
5. *linθj(az)- līθe ‘mild, lithe’
6. *munθ- mūθ ‘mouth’
7. *tanθ- tōθ ‘tooth’
8. *gang- gang ‘a going’
9. *grind- grind ‘grind’
10. *hlink- hlink ‘ridge, links’
11. *hund- hund ‘dog, hound’
12. *land- land ‘land’
13. *sing- sing- ‘sing’
14. *slink- slink- ‘slink’
15. *sundan sund- ‘swimming, sea, sound’
16. *swing- swing- ‘swing’
17. *θingam θing- ‘assembly, (legal) case, thing’
18. *wund- wund ‘a wound’
Write out the sound changes involved:

(1) VN > V: /__ Fricative
A vowel and following nasal become a lengthened version of the vowel when followed by a
fricative (as in 1.-7.). The change does not take place when followed by any consonant that was
not a fricative (as in 8.-18.).
(2) ā > ō
In 2., 4., and 7. original *an ends up as ō when followed by a fricative. We can assume that an >
ā along with the other vowels in change (1) when before a fricative and then subsequently ā >
ō. However, some might assume that the change was rather first an > ō before a fricative, and
then change (1) applied to the remaining vowels. This is much less likely though not out of the
realm of possibility.
Identify by name the kind of sound change:

Compensatory lengthening.
10
Note, though relative chronology is not asked for, as stated here, Change 1 must precede
Change 2, since it is Change 1 which produces the ā which is then subsequently raised and
rounded in Change 2.
Exercise 2.2 Sound change – Sanskrit to Pali
Compare the Sanskrit forms with their descendants in later Pali; determine what sound changes
have taken place. Write out the changes, and identify (by name) the kind of changes where
possible.
NOTE: Sanskrit s = [s], ś = [ʃ], ṣ = [ʂ]. Each set is in effect a separate sound change exercise,
though some changes may be illustrated in the examples of more than one set.
Set I
Sanskrit Pali
1. śaśa sasa ‘hare’
2. kēśa kesa ‘hair’
3. dēśa desa ‘country’
4. dōṣa dosa ‘fault’
5. dāṣa dasa ‘slave’
6. śiṣya sissa ‘pupil’
7. sasya sassa ‘grain’ ˙
Set II
Sanskrit Pali
8. snāna sināna ‘bathing’
9. sneha sineha ‘friendship’
10. snihyati sinihyati ‘is fond of’
11. snigdha siniddha ‘oily’
Set III
Sanskrit Pali
12. āuṣadha ōsadha ‘herbs, medicine’
13. kāuśika kōsika ‘owl’
14. gaura gōra ‘pale’
15. mauna mōna ‘silence’
16. augha ōgha ‘flood’
17. tāila tēla ‘oil’
18. vāira vēra ‘enmity’
19. śāila sēla ‘rocky’
20. aikya ekka ‘oneness’
Set IV
Sanskrit Pali
21. pariṣat parisā ‘assembly’
22. matimant matimā ‘wise’
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23. ārakāt ārakā ‘from afar’
24. dharmāt dhammā ‘merit (ablative)’
25. arthāt atthā ‘that is’
26. bhagavant bhagavā ‘venerable’
27. mitravant mittavā ‘having friends’
(Bhat 2001: 67, 68, 70, Masica 1991: 168)
Determine what sound changes have taken place. Write out the changes, and
identify (by name) the kind of changes where possible.
(1) Merger:
ś, ṣ > s (1.-7., 12., 18.-20.)
(2) Loss of vowel length:
V V̅ > V (2.-5.) [[NOTE: the macron (line above the vowel) goes over (above)
the V̅ ]]
(3) r-assimilation:
r > t /t __ (27.)
(4) C-cluster assimilation:
C1 > C2[unaspirated] /C2 __ (C1 not = h) (6.-7., 18., 25.)
First, (3) changed tr > tt, eliminating the single case (in 27.) where in the consonant
cluster the second consonant assimilates completely to that of the preceding consonant.
Then, by (4) in all remaining consonant clusters, the second consonant assimilates
completely to match the first consonant except that if the second consonant is a voiced
aspirate, the first consonant assimilates in all other features, but does not become
aspirated: ṣy, sy > ss (6.-7.); gdh > ddh (11.); ky > kk (20.); rm > mm (24.)
(5) Epenthesis:
Ø > i /#s __ Nasal (8.-11.)
Epenthesis of i between s and a nasal.
(6) Monophthongization:
au, āu > ō, ai, āi > ē /__ CV (12.-19.)
(7) Vowel shortening before a consonant cluster:
ē > e /__ CC (20.) [[NOTE: there is only one example to illustrate this change,
but let’s assume that with more data, we would encounter additonal examples.]]
(8) Final consonant loss with compensatory lenghtening:
Vt, Vnt > V̅ /__ # (21.-27.) [[NOTE: the macron (line above the vowel) goes
over (above) the V̅ ]]
[Note that this change could be stated as involving only final alveolar consonants
(instead of all final consonants) if one believes that additional data might reveal other,
non-alveolar consonants in final position that do not get deleted leaving compensatory
lengthening, since in these data t and nt are the only final consonants. Also, it is possible
to think that the change took place in stages, first deleting final t (as in 26. bhagavant >
bhagavan ‘venerable’) and then later when n showed up in final position because of this
change, it too was deleted with compensatory lengthening ((26. bhagavant > bhagavā
‘venerable’)).
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Exercise 2.3 Sound change – Sanskrit to Prakrit
Compare the Sanskrit forms with their descendants in later Prakrit; determine what sound
changes have taken place. Write out the changes, and identify (by name) the kind of changes
where possible.
NOTE: consonants with subscript dots are retroflex; Sanskrit s = [s], ś = [ʃ], ṣ = [ʂ]. Each set is
in effect a separate sound change exercise, though some changes may be illustrated in the
examples of more than one set.
Set I
Sanskrit Prakrit
1. sapta satta ‘seven’
2. dugdha duddha ‘milk’
3. udgāra uggāla ‘spit out’
4. tikta titta ‘pungent’
5. mudga mugga ‘mung bean’
6. ardha addha ‘half’
7. karpaṭa kappaḍa ‘rag, cloth’
8. kurkura kukkura ‘dog’
9. darpa dappa ‘arrogance’
10. parṇa paṇṇa ‘leaf’
11. karma kamma ‘work’
Set II
Sanskrit Prakrit
12. saras sara ‘lake’
13. śara sara ‘arrow’
14. sapta satta ‘seven’
15. śakta satta ‘able’
16. sarva savva ‘all’
17. śava savva ‘corpse’
18. sīsa sīsa ‘lead’
19. śīla sīla ‘conduct’
Set III
Sanskrit Prakrit
20. kāśmīra kamhīra ‘Kashmir’
21. grīṣ̣ma grimha ‘summer’
22. vismaya vimhaya ‘surprise’
23. ūṣman umhā ‘heat’
24. viṣṇu viṇhu ‘Visnu’
25. praśna paṇha ‘question’
26. snāna ṇhāṇa ‘bath’
(Bhat 2001: 6–7, 32, 83)
Write out the changes, and identify (by name) the kind of changes where possible.
13
(1) Consonant assimilation: C1 > C2[unaspirated] /C2[non-nasal] __ (C1 not = h)
By (1), in consonant clusters, the second consonant assimilates completely to match the
first consonant except that if the second consonant is a voiced aspirate, the first
consonant assimilates in all other features, but does not become aspirated. (1.-11., 14.-
16.)
(2) Merger: š > s (š, s > s) (13., 15., 17., 19. (and 1., 12., 14., 16., 18.))
(3) Metathesis: Sibilant Nasal > Nasal Sibilant (20.-26.) (Sibilant: s, š, ṣ)
(4) Sibilant > h: Sibilant > h /Nasal __ (20.-26.)
A sibilant (s, š, ṣ) becomes h when following a nasal (many cases with original sibilants
end up with the sibilant in the position after a nasal do to the metathesis of (3), and these
become h by (4)).
It is possible to formulate a change that combines (3) and (4) in a single change:
Sibilant Nasal > Nasal h
However, this it is unlikely that the language both metathesized sibilants and nasals and
at the same time turned all the sibilants into h in a single change. It is more likely, more
phonetically plausible, that the change took place in two steps, as in (3) ane (4).
There is no evidence in the data to determine whether (2) Merger took place
before or after (3) Metathesis. Of course, it is also possible that the changes took place
with first (4) turning all sibilants to h before nasals and then later (3) took place to move
the new h to follow the nasals. This would require a restatement of (3) to replace the
sibilants of the change as stated here with h instead.
Exercise 2.4 Sound change – Proto-Slavic to Russian
What sound changes that have taken place in Russian since Proto-Slavic times are illustrated in
the following data? Write rules to account for the palatalization of consonants, the change in the
stem vowels, loss of vowels, and change in voicing of consonants. Do not attempt to write
sound change rules for the changes in the consonant clusters (bl, tl, dl) in examples 1, 2, and 3.
More than one change has applied to some forms; for these, state the relative chronology of
these changes (the order, temporal sequence) in which the different changes took place.
(The breve /˘/ over vowels means ‘short’.)
[[NOTE: for all instances of ɪ̆ and ʊ̆ here, the breve marks (the ̆ ) go directly over (above) the
ɪ and ʊ, respectively.]]
Proto-Slavic Russian
1. *greblʊ̆ grjop ‘rowed’
2. *metlʊ̆ m jol ‘swept’
3. *vedlʊ̆ vjol ‘led’
4. *nesʊ̆ njos ‘carried ’
5. *p̆ɪsʊ̆ pjos ‘dog’
6. *domʊ̆ dom ‘house’
7. *grobʊ̆ grop ‘coffin’
8. *nosʊ̆ nos ‘nose’
9. *rodʊ̆ rot ‘gender’
10. *volʊ̆ vol ‘bull’
14
11. *dɪ̆nɪ̆ djenj ‘day’
j
12. *konɪ̆ kon ‘horse’
13. *vɪ̆sɪ̆ vjesj ‘all’
(Verb forms in these data = ‘third person masculine past tense’)
NOTE: This exercise is considered difficult to solve, though easy to understand once the
changes are discovered. What sound changes that have taken place in Russian since Proto-
Slavic times are illustrated in the following data? Write changes to account for the palatalization
of consonants, the change in the stem vowels, loss of vowels, and change in voicing of
consonants.
(1) Palatalization: C > Cj /__ Front Vowel (e, ɪ̆) (1.-5., 11.-13.) (C > Cj /__ e, ɪ̆)
Consonants were palatalized before front vowels (e and ɪ̆ in these data).
(2) V-Rounding: Front V > Round /__ Cʊ̆ (1.-5., 1l., 13.) (e, ɪ̆ > o, u /__Cʊ̆)
Front vowels were rounded and turned into corresponding back vowels when followed
in the next syllable by ʊ̆.
(3) Apocope: ɪ̆, ʊ̆ > Ø /__ # (1.-13.)
Final lax vowels were deleted.
(4) Lax V-lowering: Lax V > [-high] (11., 13.) (ɪ̆ > e, ʊ̆ > o)
Remaining lax vowels were lowered (ɪ̆ > e, ʊ̆ > o).
(5) Final-devoicing: stop > voiceless /__ # (7., 9. (1.))
Stops became voiceless word-finally.
For (2), an alternative would be to have in place of ʊ̆ in the environment just Round
Vowel, which would be true of these data since ʊ̆ is the only Round Vowel that appears in this
context. Another alternative would be instead of front vowels becoming round, to state the
change as front vowels becoming o (Front V > o /__ Cʊ̆), since ultimately all front vowels that
survive in this context end up as o. In the version that says these vowels are rounded, ɪ̆ goes
through an intermediate stage to ʊ̆ (pjɪ̆sʊ̆ > pjʊ̆sʊ̆) and then is lowered to o by (3) (pjɪ̆sʊ̆ > pjʊ̆sʊ̆
> pjosʊ̆), and then finally > pjos by (4)). If (2) is stated as Front V > o in this environment, then
pjɪ̆s > pjosʊ̆ directly by (2), and as a consequence (4) would then not apply to forms such as this.
For (3) Apocope, several alternatives also fit the data:
(3a) V > Ø /__ # (all final vowels are deleted, true of these data, but not really true if other data
were brought into the picture.)
(3b) High V > Ø /__ # (final high vowels are lost; the change, stated in this way, predicts any
non-high vowel that might appear in this environment would be deleted, though in these
data the only high vowels at appears in that context are ɪ̆ and ʊ̆.)
(3c) Lax V > Ø /__ # (the weak or lax ɪ̆ and ʊ̆ are deleted finally, but if any non-lax vowels
should appear in this environment, the change stated in this way predicts they would not
be deleted.)
Relative chronology: state the relative chronology of these changes (the order, temporal
sequence) in which the different changes took place.
4. carried 5. dog 7. coffin 11. day 12. horse 13. all
Proto-Slavic *nesʊ̆ *pɪ̆sʊ̆ *grobʊ̆ *dɪ̆nɪ̆ *konɪ̆ *vɪ̆sɪ̆
j j j j j
(1) Palatalization: n esʊ̆ p ɪ̆sʊ̆ -- d ɪ̆n ɪ̆ kon ɪ̆ vjɪ̆sjɪ̆
(2) V-Rounding: njosʊ̆ pjusʊ̆ -- -- -- --
j j j j j
(3) Apocope: n os p us grob d ɪ̆ n kon vjɪ̆sj
15
(4) Lax V-lowering: -- pjos -- djenj -- vjesj
(5) Final-devoicing: -- -- grop -- -- --
Result: njos pjos grop djenj konj vjesj
In temporal order, (1) Palatalization took place before (2) Vowel Rounding, since if 4.
*nesʊ̆ ‘carried’ had first changed to nosʊ̆ by (2) Vowel-Rounding, then (1) Palatalization could
not have applied later, since there would no longer have been a front vowel after the consonant
to cause it to become palatalized:
*nesʊ̆
(2) V-Rounding: nosʊ̆
(1) Palatalization: --
(3) Apocope: nos
Result ✘nos
Change (1) Palatalization happened before change (3) Apocope, since otherwise vowels
that condition palatalization would be gone before palatalization took place and we would not
be able to explain why some consonants end up palatalized and others not (as illustrated with
12. *konɪ̆ ‘horse’):
*konɪ̆
(3) Apocope: kon
(1) Palatalization: --
Result ✘kon
Change (5) Final-devoicing must have taken place after (3) Apocope since otherwise the
wrong form would result. If in 7. *grobʊ̆ ‘grave’ (5) had taken place first, there would not yet
be any final b to change do p, so that when (3) applied later, the result would be the inaccurate
✘grob:
*grobʊ̆
(5) Final devoicing: --
(3) Apocope: grob
Result ✘grob
Exercise 2.5 Sound change in dialects of Tulu (Dravidian)

The forms in the Sapaliga dialect correspond to those of the oldest stage of the
language; therefore, compare the forms in the other dialects to those of Sapaliga
and determine what sound changes have taken place in each of the other dialects
of Tulu. Write out and list the sound changes for each dialect, and identify (name)
the kind of change involved in each instance, wherever this is possible. Do you
imagine that some of the dialects went through more than one change in intermediate
stages to arrive at some of the individual sounds they now have? If so, what
might the intermediate stages have been?
NOTE: <c> = [č] (IPA [tʃ]); consonants with dots beneath = retroflex.
Sapaliga Holeya Setti Jain 1 Jain 2

1. tare care sare hare are ‘wear off’
2. tali cali sali hali ali ‘sprinkle’
3 tavdu cavdu savdu havdu avdu ‘bran’
4. tōjɨ cōjɨ sōjɨ hōjɨ ōjɨ ‘appear’
16
5. tinɨ cinɨ sinɨ hinɨ inɨ ‘eat’
6. tudɛ cudɛ sudɛ hudɛ – ‘river’
7. tōdu cōdu sōdu hōdu ōdu ‘stream’
8. tanɛ canɛ sanɛ hanɛ anɛ ‘conceiving’ (of cattle)
9. tappu cappu sappu happu appu ‘leaf’
10. tay cay say hay ay ‘die’
11. tavtɛ cavtɛ savtɛ havtɛ avtɛ ‘cucumber’
12. tuttu cuttu suttu huttu uttu ‘wear’
13. tumbu cimbu sumbu humbu umbu ‘carry on head’
14. tū cū sū hū ū ‘see’
(Bhat 2001: 51)
Holeya changes: t > c (that is, t > č)

Note in 13. tumbu > cimbu, since there is only one example in the data of this difference,
it is possible to speculate about several possible changes that would account for the difference,
for example perhaps u > i /__labial CCu.
Setti changes: t > s Perhaps more plausibly through the intermediate stage:
t > č > s)
Jain 1 changes: t > h Perhaps more plausibly through the intermediate stages:
t > č > s > h)
Jain 2: t > Ø Perhaps more plausibly through the intermediate stages:

t > č > s > h > Ø)
Exercise 2.6 Sound change Proto-Indo-European (PIE) to Latin
What sound changes have taken place in the transition from Proto-Indo-European to Latin? Try
to formulate the most general, most inclusive statement possible to describe these changes.
Concentrate on the sounds at the beginning of roots. (The sounds h1, h2, and h3 refer to the
laryngeals reconstructed for Proto-Indo-European; do not be concerned with their phonetic
value but just treat them as consonants of a general sort. The laryngeals h2 and h3 are thought to
represent some sort of fricatives produced in the back of the mouth, with h1 frequently equated
with glottal stop.)
.
Proto-Indo-European Latin
1. *pórk̂os ‘piglet’ porcus /porkus/ ‘young pig’
2. *pótis ‘capable’ potis ‘capable’
3. *bhébhrus ‘beaver’ fiber ‘beaver’

4. *bhréh2tēr ‘brother’ frāter ‘brother’
5. *bhér-o ‘carry’ ferō ‘I carry’
6. *tauros ‘bull’ taurus ‘bull’
17
7. *tréyes ‘three’ trēs ‘three’
8. *dl̥kus ‘sweet’ dulcis /dulkis/ ‘sweet’

9. *dóh3nom ‘gift’ dōnum ‘gift’
10. *dheh1lus ‘nourishing’ fēlīx /fe:li:ks/ ‘fruitful’

11. *dhúh2mos ‘smoke; fūmus ‘smoke’
12. *dheh1- ‘to place, set’ faciō /fakio:/ ‘I do, make’
13. *k̂m̥tóm ‘hundred’ centum /kentum/ ‘hundred’

14. *k̂(u)wōn ‘dog’ canis /kanis/ ‘dog’
15. *ĝénu ‘jaw’ gena ‘cheek’

16. *ĝus-tu- ‘taste’ gustus ‘taste’
17. *ĝhans- ‘goose’ hanser (later ānser) ‘goose’

18. *ĝhais-e- ‘to adhere’ haerē- ‘to stick, cling’
19. *kápr̥̥ ‘penis’ caper /kaper/ ‘goat’

20. *kom ‘near, by, with’ cum /kum/ ‘with’
21. *genh1os ‘race, kind’ genus ‘race, kind’

22. *gl̥h1is ‘mouse’ glīs ‘dormouse’
23. *ghaidos ‘goat’ haedus ‘young goat’

24. *ghóstis ‘stranger, guest’ hostis ‘host’
25. *kwis ‘who’ quis /kwis/ ‘who’

26. *kwétwor- ‘four’ quattuor /kwattuor/ ‘four’
27. *gwemyo ‘come’ veniō /wenio:/ ‘I come’

28. *gwih3wos ‘living’ vīvus /wiwus/ ‘alive’
29. *gwhermós ‘warm’ formus ‘warm’

wh
30. *g én- ‘repel’ (dē-)fen(-dō) ‘I repel’
31. *gwhér- ‘wild beast’ ferus ‘wild’
[Note that the diacritic small circle goes directly beneath the letter and the small wedge goes
directly above the letter it is associated with in these examples.]
What sound changes have taken place in the transition from Proto-Indo-European to Latin?
(1) Non-labialized velar and palatal aspirates > h (*gh, *ĝh > h) (as in 17.-18., 23.-24.)
(2) Voiced aspirates > f (*bh, *dh, *gwh > f) (as in 3.-5., 10.-12., 29.-31.)
(3) Palatal stops > velar (*k̂ > k; *ĝ > g) (1., 13.-16.)
The remaining palatal stops become velars; *ĝh had become h by (1) and so does not
enter this change.
w
(4) *g > w (in 27.-28.)
18
Other stops remain unchanged (p, t, k, d, g, kw). (As in 1.-2., 4., 6.-9., 13., 16., 19.-26.) [NOTE:
Proto-Indo-European appears not to have had *b, though there is some difference of opinion
over this.]
Relative chronology: (1) (*gh, *ĝh > h) took place before (2) (voiced aspirates > f),
since if (2) had taken place first, then *gh and *ĝh would first have become f as the other voiced
aspirates did, with no subsequent means of distinguishing the f’s that came from *gh or *ĝh from
the f’s which came from the other sounds, so no way for these words to go *gh, *ĝh > f > h,
without also changing the f not originally from *gh or *ĝh that occurs in other words.
Changes (2), (3), and (4) could have taken place in any sequence, and their temporal
order cannot be determined from the form of the changes themselves. For example, the palatal
stops in (3) could have become velars either before or after (2) in which voiced aspirates
became f. The change in (4) (*gw > w) could have taken place before any of the other changes or
after all of them, or in any other order, since neither the original *gw nor the resulting w
interacts with the sounds in any of these other sound changes.
Exercise 2.7 Portuguese sound changes
Make the most general statements you can to account for the sound changes which took place
intervocalically in the transition from late Latin to modern Portuguese, based on the following
examples. (Do not attempt to explain changes in vowels that you see.)
1. lupu lobo ‘wolf’

2. sapore sabor ‘flavor’
3. mutu mudo /mudu/ ‘dumb, silent’

4. latu lado /ladu/ ‘side’
5. caritate caridade ‘charity’
6. pacare /pakare/ pagar ‘to pay’

7. focu /foku/ fogo /fogu/ ‘fire’
8. nebula névoa ‘mist’

9. debere dever ‘to owe’
10. caballu cavalo /kavalu/ ‘horse’
11. gradu grau ‘degree’

12. nuda nua ‘nude’ (feminine)
13. regale real ‘royal’

14. cogitare ‘to think’ cuidar ‘to take care’
15. palu pau ‘stick’

16. filu fio /fiu/ ‘thread’
17. salute saúde ‘health’
19
18. luna lua ‘moon’
19. corona coroa ‘crown’
20. moneta moeda ‘coin’
Sound changes:
(1) Lenition and loss: voiced stops were lenited between vowels:
(1a) b > v /V__V
(1b) non-labial voiced stop > Ø /V__V (d, g > Ø)
(2) Voicing: voiceless stop > voiced /V__V
[[Note that it is not actually necessary to specify that the stops entering this change were
voiceless, since if we say simply that stop > voiced, the result is the same, with all
intervocalic stops ending up voiced, though any that happened already to be voiced
would simply remain voiced, undergoing the change vacuously, so to speak.]]
(3) Deletion: single alveolar non-obstruent > Ø /V__V (l, n, r > Ø between vowels)
An alveolar sonorant (liquid or nasal) was deleted between vowels.
Relative chronology: (1) lenition of voiced stops took place before (2) voicing of
intervocalic voiceless stops; if the changes had occurred in the other termporal order, (2) before
(1), then the voiceless stops p, t, k would have become voiced (b, d, g) first and then these new
voiced stops from former voiceless stops via (2) would also have gone on to be lenited, b to v by
(1a) and d and g to Ø by (1b), so, for example 1. sapore > sabor flavour’ by (2), and then sabor
> ✘savor by (1a); for 4. latu > ladu ‘side’ by (2) first and then ladu > ✘lau by (1b).
Change (3) Deletion, however, could have happened at any time relative to the other
changes, before or after (1) Lenition, or before or after (2) Voicing, or before both (1) and (2),
since the alveolar non-obstruents of (3) do not interact with the stops of (1) and (2).
Exercise 2.8 Some Greek sound changes

What happened to the former labiovelar sounds and *w in Attic Greek? Formulate the most
precise, most inclusive statement of the sound change(s) from Proto-Indo-European (PIE) to
Attic Greek that you can based on the following data.
PIE Attic Greek

1. *kwis tis ‘who’
2. *kwe te ‘and’
3. *kwetwóres tettares ‘four’
4. *pénkwe pente ‘five’
5. *kwóti- ‘how much, pósis ‘how much, how many’

how many’
w
6. *k óteros ‘which of two’ póteros ‘which’
7. *leikwo- leipō ‘I leave’
8. *yēkwr̥ hēpar ‘liver’
9. *gwelbhus delphús ‘womb’

10. *gwous bous ‘cow’
11. *gwm̥ti- basis ‘going’
20
12. *gwm̥ye- ‘come’ bainō ‘I walk, come’
13. *gwabh- bap-tō [p < ph] ‘I dip in’
14. *gwhaidrós ‘bright, shining’ phaidrós ‘beaming, cheerful’

15. *gwhren- ‘think’ phrenéō ‘I think’
wh
16. *snig -s nipha ‘snow’
17. *gwhermós thermós ‘warm’

18. *gwhel- ‘wish, want’ thélō ‘I want, wish’
19. *gwhen- ‘strike’ theínō ‘I strike’
20. *gwhónos ‘stiking down’ phónos ‘murder’
21. *woik̂- ‘clan’ oikía ‘household’

22. *wóghos ‘carrier’ okhos ‘wagon’
23. *h2ówis ois ‘sheep’
24. *dhewo- ‘run’ theō ‘I run’
[Note that the diacritic small circle goes directly beneath the letter and the small wedge goes
directly above the letter it is associated with in these examples.]
Sound changes:
(1) Labiovelar > alveolar before i or e (*kw, *gw, *gwh > t, d, th, respectively, /__ i, e)
(As in 1.-4., 9., 17.-19.)
(2) Labiovelar > labial (*kw, *gw, *gwh > p, b, ph, respectively) elsewhere (when not before i or
e)
(As in 5.-8., 10.-16., 20.)
(3) w > Ø /__o
(As in 21.-24.)
Relative chronology: Depending on how the sound changes are formulated, there may
be no instances of relative chronology, where any of these changes could have taken place in
any temporal order with respect to any of the other changes. For example, (3) w-loss could have
happened before either (1) and (2) or after one or the other or both of them, since w does not
interact with the stop consonants specified in (1) and (2). As stated, (1) [labiovelar > alveolar
before i or e] of necessity would have taken place before (2), since otherwise all labiovelars
would have ended up as labialsby (2), leaving no labiovelars before i or e to change by (1). Thus
if the sequence had been (2) before (1), then, for example, 1. *kwis > ✘pis ‘who’ by (2), leaving
no kw to change to t before the i by (1) in this form. However, the changes could be stated
differently, with (2) spelled out as taking place specifically before a, o, u and consonants, which
would then allow the possibility for the changes to take place in the order (1) before (2) [as
restated] or as (2) before (1), since now the two changes specify different, non-overlapping
contexts (and can, in fact be combined into a single change by the notation available to us), so
that no wrong forms result if the changes applied in the either sequence.
Exercise 2.9 Sound change – Balto-Finnic
21
Determine what sound changes affecting the vowels have taken place in Finnish and Estonian.
Write the rules which specify these changes and under what conditions they took place. Identify
(name) the changes, where possible.
NOTE: ä = [æ], ö = [ø], ü = [y], õ = [ɨ]. Double vowels (for example aa, oo, and so on) are long
vowels. Orthographic <b, d, g> in Estonian are represented here phonetically as [p, t, k]
respectively, although these sounds are between voiced and voiceless, described sometimes as
‘semi-voiceless’ or ‘half-voiced’.
Proto-Balto- Finnish Estonian gloss

Finnic
1. *maa maa maa ‘land’
2. *noori nuori noor ‘young’
3. *koori kuori koor ‘bark, peel’
4. *hooli huoli hool ‘care, worry’
5. *jooni juoni joon ‘line, direction’
6. *leemi liemi leem ‘broth’
7. *mees mies mees ‘man’
8. *meeli mieli meel ‘mind’
9. *keeli kieli keel ‘tongue, language’
10. *reemu riemu rõõm [rɨ:m] ‘joy’
11. *meekka miekka mõõk [mɨ:k:] ‘sword’
12. *peena piena põõn [pɨ:n] ‘slat, rail, cross-piece’
13. *veeras vieras võõras [vɨ:ras] ‘foreign’
14. *luu luu luu ‘bone’
15. *hiiri hiiri hiir ‘mouse’
16. *kyynärä kyynärä küünar ‘ell (measure)’
17. *töö työ töö ‘work’
18. *möö- myö- möö- ‘along, by’
19. *kala kala kala ‘fish’
20. *lapa lapa laba [lapa] ‘blade’
21. *kylä kylä küla ‘village’
22. *ikä ikä iga [ika] ‘age’
23. *isä isä isa ‘father’
24. *joki joki jõgi [jɨki] ‘river’
25. *kivi kivi kivi ‘stone’
26. *lumi lumi lumi ‘snow’
27. *läpi läpi läbi [læpi] ‘through, hole’
28. *suku suku sugu [suku] ‘family’
29. *ilma ilma ilm ‘world’ ‘weather, world’
30. *jalka jalka jalg [jalk] ‘foot, leg’
31. *kalma kalma kalm ‘grave (mound)’
32. *nälkä nälkä nälg [nælk] ‘hunger’
33. *härkä härkä härg [hærk] ‘ox, bull’
34. *silmä silmä silm ‘eye’
35. *marja marja mari ‘berry’
36. *karja karja kari ‘cattle’
22
37. *orja orja ori ‘slave’
38. *lintu lintu lind [lint] ‘bird’
39. *hullu hullu hull ‘crazy’
j j
40. *mänty mänty mänd [mæn t ] ‘pine’
41. *synty synty sünd [synjtj] ‘birth’
42. *hanki hanki hang [haŋk] ‘crust of snow’
43. *kurki kurki kurg [kurk] ‘crane’
44. *nahka nahka nahk ‘leather’
45. *lehmä lehmä lehm ‘cow’
46. *lehti lehti leht ‘leaf, sheet’
47. *hauta hauta haud [haut] ‘grave’
48. *lauta lauta laud [laut] ‘board’
49. *lava lava lava ‘platform, frame’
50. *haava haava haav ‘wound’
51. *hinta hinta hind [hint] ‘price’
52. *into into ind [int] ‘passion’
53. *halko halko halg [halk] ‘piece/block of wood’
54. *kylmä kylmä külm ‘cold’
55. *hullu hullu hull ‘crazy’
56. *hiki hiki higi [hiki] ‘sweat’
57. *kylki kylki külg [kylk] ‘side’
58. *kirppu kirppu kirp [kirp:] ‘flea’
59. *verkko verkko võrk [vɨrk:] ‘net’
60. *onsi onsi õõs [ɨ:s] ‘a hollow place’
61. *kansi kansi kaas ‘cover’
62. *kynsi kynsi küüs ‘fingernail, claw’
63. *mesi mesi mesi ‘honey’
64. *kuusi kuusi kuus ‘six’
65. *kusi kusi kusi ‘urine’
66. *mato mato ‘worm’ madu [matu] ‘snake’
67. *elo elo elu ‘life/building’
68. *hako hako hagu [haku] ‘evergreen sprig, brushwood’
69. *ilo ilo ‘joy’ ilu ‘beauty’
70. *himo himo himu ‘lust, desire’
71. *iho iho ihu ‘skin, hide’
72. *vesa vesa võsa [vɨsa] ‘sprout, brush, weed’
73. *helma helma hõlm [hɨlm] ‘skirt, frock’
74. *terva terva tõrv [tɨrv] ‘tar’
75. *velka velka võlg [vɨlk] ‘debt’
76. *perna perna põrn [pɨrn] ‘spleen’
77. *leuka leuka lõug [lɨuk] ‘jaw, chin’
78. *tosi tosi tõsi [tɨsi] ‘true’
79. *solki solki sõlg [sɨlk] ‘buckle, brooch’
80. *sormi sormi sõrm [sɨrm] ‘finger’
81. *pohja pohja põhi [pɨhi] ‘bottom, base’
82. *poski poski põsk [pɨsk] ‘cheek’
23
83. *korpi korpi kõrb [kɨrp] ‘dark woods, wilderness’
84. *metsä metsä mets ‘woods’
85. *leppä leppä lepp [lep:] ‘alder’
NOTE: the notation Co means any number of consonants from Ø (no consonant at all) to any
number or consonants in a consonant cluster; it is essentially a device to say we are concerned
mostly with syllables or with vowels, and the number of possible intervening consonants is not
relevant to the change.
Sound change in Finnish:
(1) Long mid-vowel diphthongization: long mid V > diphthong with high first component (ee >
ie, oo > uo, öö > yö) (as in 1.–18., etc.)
Sound changes in Estonian:
(1) e-backing: e > ˆ /C__Co back V (e > ˆ, ee > ˆˆ when non-initial in the word and followed in
the next syllable by a back vowel) (as in 10.–13., 59., 71.-76.)
(2) o-fronting and raising: o > ˆ /__Co front V (o > ˆ when followed in the next syllable by a
front vowel, where in these data i is the only front vowel in that context) (as in 24., 59.,
77.-82.)
(3) Palatalization: t > tj /__ y (as in 40.-41.) [Note that y here is the the same as the IPA
symbol, indicating a high front rounded vowel here, not a glide (not IPA [j]).]
(t is palatalized before high front rounded y.) With more data, this change would be seen
to take place before i as well. It might be better formulated as:
t > tj /__ i, y (that is, t > tj /__ high front V).
(4) Apocope: V > Ø /VVC__#, /VCC(C)__# (A word-final vowel is lost if the preceding
syllable is ‘heavy’, that is, if it has a long vowel or has a consonant cluster [including
geminate consonants]) (as in 2.-12., 15., 29.-54., 56.-61., 63., 72.-76., 78.-84.) In 16., the
final vowel is lost in a three-syllable word, but this is the only example in the data; to
account for it, we need to add to the context of the change something equivalent to
/V(V)CoVCo__#, which would predict that the final vowel of any three-syllable word
would be lost. If you believe the loss would happen in trisyllabic forms only if the first
syllable is long, that would be indicated, for example, as:
/VVCoVCo__#.
Or if you believe the change would take place in three-syllable words when the first syllable is
heavy (either with a long vowel or with a consonant coda), then that would be indicated,
for example, as:
/VVCoVCo__#, /VCC(C)VCo__#.
(5) j-vocalization: j > i /___ # (as in 35.-37., 80.) (Word-final j becomes i. A j could only
come to be in final position due to the earlier loss of a final vowel by (4), as in orja > orj
by (4), then orj > ori by (5).
(6) Nasal assimilation: Nasal > [αPlace] /__[-continuant, αPlace]C (as in 38., 40.-42., 51.-52.)
Nasals assimilate to the place of articulation of following stops. The cases with nt are in
effect already assimilated (as in 38., 51., 52.) and so no change takes place; 42. with ŋk
also was already assimilated but this is not reflected in the orthography (<nk>). However n
does change to nj in 40.-41. to assimilate to tj, which was palatalized by (2), leading the n
preceding it to become palatalized (by (6)).
(7) Nasal loss and compensatory lengthening: Vn > V: /__ s (as in 59.-61.)
(n is lost before s and in the process the preceding vowel is compensatorily lengthened)
(V: = VV in the orthography.)
(8) Final o-raising: o > u /__ # (as in 65.-70.)
(Final o is raised to u.)
24
Relative chronology. This exercise does not call the relative chronology to be stated; however,
for those who may be curious about this:
(1) e-backing, (2) o-fronting and raising, and (3) Palatalization took place before (4)
Apocope. If (4) Apocope had taken place first, then none of these three changes could have
taken place in some forms that did undergo the changes, since (4) would have deleted the final
vowel which conditions these three changes. For example, if they had taken place with (4) first,
the results would be wrong:
72. helma 79. sormi 41. synty
‘skirt’ ‘finger’ ‘birth’
(4) Apocope: helm sorm synt
(1) e-backing: -- -- --
(2) o-fronting and raising: -- -- --
(3) Palatalization: -- -- --
Result: ✘helm ✘sorm ✘synt
Expected: hˆlm sˆrm synjtj
(syntj by (3), then synjtj by (6))
Changes (1), (2), and (3) do not interact with one another, since the contexts in which
they took place or the sounds which changed are different in all three cases. Change (5) j-
vocalization must follow (4) Apocope, since otherwise, the j would not be in final position and
thus would not fit the environment where (5) took place, giving the wrong result:
37. orja ‘slave’
(5) j-vocalization: --
(4) Apocope: orj
Result: ✘orj
Expected: ori
In short, the temporal sequence had to be:
First (1) e-backing, (2) o-fronting and raising, (3) Palatalization (these three changes could have
taken place in any order)
Second (4) Apocope
Third (5) j-vocalization
The changes (6) Nasal assimilation, (7) Nasal loss and compensatory lengthening, and (8) Final
o-raising do not interact with one other or with the other changes, and thus they could have
taken place in any temporal order.
25
EXERCISES FOR CHAPTER 3 BORROWING
Exercise 3.1
Find ten examples of loanwords (not already mentioned in this chapter) into any language you
like, including English. You can consult dictionaries which give historical sources of lexical
items or books on the history of particular languages, if you wish. Try to identify the form and
meaning of the word in the donor language.
There are many books and websites that identify loanwords in many different languages, which
can be consulted.
Exercise 3.2 Twentieth-century loans into English
In the history of English, relatively few words were borrowed during the twentieth century
when seen in comparison with the large number of loans from earlier times. Still, many did
come into the language; here are a few of them. Look up twenty of these (or more if you like)
either in a good dictionary of English which indicates the sources from which words come or in
a dictionary of the language from which they were borrowed. Try to determine the original
meaning and form in the donor language and note any changes (in meaning or form) that the
word has undergone as it was adopted into English. The original meanings of many of these
may surprise you.
Afrikaans: apartheid
Chinese: chow mein, kung fu
Czech: robot
French: avant-garde, boutique, camouflage, chassis, cinema, discotheque, fuselage,
garage, limousine, sabotage
German: angst, blitz, ersatz, flak, Nazi, snorkel, strafe, wienerschnitzel
Hawai’ian: aloha, lei, ukulele
Hebrew: kibbutz
Italian: fascism, partisan, pasta, pizza
Japanese: bonsai, kamikaze, karaoke, karate, origami
Russian: bolshevik, cosmonaut, glasnost, intelligentsia, perestroika, sputnik
Spanish: aficionado, macho, marijuana, paella, tango
Swedish (or Scandinavian generally): moped, ombudsman, slalom, smorgasbord
Yiddish: schmaltz, schlock, klutz
Afrikaans:
apartheid
Form: apartheid, composed of apart ‘separate’ + -heid ‘-hood’.
Meaning: ‘separateness’ (a South African political term to avoid saying ‘segregation’).
Chinese:
26
chow mein
The form and meaning are an American creation, ‘sir-fired noodles’: from Taishan
Chinese (Guangdong) chāu-mèing ‘fried flour’; based on chow-chow ‘food’ in Chinese
English Pidgin, and mein (mèing, mihn) ‘wheat flour, wheat flour noodles’.
kung fu
Form: kung fu (gongfu)
Meaning: ‘effort, energy’, ‘skill, accomplishment’; Chinese martial arts.
Czech:
robot
From robotnik ‘slave’ (based robotitit ‘work, drudge’), taken from the English 1923
translation of the play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots), by Karel Capek.
French:
avant-garde
Form avant-garde
Meaning: ‘advance guard’, literally ‘before-guard’.
boutique
Form: boutique, ultimately from Greek apothēkē ‘repository; granary’; related to other
loans in English from the same Greek original word: apothecary, bodega.
Meaning: ‘small shop’ (later ‘fashion shop’).
camouflage
From: French camoufler, Parisian slang, ‘to disguise’, from Italian camuffare ‘to
disguise’.
chassis
From French châssis ‘frame’ (derived from chasse ‘case, box’).
cinema
From French cinéma, shortened from cinématographe, coined by Lumiere brothers, who
invented it based on Greek kinema ‘movement’ (compare English ‘movie’).
discotheque
From French discothèque, borrowed from Italian discoteca ‘record collection, record
library’, coined on the basis of disco ‘phonograph record’ and -teca taken from
biblioteca ‘library’.
Meaning: ‘nightclub with recorded music for dancing’, ‘record library’.
fuselage
From French fuselage, from fuselé ‘spindle-shaped, tapered’ (compare Old French fus
‘spindle’. Called this because of its spindle-like shape.
garage
27
From French garage ‘vehicle shelter’, originally ‘a place for storing things’, derived
from garer ‘to shelter, park’ (ultimately from a Germanic loanword in French).
limousine
From French limousine, and adjective derived from Limousin, a region of central France.
The automobile meaning comes from the car’s similar appearance to a type of hood
worn by the inhabitants of Limousin province.
Meaning from which modern senses come: enclosed automobile with open driver's seat.
sabotage
From French sabotage, derived from saboter ‘to sabotage, bungle’, which in turn is from
sabot ‘wooden shoe’. The meaning of ‘deliberate and malicious destroying of property’
is said to come from ‘labor disputes’.
German:
angst
From German Angst ‘anxiety, remorse, neurotic fear’, made popular in English by the
translation of Sigmund Freud’s work.
blitz
From German Blitz ‘lightening’, for a ‘sudden intensive attack’; in English taken from
Blitzkrieg (Blitz ‘lightening’ + Krieg ‘war’).
ersatz
From German Ersatz ‘substitute, replacement’. In English meaning: ‘substituting for,
and typically inferior in quality’.
flak
From German Flak, which comes from Fliegerabwehrkanone ‘anti-aircraft gun’
(composed of Flieger ‘flier, pilot’ + Abwehr ‘defense’ + Kanone ‘canon’). In English it
had the sense of ‘anti-aircraft fire, which came to be extended metaphorically to
‘criticism’.
Nazi
From German Nazi, an abbreviation of Nationalsozialist ‘national socialist’, from
Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei ‘National Socialist German Workers’
Party’, which Adolf Hitler led.
snorkel
From German Schnorchel, slang for ‘nose, snout’.
strafe
From German strafen ‘to punish’, used in English for ‘punish, attack, especially attack
from low-flying aircraft.
wienerschnitzel
28
From German, Wiener ‘someone or something from Wien ‘Vienna’ + Schnitzel ‘cutlet, a
slice’, derived from Schnitz ‘a cut’ (see schnitzen ‘to carve’) + -el ‘diminutive’.
Hawai‘ian:
aloha
From Hawai‘ian aloha ‘love, affection, greeting’.
lei
From Hawai‘ian lei ‘garland, wreath, necklace of flowers’.
ukulele
From Hawai‘ian ‘ukulele, from ‘uku flea, louse’ + lele ‘to fly, jump, leap’. So called
from the rapid motion of the fingers in playing it. It developed from a Portuguese
instrument introduced to the islands c.1879.
Hebrew:
kibbutz
From Hebrew qibbus ‘gathering’. In English: ‘Israeli collective settlement’.
Italian:
fascism
Derived from fascist, from Italian partito nazionale fascista, Benito Mussolini’s anti-
communist political movement, from Italian fascio ‘bundle, association, group’.
pasta
From Italian pasta ‘dough, paste, pasta’, itself from late Latin pasta ‘dough, cake,
paste’, borrowed from Greek pasta ‘barley porridge’.
pizza
From Italian pizza, originally ‘cake, pie’. Its origin is uncertain; it may be connected
with Greek pita ‘pita, flatbread’.
Japanese:
bonsai
From Japanese bon ‘basin, pot’ + sai ‘to plant’.
kamikaze
From Japanese kami ‘divine, god, providence’ + kaze ‘wind’. This was the name given a
typhoon in folklore which saved Japan from Mongol invaders by destroying Kublai
Khan’s fleet; it was applied to ‘suicide fliers’ in World War II.
Meaning: ‘divine wind’.
karaoke
From Japanese kara ‘empty’ + oke ‘orchestra’, a shortened form of okesutora, borrowed
from English orchestra.
29
karate
From Japanese kara ‘empty, bare’ + te ‘hand’.
origami
From Japanese origami, composed of ori ‘fold’ + kami ‘paper’.
Russian:
bolshevik
From Russian bol'shinstvo ‘majority, based on bol'shiy ‘greater’, from bol'shoy ‘big,
great’ (as in the Bolshoi Ballet). The majority faction at the Second Congress of the
Marxist Russian Social Democratic Workers’ Party was given the name Bol'sheviki, the
plural form, in 1903. It subsequently became the Russian Communist Party. In English it
came to mean also ‘an extreme radical’.
cosmonaut
From Russian kosmonavt, ultimately from Greek kosmos ‘universe’ + nautes ‘sailor
(English naval and nautical have the same root).
intelligentsia
From Russian intelligyentsiya ‘the intellectual class’, based on Latin intelligentia.
sputnik
From Russian sputnik ‘satellite’ (first launched Oct. 4, 1957), from s- ‘with, together’ +
put ‘way, path, journey’ + -nik ‘agent suffix’, literally ‘fellow traveler, traveling
companion’.
soviet
From Russian sovyet ‘council’.
gulag (also GULAG)

From Russian acronym of Glavnoe Upravlenie Ispravitel'no-Trudovykh Lagerei ‘Chief
Administration of Corrective Labor Camps’.
In English: a political labor camp.
Spanish:
aficionado
From Spanish aficionado ‘amateur’, specifically a ‘fan of bullfighting’, based on afición
‘affection’.
macho
From Spanish macho ‘male animal’, use as an adjective meaning ‘masculine, virile’
(from Latin masculus ‘masculine’ by regular sound changes in Spanish).
burrito
From Spanish burro ‘donkey, burro’ + -ito ‘diminutive’. The name burrito may come
from the appearance of the rolled up tortilla with meat and beans inside, somewhat
30
similar to a donkey’s ear or perhaps to the bedrolls and packs that donkeys carried.
nacho
From Spanish; the food is attributed to a restaurant cook, Ignacio Anaya, who is said to
have invented the dish in the border town of Piedras Negras. Nacho is the nickname for
men named Ignacio.
cilantro
From Spanish cilantro ‘cilantro, coriander’, a variant of Spanish culantro, from Latin
coriandrum ‘coriander’ (from which English gets coriander).
Swedish and Norwegian:

moped
From Swedish moped, a blending from (trampcykel med) mo(tor och) ped(aler) ‘bicycle
with motor and pedals’.
ombudsman
From Swedish ombudsman ‘commissioner, agent’, composed of ombud ‘commission’
(with om- ‘around’ + bud ‘bid, command’) + man ‘man’. Meaning: A government
official, especially in Scandinavian countries, who investigates citizens’ complaints
against the government or its functionaries.
slalom
From Norwegian slalåm ‘a race on skis’, from slad ‘sloping + låm ‘path’.
smorgasbord
From Swedish smörgåsbord ‘open sandwich table’, composed smörgås ‘bread and
butter’ (from smör ‘butter’ [related to English smear] + gås ‘lump of butter’ [historically
from ‘goose’ (related to English goose) + bord ‘table’ (compare English board).
In English: ‘a ski race down a winding course marked by flags or poles’.
Yiddish:
klutz
From Yiddish klots ‘clumsy person, blockhead’. (Compare German klotz ‘boor, clod’,
literally ‘wooden block’.)
maven (mavin)
From Yiddish meyvn, from Hebrew mevin (mebhin) ‘one who understands’.
Meaning: a trusted expert in a particular field.
putz
From Yiddish puts ‘ornament’. In earlier slang it had the sense of ‘penis’ and then ‘fool,
idiot’. Compare schmuck (shmuck) ‘obnoxious, contemptible or detestable person, stupid
31
or foolish person’, from Yiddish schmock ‘jewel, penis’; cf. German schmuck ‘jewel,
adornment’. (From the meaning ‘penis’, as in ‘the family jewels’.)
schmaltz
From Yiddish shmalts ‘melted fat’, extended to mean ‘excessive sentimentality,
especially in music’.
tush
From Yiddish, a shortened form of tukhus (tochus) from Yiddish tokhes ‘behind,
backside’, from Hebrew tahat ‘beneath’.
Meaning: ‘backside, buttocks’.
Exercise 3.3 Māori and English loanwords
(1) Based on the criteria for establishing loanwords and the direction of borrowing, determine
from the following lists of words which are borrowed into Māori from English and which are
borrowed into English from Māori. Note that Māori has the following inventory of sounds: /p, t,
k, φ, h, r, m, n, ŋ, r, i, e, a, o, u/. In the traditional orthography, /φ/ (voiceless bilabial fricative)
is spelled wh; /ŋ/ is spelled ng. Also, native Māori words permit no consonant clusters, rather
only syllables of the shape CV (a single consonant followed by a single vowel). (2) Can you say
anything about the pronunciation of the variety of English from which Māori took its English
loans? (3) What can you say about the social or cultural nature of the contact between speakers
of Māori and English? Can you identify semantic domains (areas of meaning) most susceptible
to borrowing in either of the languages? (4) How were words from one language modified to fit
the structure of the other?
1. hāhi ‘church’
2. haina ‘China; sign’
3. haka ‘haka, Māori dance’
4. haki ‘flag’ (< Union Jack)
5. hāma ‘hammer’
6. hānara ‘sandal’
7. hāngi ‘hangi, oven’ (hole in the ground with wrapped food placed on
heated stones in the pit with fire)
8. hānihi ‘harness’
9. hāpa ‘harp’
10. hāte ‘shirt’
11. hēmana ‘chairman’
12. hereni ‘shilling’
13. heti ‘shed’
14. hipi ‘sheep’
15. hiraka ‘silk’
16. hiriwa ‘silver’
17. hoeha ‘saucer’
18. hohipere ‘hospital’
32
19. hopa ‘job’
20. hōro ‘hall’
21. hū ‘shoe’
22. hui ‘meeting for discussion’
23. huka ‘sugar’
24. hūka ‘hook’
25. hupa ‘soup’
26. hūri ‘jury’
27. iāri ‘yard’
28. ihipa ‘Egypt’
29. ingarangi ‘England’
30. ingarihi ‘English’
31. inihi ‘inch’
32. iota ‘yacht’
33. iwi ‘iwi, Māori tribe’
34. kāka ‘cork’
35. kānara ‘colonel’
36. kapa ‘copper, penny’
37. kāpara ‘corporal’
38. kāpata ‘cupboard’
39. kara ‘collar’
40. karaehe ‘grass; glassware, tumbler; class’
41. karāhi ‘glass’
42. karahipi ‘scholarship’
43. karaka ‘clock; clerk’
44. karauna ‘crown’
45. kāreti ‘college; carrot; carriage’
46. kāta ‘cart’
47. kātaroera ‘castor oil’
48. kātipa ‘constable’
49. kaumātua ‘kaumatua, Māori elder’
50. kauri ‘kauri tree’
51. kāwana ‘governor’
52. kea ‘kea’ (mountain parrot)
53. kihi ‘kiss’
54. kirihimete ‘Christmas’
55. kiwi ‘kiwi bird’
56. kōmihana ‘commission’
57. kōti ‘court (of law); goat’
58. kuihipere ‘gooseberry’
59. kūmara ‘kumara, sweet potato’
60. kura ‘school’
61. māhi ‘mast’
62. mana ‘mana, influence, prestige’
63. māori ‘Māori, native people’ (in Māori māori means ‘clear, ordinary,
native New Zealander’)
33
64. marae ‘marae, enclosed meeting area’
65. marahihi ‘molasses’
66. moa ‘moa’ (very large extinct flightless bird)
67. mokopuna ‘mokopuna, grandchild’
68. motokā ‘car, automobile’ (< motor car)
69. nēhi ‘nurse’
70. ngaio ‘ngaio, coastal shrub’
71. ōkiha ‘ox’
72. ōriwa ‘olive’
73. otimira ‘oatmeal’
74. pā ‘pa, stockaded village’
75. pahi ‘bus’
76. paihikara ‘bicycle’
77. paitini ‘poison’
78. pāka ‘box’
79. pākehā ‘pakeha, European, non-Māori’
80. pāmu ‘farm’
81. pāoka ‘fork’
82. parakuihi ‘breakfast’
83. parama ‘plumber’
84. pāua ‘paua, abalone shell’
85. pāuna ‘pound’
86. perakēhi ‘pillowcase’
87. pereti ‘plate’
88. pī ‘bee’
89. pirihi ‘priest’
90. pirihimana ‘police(man)’
91. piriniha ‘prince’
92. piriti ‘bridge’
93. pōkiha ‘fox’
94. pōro ‘ball’
95. pukapuka ‘book’
96. pūkeko ‘pukeko, swamp hen’
97. pune ‘spoon’
98. purū ‘blue’
99. pūru ‘bull’
100. rare ‘lolly, sweets’
101. rata ‘doctor’
102. reme ‘lamb’
103. rērewē ‘railroad, railway’
104. rēwera ‘devil’
105. rīhi ‘dish; lease’
106. rimu ‘rimu, red pine’
107. rōre ‘lord’ (title)
108. rori ‘road’
109. takahē ‘takahe, bird species’ (Notoris mantelli)
34
110. tana ‘ton’
111. tangi ‘tangi, Māori mourning or lamentation’ (associated with funerals)
112. tāone ‘town’
113. taonga ‘taonga, heritage, Māori treasure, possessions’
114. tāra ‘dollar’
115. taraiki ‘strike’
116. tauiwi ‘tauiwi, non-Māori’
117. tēpu ‘table’
118. tiā ‘jar’
119. tiaka ‘jug’
120. tiamana ‘chairman; German’ (cf. hēmana)
121. tiāti ‘judge’
122. tīhi ‘cheese’
123. tōtara ‘totara’ (tree species, Podocarpus totara)
124. tui ‘tui, parson bird’
125. waka ‘waka, canoe’
126. wātene ‘warden’
127. weka ‘weka, woodhen’
128. wētā ‘weta, large insect species’ (Hemideina megacephala)
129. whakapapa ‘whakapapa, genealogy’
130. whānau ‘whanau, extended family’ (community of close fellows)
131. whatura ‘vulture’
132. whira ‘violin, fiddle’
133. whatura ‘vulture’
134. whira ‘violin, fiddle’
135. whīra ‘field’
136. whurū ‘flu’
137. whurutu ‘fruit’
138. whutupaoro ‘football’ (rugby)
139. wihara ‘whistle’
140. wra ‘wheel’
141. wōro ‘wall’
142. wuruhi ‘wolf
(1) The following are borrowed from Māori into English:

3. haka ‘haka, Māori men’s dance’
7. hāngi ‘hangi, oven’
63. māori ‘Māori, native people’
35
All the others are loans from English into Māori.
(2) Can you say anything about the pronunciation of the variety of English from which Māori
took its English loans?
These loans were probably taken from some variety of English with the following
properties:
[1] Non-rhotic (so-called “r-less” or lacking of non-pre-vocalic “r”), since Māori has /r/ but
borrowed such English words without “r”, as in hāma ‘hammer’ (also in 1., 5., 8., 10., 11., 23.,
57., 69., 101., 118., etc.) (But see 131. whatura ‘vulture’, which seems to reflect a rhotic
pronunciation.)
[2] The variety of English may have had final consonant-cluster simplification (for
example, mas’ instead of mast, borrowed as 61. māhi, not the expected ✘mahiti), since in cases
with consonant clusters, Māori typically broke up the consonants by inserting a vowel (for
example, as in: 15., 16., 18., 29., 31., 43., 44., 54., 82., 93., etc.), but did not insert a vowel in
these cases, but rather has nothing to represent what appears to be the consonant that was
dropped in consonant-cluster simplification (as in 61., 85., 89., 133., etc.).
[3] Possibly final “ng” [ŋ] was pronounced as “n’” [n], since Māori had ng [ŋ] and so could
have borrowed English words with final “ng” with its ng [ŋ], not with n, as seen in the single
example: 12. hereni ‘shilling’, not borrowed as ✘herengi.
[4] The English variety may have had l-vocalization, or perhaps a dark “l” (velarized l)
sometimes, for which Māori substituted an u as in 117. tēpu ‘table’ (see also 48.). (In varieties
of English with vocalized l in this environment, the pronunciation of table is more like [teibo,
teibɤ].) However, in most words, Māori substituted r for English final l.
[5] The English variety may have had /a/ in words where some other varieties have open
“o” ([ɔ]), since they were borrowed in Māori with a, not with o (as in 34., 37., 43., 77., 78.),
36
though this is not true of all forms; some have an o vowel in the borrowing in Māori (see 17.-
20., 71.-72., 81., 93.-94.).
(3) What can you say about the social or cultural nature of the contact between speakers of
Māori and English? Can you identify semantic domains (areas of meaning) most susceptible to
borrowing in either of the languages?
English borrowed from Māori words for newly encountered plants and animals:
And Englishe borrowed terms specific to Māori culture and society:

3. haka ‘haka, Māori men’s dance’
7. hāngi ‘hangi, oven’
63. māori ‘Māori, native people’
Māori borrowed much from English, representing plants, animals, foods, and implements of
acculturation, aspects of English law, military, religion, society, sports, etc. – representing
English influence in many spheres.
(4) How were words from one language modified to fit the structure of the other?
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English modified Māori words only slightly, since English had all the consonants and
vowels Māori has. Vowel length is dropped in English loans, and the initial velar nasal was
modified, for example in 70. ngaio ‘coastal shrub’, usually pronounced just /nai.o/ in English.
Māori, on the other hand, modified English words considerably to adopt them to the
phonological structure of Māori words.
[1] Voiced stops were made voiceless (as in 13., 23., 40.-41., 57.-58., 75.-76., 78., 92.,
98., etc.).
[2] All English sibilants (s, š, č, z, ž, ǰ) were borrowed as /h/ (as in 1.-2., 6., 10.-19., 21.,
23., 25.-26., 28., 31., 41.-42., 53.-54., 56., 58., etc.), though sometimes /ti/ is substituted for
English /ǰ/ (as in 45., 92., 118.-119., 121.-122.).
[3] English consonant clusters are broken up by the insertion of a vowel in the Māori
loans (as in 15.-16., 18., 29.-31., 43.-44., 54., 58., etc.).
[4] Initial consonant clusters with initial s usually drop the s, as in 60. kura ‘school’, and
in115. taraiki ‘strike’, where s is not represented, but tr are, broken up by the insertions of a (for
other examples see 42., 97., 137.)
[5] Māori adds a vowel at the end of consonant-final words (as in 1., 4., 6., 8.-20., 24.-
32., 34.-35., 38., 40.-47., 53.-54., etc.).
[6] The l of English is replaced by r in borrowings into Māori (as in 6., 12., 15.-16., 18.,
20., 29.-30., 35., 39., 41.-43., 45., 47., 60., etc.).
[7] Māori w usually replaces English /v/ (as in 16., 51., 72., 104).
[8] Māori wh replaces English /f/ and sometimes /v/ (as in 131.-136.).
Exercise 3.4 Spanish loanwords
The following is a list of borrowings in Spanish from different languages. What historical and
cultural inferences might you suggest about the nature of the contact between speakers of
Spanish and each of these other languages based on these? Concentrate on the Germanic and
Arabic contacts. Which of the non-Germanic words do you think were further borrowed later
from Spanish to English (or from Spanish to French and then on to English)?
From Celtic loans, already in Latin (from Gaul), inherited in Spanish:
abedul ‘birch tree’, bragas ‘breeches, trousers’, camisa ‘shirt’, carro ‘cart’, cerveza ‘beer’.
From Germanic (Swabians in Galicia; Vandals, Alans; Franks – Visigoths entered Spain in
AD 412). Loans: eslabón ‘link’, ganar ‘to gain, win, earn’, ganso ‘goose’; bandera ‘flag’, botín
‘booty’, dardo ‘dart’, espiar ‘to spy’, espuela ‘spur’, guardar ‘guard’, guerra ‘war’, guía
‘guide’, hacha ‘axe’, robar ‘to rob’, yelmo ‘helmet’; arpa ‘harp’, banco ‘bench’, barón ‘baron’,
blanco ‘white’, brasa ‘live coal’, estaca ‘stake’, falda ‘skirt’, gris ‘grey’, guante ‘glove’, rico
‘rich’, ropa ‘clothing’, sopa ‘soup’, tacaño ‘stingy’, toalla ‘towel’; norte ‘north’, sur ‘south’,
este ‘east’, oeste ‘west’; personal names: Anfonso, Elvira, Federico, Fernando, Francisco,
Gonzalo, Matilde, Ricardo, Rodrigo; and so on.
From Arabic (Moors landed in Spain in AD 711; by 718 they had spread over most of the
Peninsula, where they remained until the recapture of Granada in 1492). Loans: Guad- ‘river’
(in place names, for example, Guadalajara ‘river of stones’, Guadarrama ‘river of sand’);
alcázar ‘castle’ (corruption of Latin castrum with Arabic article al-), alférez ‘ensign’, alcalde
‘mayor’, atalaya ‘watchtower’, aldea ‘village’, almacén ‘storehouse’, barrio ‘district of city’,
adobe (sun-dried brick), albañil ‘mason’, alcoba ‘bedroom’ (alcove), alfarero ‘potter’, bazar
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‘bazaar’, alfiler ‘pin’, alfombra ‘rug’, almohada ‘pillow’, ataúd ‘coffin’, aceite ‘oil’, aceituna
‘olive’, albaricoque ‘apricot’, alcachofa ‘artichoke’, alfalfa ‘alfalfa’, algodón ‘cotton’, arroz
‘rice’, azúcar ‘sugar’, limón ‘lemon’, naranja ‘orange’, jazmín ‘jasmine’, alcohol ‘alcohol’,
cero ‘zero’, cifra ‘cipher’, cenit ‘zenith’, albóndiga ‘meat ball’, azul ‘blue’, matar ‘to kill’
(Arabic mat ‘dead, checkmate’), mono ‘monkey’, ojalá ‘if Allah will (oh I wish)’, res ‘cattle’.
From Taino (Arawakan): canoa ‘canoe’, iguana ‘iguana’, nigua ‘nit’, maíz ‘maize, corn’,
ají ‘chili pepper’, yuca ‘sweet manioc’, tuna ‘fruit of prickly pear cactus’, barbacoa ‘barbecue’,
batata ‘sweet potato’, enagua ‘petticoat, skirt, native skirt’, huracán ‘hurricane’, sabana
‘savanna’, macana ‘club’, cacique ‘chief’; bejuco ‘vine’, maní ‘peanut’.
From Carib: caníbal ‘cannibal’, manatí ‘manatee (sea cow)’, loro ‘parrot’, colibrí
‘hummingbird’, caimán ‘cayman, alligator species’, caribe ‘Carib’, ‘Caribbean’.
From Nahuatl: hule ‘rubber’, tiza ‘chalk’, petaca ‘covered hamper, trunk, suitcase’, coyote
‘coyote’, ocelote ‘ocelot’, sinsonte ‘mocking bird’, guajolote ‘turkey’, chocolate ‘chocolate’,
cacao ‘cacao, cocoa’, chicle ‘gum, chicle’, tomate ‘tomato’, aguacate ‘avocado’, cacahuete
‘peanut’, tamal ‘tamale’, jícara ‘gourd cup, small gourd bowl’, metate ‘quern, grinding-stone’,
mecate ‘string, twine’, pulque ‘pulque (drink from century plant juice)’, achiote ‘bixa (food
dye)’, camote ‘sweet potato’, ayote ‘pumpkin’, chayote ‘chayote (a vegetable)’, elote ‘ear of
corn’, nopal ‘prickly pear cactus’, guacamole ‘guacamole’, cuate ‘buddy, twin’, caite ‘sandal’.
From Quechua: pampa ‘pampa’, papa ‘potato’, coca ‘coca’, quino ‘quinine’, mate ‘mate (a
strong tea)’, guano ‘guano (bird fertilizer)’, llama ‘llama’, vicuña ‘vicuña’ (llama species),
alpaca ‘alpaca’ (llama species), cóndor ‘condor’, inca ‘Inca’, gaucho ‘gaucho’ (cowboy/
horseman).
From Tupi-Guarani: jaguar ‘jaguar’, piraña ‘piranha’ (violent fish), tapioca ‘tapioca’,
ananás ‘pineapple’.
From English: bistec ‘beefsteak’, ron ‘rum’, huisqui/whisky ‘whisky’, orange crush
‘Orange Crush (a soft drink)’, sandwich/sanduche/sanguich ‘sand-wich’, panqueque ‘pancake’,
lonche ‘lunch’, boicot/boicotear ‘boycott’, clip ‘paperclip’, piqueteo ‘picketing’/piquetear ‘to
picket’, yate ‘yacht’, parquear ‘to park’, parqueo ‘parking place’, bumper/bómper ‘car
bumper’, jet ‘jet’, stop ‘stop’, jeep ‘jeep’; clóset ‘water closet, toilet’, plywood/plaiwud
‘plywood’, álbum ‘album’, bar ‘bar’, film(e)/filmar ‘film’/‘to film’, show ‘show’, ticket/tiquete
‘ticket’, sex appeal/sexapil ‘sex appeal’, stress/estrés ‘stress’, spray/espréi ‘spray’,
chequear/checar ‘to check’.
(For some of these and for further examples, see Campbell 1997a;
Corominas and Pascal1980; Lapesa 1981; Resnik 1981; Spaulding 1965.)
What historical and cultural inferences might you suggest about the nature of the contact
between speakers of Spanish and each of these other languages based on these? Concentrate on
the Germanic and Arabic contacts.
From Germanic:
Germanic speakers had influence in the military sphere, based on such borrowed terms
as: bandera ‘flag’, botín ‘booty’, dardo ‘dart’, espiar ‘to spy’, guardar ‘guard’, guerra ‘war’,
yelmo ‘helmet’, and hacha ‘axe’. There was some influence in clothing: ropa ‘clothing’, falda
‘skirt’, guante ‘glove’, and toalla ‘towel’. Some colour terms were borrowed: blanco ‘white’
and gris ‘grey’. There was influence in terms for rank, wealth, and commerce: ganar ‘to gain,
win, earn’, barón ‘baron’, and rico ‘rich’. The terms for directions were borrowed: norte
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‘north’, sur ‘south’, este ‘east’, oeste ‘west’ (note that some of these co-exist along side non-
Germanic words for directions: occidente (also poniente) ‘west’, and oriente ‘east’).
From Arabic: (NOTE: many of these loans have incorporated in them the Arabic article al-
‘the’.)
Arabic speakers influenced Spain in the following domains:
Government, cities, towns, and building: alcázar ‘castle’ (modification of Latin castrum
‘building or plot of land for military defense’, with the Arabic article al-), alcalde ‘mayor’,
aldea ‘village’, almacén ‘storehouse’, barrio ‘district of city’, adobe (sun-dried brick),
albañil ‘mason’, alcoba ‘bedroom’ (alcove),
Household items: almohada ‘pillow’, alfiler ‘pin’, alfombra ‘rug’,
Military: alférez ‘ensign’, atalaya ‘watchtower’, bazar ‘bazaar’,
Foods and plants: aceite ‘oil’, aceituna ‘olive’, albaricoque ‘apricot’, alcachofa ‘artichoke’,
arroz ‘rice’, azúcar ‘sugar’, limón ‘lemon’, naranja ‘orange’, albóndiga ‘meatball’, alfalfa
‘alfalfa’, algodón ‘cotton’, jazmín ‘jasmine’,
Mathematics and learning: cero ‘zero’, cifra ‘cipher’, and cenit ‘zenith’.
From Taino:
The indigenous languages that Columbus encountered contributed to Spanish terms mostly for
new foods and food plants not previously known: maíz ‘maize, corn’, ají ‘chili pepper’,
yuca ‘sweet manioc’, tuna ‘fruit of prickly pear cactus’, barbacoa ‘barbecue’, batata
‘sweet potato’, and maní ‘peanut’.
A few items that reflect the culture and items important to speakeres of Taino were aslo
borrowed: cacique ‘chief’, canoa ‘canoe’, macana ‘club’, enagua ‘petticoat, skirt, native
skirt’, sabana ‘savanna’, etc.
A few other plants, animals, and other things first encountered in the New World: iguana
‘iguana’, nigua ‘nit’, huracán ‘hurricane’, bejuco ‘vine’.
From Carib:
Spanish borrowed terms for newly encountered animals: manatí ‘manatee (sea cow)’, loro
‘parrot’, colibrí ‘hummingbird’, caimán ‘cayman (alligator species’).
For people Columbus encountered: caníbal ‘cannibal’, caribe ‘Carib’, ‘Caribbean’. Note that
caníbal and caribe have the same origin. Columbus wrote that in the islands he discovered
there was great “Caribs” who were called “Caniba” in some islands but were called “Carib”
on Hispaniola. They were said to eat anyone they captured.
From Nahuatl:
Spanish was heavily influence by Nahuatl in several spheres, including:
Foods and food plants: guajolote ‘turkey’, chocolate ‘chocolate’, cacao ‘cacao, cocoa’, chicle
‘gum, chicle’, tomate ‘tomato’, aguacate ‘avocado’, cacahuete or cacahuate ‘peanut’,
tamal ‘tamale’, pulque ‘pulque (drink from century plant juice)’, achiote ‘bixa (food dye)’,
camote ‘sweet potato’, ayote ‘pumpkin’, chayote ‘chayote (a vegetable)’, elote ‘ear of
corn’, nopal ‘prickly pear cactus’, guacamole ‘guacamole’.
New World animals: coyote ‘coyote’, ocelote ‘ocelot’, sinsonte ‘mocking bird’.
Material culture: petaca ‘covered hamper, trunk, suitcase’, jícara ‘gourd cup, small gourd
bowl’, metate ‘quern, grinding-stone’, mecate ‘string, twine’, hule ‘rubber’, tiza ‘chalk’,
40
caite ‘sandal’.
From Quechua:
Quechua influence on Spanish was primarily in the area of new plants and animals.
New World plants: papa ‘potato’, coca ‘coca’, quino ‘quinine’, mate ‘mate (a strong tea)’,
New World animals: llama ‘llama’, vicuña ‘vicuña’ (llama species), alpaca ‘alpaca’ (llama
species), cóndor ‘condor’, guano ‘guano (bird fertilizer)’
From Tupi-Guarani:
New World animals, plants, and food: jaguar ‘jaguar’, piraña ‘piranha’ (fish species), ananás
‘pineapple’, tapioca ‘tapioca’.
From English:
English has had and continues to have influence on Spanish in a number of areas; those
represented in this list include terms pertaining to:
Foods and drinks: bistec ‘beefsteak’, sandwich/sanduche/sanguich ‘sandwich’, panqueque
‘pancake’, lonche ‘lunch’, ron ‘rum’, huisqui/whisky ‘whisky’, orange crush ‘Orange
Crush (a soft drink)’.
Automobiles and airplanes: parquear ‘to park’, parqueo ‘parking place’, bumper/bómper ‘car
bumper’, jet ‘jet’, stop ‘stop’, jeep ‘jeep’.
Arts and entertainment: film(e)/filmar ‘film’/‘to film’, show ‘show’, ticket/tiquete ‘ticket’, sex
appeal/sexapil ‘sex appeal’, álbum ‘album’.
Economics and labor: boicot/boicotear ‘boycott’, piqueteo ‘picketing’/piquetear ‘to picket’
Which of the non-Germanic words do you think were further borrowed later from Spanish to
English (or from Spanish to French and then on to English)?
From Arabic: barrio ‘district of city’, adobe (sun-dried brick), alcoba ‘bedroom’ > alcove,
bazar ‘bazaar’, albaricoque ‘apricot’ > apricot, alcachofa ‘artichoke’ > artichoke (via
Italian), alfalfa ‘alfalfa’, algodón ‘cotton’ > cotton, azúcar ‘sugar’, limón ‘lemon’ > lemon,
naranja ‘orange’ > orange (via French), jazmín ‘jasmine’ > jasmine, alcohol ‘alcohol’,
cero ‘zero’ > zero, cifra ‘cipher’ > cipher, cenit ‘zenith’ > zenith, albóndiga ‘meat ball’,
azul ‘blue’,
From Taino (Arawakan): canoa ‘canoe’ > canoe, iguana ‘iguana’, maíz ‘maize, corn’ > maize,
barbacoa ‘barbecue’ > barbacue (via French), batata ‘sweet potato’ > potato,
From Carib: caníbal ‘cannibal’ > cannibal, manatí ‘manatee (sea cow) > manatee’, caimán
‘cayman > cayman, caribe ‘Carib’, ‘Caribbean’ > Carib, Caribbean.
From Nahuatl: coyote ‘coyote’, ocelote ‘ocelot’, chocolate ‘chocolate’, cacao ‘cacao, cocoa’ >
cacao, cocoa, chicle ‘gum, chicle’ > chile, tomate ‘tomato’ > tomato, aguacate ‘avocado’ >
avacodo, tamal ‘tamale’ > tamale, metate ‘quern, grinding-stone’, pulque ‘pulque (drink
from century plant juice)’, guacamole ‘guacamole’.
From Quechua: pampa ‘pampa’, coca ‘coca’ > coca, cocaine, quino ‘quinine’ > quinine, mate
‘mate (a strong tea)’, guano ‘guano (bird fertilizer)’, llama ‘llama’, vicuña ‘vicuña’ (llama
species), alpaca ‘alpaca’ (llama species), cóndor ‘condor’ > condor, inca ‘Inca’, gaucho
‘gaucho’ (cowboy/horseman).
From Tupi-Guarani: jaguar ‘jaguar’, piraña ‘piranha’ > piranha, tapioca ‘tapioca’.
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Exercise 3.5 Loanwords in Japanese
The following is a list of some of the loanwords into Japanese, primarily from English
(though some other European languages may be involved in a few of these). How has
Japanese modified the foreign sounds to fit its phonology? What arguments can you make to
show that the direction of borrowing is indeed from English into Japanese? State your
evidence.
NOTE: Japanese permits no syllable-final consonants other than -n; it does not tolerate
consonant clusters other than -nC, though geminates [double consonants] are allowed, and
the only word-final consonant is -n. In Japanese, /t/ is [ts] before u, [č] ([tʃ]) before i, and [t]
elsewhere; similarly, /s/ is [š] ([ʃ]) before i. Japanese has no l or v, and no h before u (only f),
and no ə.
1. aidea ‘idea’
2. aidoru ‘idol’ (celebrity)
3. airon ‘iron’ (appliance)
4. aisukurīmu ‘ice cream’
5. amachua ‘amateur’
6. ampaia ‘umpire’
7. asuterisuku ‘asterisk’
8. ba ‘bar’
9. baffaro ‘buffalo’
10. bagen ‘bargain, sale’
11. baiburu ‘Bible’
12. baiorin ‘violin’
13. baitaritī ‘vitality’
14. bajji ‘badge’
15. baketsu ‘bucket’
16. ban ‘van’
17. bando ‘band, belt’
18. baraddo ‘ballad’
19. barē-boru ‘volleyball’
20. basuketto ‘basket’
21. basu-taminaru ‘bus terminal’
22. bata ‘butter’
23. batterī ‘battery’
24. batto ‘(baseball) bat’
25. bēju ‘beige’
26. bekon ‘bacon’
27. benchi ‘bench’
28. beruto ‘belt’
29. bifuteki ‘beefsteak’
30. bīru ‘beer’
31. bīrusu ‘virus’ (cf. uirusu)
32. bitamin ‘vitamin’
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33. bōi sukauto ‘Boy Scout’
34. borantia ‘volunteer’
35. boru ‘ball’
36. boru ‘bowl’ (stadium)
37. borutto ‘bolt’ (headed metal pin)
38. bosu ‘boss’
39. botan ‘button’
40. bumu ‘boom’ (in prosperity)
41. burajā ‘bra’ (< brassiere)
42. burausu ‘blouse’
43. buresuretto ‘bracelet’
44. burijji ‘bridge’ (card game)
45. burondo ‘blond’
46. buronzu ‘bronze’
47. chata ‘charter’
48. chato ‘chart’
49. channeru ‘channel’
50. chansu ‘chance’
51. chīfu ‘chief’
52. chīmuwāku ‘teamwork’
53. chīzu ‘cheese’
54. chokorēto ‘chocolate’
55. chūbu ‘tube’
56. daietto ‘diet’
57. daiyamondo ‘diamond’
58. dansu ‘dance’
59. depato ‘department store’
60. dezato ‘dessert’
61. doa ‘door’
62. doraggu sutoa ‘drugstore’
63. doresu ‘dress’
64. doru ‘dollar’
65. epuron ‘apron’
66. erebeta ‘elevator, lift’
67. fan ‘fan’ (admirer)
68. firumu ‘film’
69. fōku ‘fork’
70. fūdo ‘hood’
71. furaipan ‘frying pan’
72. furokku-koto ‘frock-coat’
73. furutsu jusu ‘fruit juice’
74. gādoru ‘girdle’
75. garasu ‘glass, pane’
76. garēji ‘garage’
77. garon ‘gallon’
78. gāru sukauto ‘Girl Scout’
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79. gasorin ‘gasoline’
80. gāta ‘garter’
81. gēmu ‘game’
82. gōru ‘goal’
83. gorufu ‘golf’
84. goshippu ‘gossip’
85. gureibī ‘gravy’
86. gurōbu ‘glove’
87. gyamburu ‘gamble’
88. gyaroppu ‘gallop’
89. hābu ‘herb’
90. hado-wea ‘hardware’ (computer)
91. hambāga ‘hamburger’
92. hamma ‘hammer’
93. hamu ‘ham’
94. hamueggu ‘ham and eggs’
95. handoru ‘handle, steering wheel’
96. hankachi ‘handkerchief’
97. herumetto ‘helmet’
98. hinto ‘hint’
99. hitto ‘hit’
100. hotto doggu ‘hotdog’
101. hyuzu ‘fuse’
102. inchi ‘inch’
103. indekkusu ‘index’
104. infuruenza ‘flu’
105. īsuto ‘yeast’
106. jāji ‘jersey’
107. jakketto ‘jacket’
108. jamu ‘jam’
109. jampa ‘jumper’
110. jazu ‘jazz’
111. jigu-zagu ‘zigzag’
112. jīnzu ‘jeans’
113. jippa ‘zipper’
114. kādo ‘card’
115. karu ‘curl’
116. katen ‘curtain’
117. katon ‘carton’
118. kan ‘can, tin’
119. kareji ‘college’
120. katarogu ‘catalogue’
121. kaunta ‘counter’
122. kēki ‘cake’
123. kisu ‘caress, kiss’
124. kochi ‘coach’ (trainer)
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125. kōhī ‘café, coffee’
126. kokku ‘cook’
127. komasharu ‘commercial’
128. komedī ‘comedy’
129. kompakuto disuku ‘compact disk’
130. kompyuta ‘computer’
131. komyunikeshon ‘communication’
132. konkurīto ‘concrete’ (building material)
133. kopī ‘copy’
134. koppu ‘cup’
135. kurabu ‘club’
136. kuraimakkusu ‘climax’
137. kuriketto ‘cricket’ (game)
138. kyabetsu ‘cabbage’
139. kyabia ‘caviar’
140. kyampasu ‘campus’
141. kyampen ‘campaign’
142. kyampu ‘camp’
143. kyandī ‘candy’
144. kyaputen ‘captain’ (chief, leader)
145. māchi ‘march’
146. māketto ‘market’
147. māmarēdo ‘marmalade’
148. manēja ‘manager’
149. maton ‘mutton’
150. memba ‘member’
151. merodī ‘melody’
152. meron ‘melon’
153. mineraru uota ‘mineral water’
154. miruku ‘milk’
155. mishin ‘sewing machine’
156. morutaru ‘mortar’
157. myūjikaru ‘musical’ (play)
158. naifu ‘knife’
159. namba ‘number’
160. napukin ‘napkin’
161. nattsu ‘nut’
162. nekutai ‘necktie’
163. nettowāku ‘network’
164. nikkeru ‘nickel’
165. nūdoru ‘noodle’
166. nyūsu ‘news’
167. ōba ‘overcoat’
168. ōbun ‘oven’
169. ōke ‘O.K.’
170. ōkesutora ‘orchestra’
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171. ofisu ‘office’
172. omuretsu ‘omelette’
173. orenji ‘orange’
174. oribu ‘olive(s)’
175. pai ‘pie’
176. painappuru ‘pineapple’
177. painto ‘pint’
178. paionia ‘pioneer’
179. paipu ‘pipe’
180. paipu-orugan ‘organ’ (musical instrument)
181. panchi ‘punch’ (fruit punch) (cf. also ponchi, ponsu)
182. paneru ‘panel’
183. panfuretto ‘pamphlet’
184. panikku ‘panic’
185. pantī ‘panties’
186. pantsu ‘underpants, shorts, drawers’
187. parēdo ‘parade’
188. parupu ‘pulp (wood-pulp)’
189. pāsento ‘percent’
190. pasupōto ‘passport’
191. pātī ‘party’
192. patoron ‘patron’
193. paturōru ‘patrol’
194. pējento ‘pageant’
195. pedaru ‘pedal’
196. pen ‘pen’
197. pēsuto ‘paste’
198. perikan ‘pelican’
199. pikunikku ‘picnic’
200. pin ‘pin’
201. pīnatsu ‘peanut’
202. pinku ‘pink’
203. piru ‘pill’
204. pisutoru ‘pistol’
205. poketto ‘pocket’
206. pondo ‘pound’
207. ponsu ‘punch‘ (fruit punch) (cf. also panchi, ponchi)
208. posutā ‘poster’
209. posuto ‘mailbox, postbox’
210. puragu ‘plug’ (electric)
211. puramu ‘plum’
212. purasuchikku ‘plastic’
213. purin ‘pudding’ (cf. also pudingu)
214. pūru ‘pool’
215. rādo ‘lard’
216. raberu ‘label’
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217. raifuru- ‘rifle’
218. raimu ‘lime’
219. rain ‘line’
220. rajieta ‘radiator’
221. rajio ‘radio’
222. ramu ‘rum’
223. rampu ‘lamp’
224. rantan ‘lantern’
225. raunji ‘lounge’
226. rejisuta ‘register’
227. rekōdo ‘record’
228. repōto ‘report’
229. renji ‘stove’ (cooking stove, < ‘range’)
230. rēsu ‘lace’
231. renzu ‘lens’
232. resuringu ‘wrestling’
233. retasu ‘lettuce’
234. ribon ‘ribbon’
235. rinen ‘linen’
236. risuto ‘list’
237. rizoto ‘resort’
238. rizumu ‘rhythm’
239. romansu ‘romance’
240. rosuto chikin ‘roast chicken’
241. sākasu ‘circus’
242. sain ‘sign, signal, signature’
243. sararī ‘salary’
244. sāroin ‘sirloin’
245. sekkusu ‘sex’
246. serori ‘celery’
247. sēta ‘sweater’
248. shaberu ‘shovel’
249. shatsu ‘shirt’ (cf. waishatsu ‘dress shirt’ < ‘white shirt’)
250. sheruta ‘shelter’
251. shiringu ‘shilling’
252. shiroppu ‘syrup’
253. shisuta ‘sister’
254. shīzun ‘season’
255. sho ‘show’ (entertainment)
256. shokku ‘shock’
257. shoru ‘shawl’
258. sokkusu ‘socks’
259. sōda ‘soda’
260. sōsēji ‘sausage’
261. suchimu ‘steam’
262. suchuwādo ‘steward’ (aeroplane)
47
263. suchuwadesu ‘stewardess’
264. sukejuru ‘schedule’
265. sukurīn ‘screen’ (movie screen)
266. sukuryu ‘screw’
267. sukyandaru ‘scandal’
268. sukato ‘skirt’
269. sumāto ‘smart’ (fashionable)
270. supaisu ‘spice’
271. superu ‘spelling’
272. supīka ‘speaker’ (loudspeaker)
273. suponji ‘sponge’
274. supōtsu ‘sport’
275. sūpu ‘soup’
276. supūn ‘spoon’
277. supurē ‘spray’
278. supurinkura ‘sprinkler’
279. surakkusu ‘slacks’
280. surangu ‘slang’
281. surippa ‘slipper(s)’
282. surōgan ‘slogan’
283. sutā ‘star’ (film star)
284. sutairu ‘style’
285. sutajio ‘studio’
286. sutēki ‘steak’
287. sutenresu ‘stainless steel’
288. sutōbu ‘stove’ (heating stove)
289. sutoraiki ‘strike’ (by employees)
290. sutoraiku ‘strike’ (in baseball)
291. sūtsukesu ‘suitcase’
292. sutsūru ‘stool’
293. taipuraita ‘typewriter’
294. tairu ‘tile’
295. taiya ‘tyre’
296. takkuru ‘tackle’ (in football)
297. takushi ‘cab, taxi’
298. tambura ‘tumbler’ (drinking glass)
299. tātorunekku ‘turtleneck’
300. tēburu ‘table’
301. tenisu ‘tennis’
302. terebi(jon) ‘television’
303. tīn-eija ‘teenager’
304. toire ‘toilet’ (lavatory)
305. ton ‘ton’
306. torakku ‘truck’
307. torikku ‘trick’
308. tōsuto ‘toast’
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309. tsuīdo ‘tweed’
310. ueita ‘waiter’
311. ueitoresu ‘waitress’
312. uesuto ‘waist’
313. uīkuendo ‘weekend’
314. uinku ‘wink’
315. uirusu ‘virus’ (cf. bīrusu)
316. wain ‘wine’
317. wakuchin ‘vaccine’
318. wanisu ‘varnish’
319. yādo ‘yard (measure)’
320. yotto ‘yacht’
321. yunifomu ‘uniform’
How has Japanese modified the foreign sounds to fit its phonology?
English vowels /a/, /æ/, /ʌ/ or /ǝ/, and /ɚ/ (the last spelled <er>, <or>, <ur>, <ar> at times)
are adapted as Japanese /a/ (as for example in 1., 5.-9., 14., 15.-18., 49.-50., 91-96., 109., 148.-
150., etc.)
English non-pre-vocalic “r” is lacking in the loanwords. (Many examples. Perhaps this
reflects contact with a non-rhotic variety of English.)
English lax /ɪ/ is borrowed as /i/. (Many examples, as in 98.-99., 111., 123., etc.) English
tense /i/ is typically borrowed as /ī/ (many examples).
English /u/ and /ʊ/ are borrowed as /u/ or /ū/ (several examples).
English /e/ is mostly borrowed as /ē/, and /ɛ/ as /e/, though there are some cases of /e/
borrowed as /e/, and a few of /ɛ/ borrowed as /ē/ (in 247. ‘sweater’, probably influenced by the
spelling).
English /o/ and /ɔ/ are typically borrowed with /o/ or /ō/ (many examples).
English /w/ is borrowed as /w/ before /a/ (as in 316.-318), but usually as /u/ before other
vowels (for example, 310.-315.). English prevocalic /y/ ([j]) is typically borrowed as /y/ (many
examples, though /yi/ is borrowed as /ī/ (as in 105. ‘yeast’). Japanese seems to have borrowed a
more British-like pronunciation in forms such as nyūsu ‘news’, more like the British /nyuz/
([njuz]) ‘news’ than the /nuz/ of most American dialects (non-Southern ones) (as in: 166., 266.)
In cases of English syllabic “l” and nasals, a vowel appears in the Japanese loan, usually
the vowel corresponding with English spelling (see: 2. aidoru ‘idol’ (celebrity), 164., nikkeru
‘nickel’, 3., 11., 74., 95., 116.-117., 149., 168., 182., 195., 234., 254., etc.).
English /l/ is borrowed as /r/ (many examples).
English /v/ is adapted to Japanese /b/ (as in (as in 2. baiorin ‘violin’; see 13., 16., 19., 31.,
167.-168., 302., etc.).
English /ž/ (IPA [ʒ]) is taken over as Japanese /j/ ([ǰ]) (as in 25. bēju ‘beige’, 76.)
English /f/ is generally borrowed as Japanese /f/ (really [ɸ]) (many examples); but it is
borrowed as /h/ when before /i/ or /y/ (as in 101. hyūzu ‘fuse’, 125. kōhī ‘café, coffee’).
English /h/ is generally borrowed as Japanese /h/, but is borrowed as /f/ (really [ɸ]) before
/u/, consistent with Japanese constraints on /h/ (see 70. fūdo ‘hood’).
English /ð/ appears to be borrowed as /z/, though there is only one example, 238. rizumu
‘rhythm’.
English /k/ and /g/ before /æ/ are borrowed as /ky/ and /gy/ respectively (as in 138.-144.,
267., and in 87.-88.).
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Japanese breaks up the consonant clusters in the English loans by inserting a vowel,
usually /u/, as in: 297. takushi ‘taxi’, and in 265. sukurīn ‘screen’ (which has two inserted
vowels to break up the three consonants of the cluster, skr > sukur... (see also 7., 28.-29., 37.,
42.-46., 73., 261.-292., etc.). [NOTE: this u is often voiceless in many of these words,
depending on the phonological environment in which it appears.]
There is a tendency for plain voiceless stops in English to be replaced by geminate
voiceless stops between short vowels, as in: 20. basuketto ‘basket’, 84. goshippu ‘gossip’, 103.
indekkusu ‘index’ (see also: 24., 37., 43., 62., 72., 88., 97., 100., 307., etc.). This is especially
true if the English word is spelled with double consonants, as in 281. surippa ‘slippers’, or 306.
torakku ‘truck’ (with ck).
Following Japanese phonological patterns, alveolar stops and fricatives are palatalized to
affricates before /i/, as in: 52. chīmuwāku ‘teamwork’, 111. jigu-zagu ‘zigzag’, 253. shisuta
‘sister’, and 254. shīzun ‘season’ (also in 84., 106., 113., 157., 212., 220., 252., 261., 264., 285.,
302., 317., etc.).
In Japanese, /t/ is [ts] before /u/, seen in 292. sutsūru ‘stool’ (also in 15., 73., 138., 161.,
172., 201., 249., 274., 291., 309.). Note that the /č/ of 55. chūbu ‘tube’, 262. suchuwādo
‘steward’, and 263. suchuwadesu ‘stewardess’ reflect not the /tu/ English of most varieties of
American English, but rather the /tyu/, as in British English in these words.
Also Japanese has /s/ before /u/, leading English words with /š/ (IPA [ʃ]) to be borrowed
with /s/ in this environment in the loanwords, as in 318. wanisu ‘varnish’, see also 207.
Note that some of the English loans do not conform to the distribution of the native
sounds in Japanese.
What arguments can you make to show that the direction of borrowing is indeed from English
into Japanese? State your evidence.
Morphological complexity clues – a good number of these forms are polymorphemic in
English, but monomorphemic in Japanese, suggesting the English forms, with their internal
morphological analysis, are the sources of these loans, for example: 4. aisukurīmu ‘ice cream’,
13. baitaritī ‘vitality’, 52. chīmuwāku ‘teamwork’, 66. erebeta ‘elevator’, 71. furaipan ‘frying
pan’, 94. hamueggu ‘ham and eggs’, 96. hankachi ‘handkerchief’, 112. jīnzu ‘jeans’, 130.
kompyuta ‘computer’, 131. komyunikeshon ‘communication’, etc.
Geographical and ecological clues – things not natively found in Japan, foreign to Japan:
9. baffaro ‘buffalo, 54. chokorēto ‘chocolate, 125. kōhī ‘coffee’, 174. oribu ‘olive’, 176.
painappuru ‘pineapple’, 201. pīnatsu ‘peanut’, 251. shiringu ‘shilling.
Phonological clues – forms that contain sounds not native to Japanese or which violate
Japanese phonological patterns:
5. amachua ‘amateur’ (with ch instead of expected ts before u);
25. bēju ‘beige’ (with j before u);
34. borantia ‘volunteer’, (with t before i instead of expected ch);
47. chata ‘charter’, 48. chato ‘chart’, 49. channeru ‘channel’, 50. chansu ‘chance, 55., 262.,
263. (with ch before a vowel other than i);
127. komasharu ‘commercial’, 131. komyunikeshon ‘communication’, 248.-250., 255.-257.
(with sh before a vowel other than i).
Other semantic clues – the clues to the direction of change for some of the loans involve
various semantic considerations, some perhaps associated with one of the other categories
already mentioned (geographical and ecological clues). For example, we might assume 11.
baiburu ‘Bible’ is a loan because Christianity and the Bible are not associated with traditional
Japanese culture and history. Names for or terms involving various sports and games known to
50
have their origins in Europe or America might be suspected to be borrowings: 19. barē-boru
‘volleyball’, 24. batto ‘bat (baseball)’, 36. boru ‘bowl’ (stadium), 44. burijji ‘bridge’ (card
game), 83. gorufu ‘golf, 137. kuriketto ‘cricket’ (the game), 296. takkuru ‘tackle’ (in football),
290. sutoraiku ‘strike’ (in baseball ), 301. tenisu ‘tennis. Others with known or suspected
origins elsewhere might include: 29. bifuteki ‘beefsteak’, 30. bīru ‘beer’, 33. bōi sukauto ‘Boy
Scout’, 91. hambāga ‘hamburger, 78. gāru sukauto ‘Girl Scout’, 100. hotto doggu ‘hotdog’,
112. jīnzu ‘jeans’, etc.
Exercise 3.6 Hispanisms in Mayan languages
The following is a list of some of the ‘hispanisms’ (loanwords from Spanish) found in some of
the Mayan languages (of Mexico and Guatemala). The Spanish forms are presented both in
current pronunciation and in that of the sixteenth century. Based on these, what evidence can
you derive from these loans in the Mayan languages relevant to changes which have taken place
in Spanish since these forms were borrowed? By way of illustration, consider the following
example involving Sayula Popoluca (a Mixe-Zoquean language):
Spanish caja ‘box’ (modern [kaxa], colonial [kaSa]: Sayula Popoluca kaʃa ‘coffin’
(‘box for the dead’).
From this, you would tentatively conclude that Spanish has undergone the change of ʃ > x after
this word was borrowed. Of course, it is necessary to keep in mind that the borrowing language
will make substitutions, replacing the Spanish sounds with the closest phonetic counterpart
available in the recipient language, so that not all differences in the borrowing language will be
due to changes which Spanish has subsequently undergone; to determine this, it will be
necessary to compare the sixteenth-century and the modern Spanish forms. In regard to this
particular example, it is interesting that Sayula Popoluca later borrowed the Spanish word for
‘box’ again, after the change, as kaha ‘cardboard box’ (note Sayula Popoluca has no [x] so that
[h] is the language’s closest approximation to Modern Spanish [x]).
Note the following phonetic symbols found in these examples:
[s]9 dental (fronted) s
[ṣ] apical alveolar s
[ṣ̌] laminal retroflex š
j
Focus on /l / and /j/:
j j
1. llave ‘key’ (modern [jaβe], colonial [l aβe, l ave]): Akateko laweh, Q’anjobal lawe,
K’iche’ lawe.
j
2. cebolla ‘onion’ (modern [seβoja], colonial [s9ebol a]): Akateko sewolya, Q’anjobal
j
sewolia, Tzeltal sebolia (none of the Mayan languages has /l /, but they do have /l/ and
/j/).
j
3. cuchillo ‘knife’ (modern [kučijo], colonial [kučil o]): Chol kučilu, Huastec kuči:l,
Q’anjobal kučiilu ‘knife, razor’, K’iche’ kučiʔl.
j
4. silla ‘chair’ (modern [sija], colonial ṣil a]): Akateko ʃilah, Huastec ʃi:laʔ, ‘saddle, chair’,
Q’anjobal ʃila, K’iche’ ʃila, Tzotzil ʃila.
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j
5. castellano ‘Castilian, Spanish (modern [kastejano], colonial [kaṣtel ano])’: Choltí
kaʃtilan čaɓ ‘sugar’ (literally ‘Castilian honey’), kaʃtilan wa ‘bread’ (literally ‘Castilian
tortilla’); K’iche’ kaʃtilan, kaʃlan ‘Castilian, Spanish, pure, correct’.
Focus on /s̯/, /ṣ/, and /ʃ/:

6. sartén ‘frying pan’ (modern [saRtén], colonial [ṣaRtén]): Q’anjobal ʃalten, ʃaltin,
Motocintlec ʃarten, Tzotzil ʃalten.
7. sebo ‘tallow, fat’ (modern [seβo], colonial [ṣebo]): Q’anjobal ʃepuʔ, K’iche’ ʃepu, ʃepo,
Tzotzil ʃepu.
8. seda ‘silk’ (modern [seða], colonial [ṣeða]): Chol ʃelah ‘ribbon’, Tzotzil ʃela ‘silk,
ribbon’. (Mayan languages have no [ð].)
9. semana ‘week’ (modern [semana], colonial [ṣemana]): Q’eqchi’ ʃama:n, ʃema:n,
K’iche’ ʃemano, Tzotzil ʃemana.
j j
10. señora ‘lady, madam, mrs.’ (modern [sen ora], colonial [ṣen ora]): Chol ʃinolah ‘non-
Indian woman’, Mam ʃnu:l ‘non-Indian woman’, Motocintlec ʃnu:la:n ‘non-Indian
woman’, Tzeltal ʃinola ‘non-Indian woman’.
11. mesa ‘table’ (modern [mesa], colonial [meṣa]): Akateko meʃah, Huastec me:ʃa,
Q’eqchi’ me:ʃ, Motocintleco me:ʃah, K’iche’ meʃa.
12. patos ‘ducks’ (modern [patos], colonial [patoṣ]): Huastec pa:tuʃ, Q’eqchi’ patuʃ,
K’iche’ pataʃ, Tzotzil patoʃ. (Note that several plant and animal terms, though
singular, were borrowed from the Spanish plural form, as in this example and the next.)
13. vacas ‘cows’ (modern [bakas], colonial [βakaṣ, vakaṣ]: Akateko wakaṣ̌ ‘cattle’, Chol
wakaʃ ‘bull, cow’, Itzá wakaʃ ‘cattle’, Q’anjobal wakaṣ̌ ‘cow, cattle’, Q’eqchi’ kwakaʃ
‘cow, cattle’, Mopan wakaʃ ‘cow, bull, cattle’, Tzeltal wakaʃ ‘beef’. (See also 4. and 5.
above.)
14. cidra ‘ a grapefruit-like fruit’ (modern [siðra], colonial [s̯iðra]): Chol silah, Tzotzil
sila. (Note that these languages have no d, ð, or r).
15. cocina ‘kitchen’ (modern [kosina], colonial [kos̯ina]): Motocintleco kusi:nah, Tzotzil
kusina.
16. cruz ‘cross’ (modern [krus], colonial [krus̯]: Chol rus, Q’anjobal kurus, Q’eqchi’
kurus, Mam lu:s, Motocintleco kuru:s, Tzotzil kurus.
17. lazo ‘lasso, rope’ (modern [laso], colonial [las̯o]): Akateko lasuh, Chol lasoh, Tzeltal
laso, Tzotzil lasu.
18. taza ‘cup’ (modern [tasa], colonial [tas̯a]): Chol tasa ‘piece of glass’, Huastec ta:sa,
Q’eqchi’ ta:s.
19. jabón ‘soap’ (modern [xaβón], colonial [ʃabón]): Chol ʃapum, ʃapom, Huastec ʃabu:n,
*Jakalteko ṣ̌apun, *Q’anjobal ṣ̌apun, Motocintlec ʃa:puh, K’iche’ ʃɓon, Tzeltal ʃapon.
20. jarro ‘jug, jar’ (modern [xaro], colonial [ʃaro]): Jakalteko ʃalu, Q’anjobal ʃalu, Mam
ṣ̌ar, Motocintleco ʃa:ruh, K’iche’ ʃaruʔ, Tzeltal ʃalu, Tzotzil ʃalu.
21. aguja ‘needle’ (modern [aguxa], colonial [aguʃa]): Akateko akuʃah, Chol akuʃan,
Q’anjobal akuʃa, Q’eqchi’ aku:ʃ, ku:ʃ, Motocintlec aku:ʃah, Tzeltal akuʃa, Tzotzil
akuʃa.
22. caja ‘box’ (modern [kaxa], colonial [kaʃa]): Chol kaʃa-teʔ ‘chest’ (teʔ = ‘wood’),
Q’anjobal kaʃa ‘box, chest’, Q’eqchi’ ka:ʃ ‘chest’, Mam ka:ṣ̌ ‘box’, Motocintlec ka:ʃah
‘box, chest’, K’iche’ kaʃa ‘box, chest, trunk’, Tzeltal kaʃa.
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Focus on /v/ and /b/:
23. ventana ‘window’ (modern [bentana], colonial [βentana, ventana]): Chol wentana,
Q’anjobal wentena, Motocintlec wanta:nah.
24. (= 13. above) vacas ‘cows’ (modern [bakas], colonial [βakaṣ, vakaṣ]: Akateko wakaṣ̌
‘cattle’, Chol wakaʃ ‘bull, cow’, Itzá wakaʃ ‘cattle’, Q’anjobal wakaṣ̌ ‘cow, cattle’,
Q’eqchi’ kwakaʃ ‘cow, cattle’, Mopan wakaʃ ‘cow, bull, cattle’, Tzeltal wakaʃ ‘beef’.
25. calvario ‘Calvary’ (modern [kalβaRio], colonial [kalβaRio, kalvaRio]) : Q’anjobal
karwal ‘cemetery, graveyard’, K’iche’ kalwar.
26. clavos ‘nails’ (modern [klaβos], colonial [klaβoṣ, klavoṣ]: Akateko lawuʃ, Chol lawuʃ,
Tzeltal lawuʃ, Tojolabal lawuʃ. (Note, these forms mean ‘nail’, but are borrowed from
the Spanish plural form.)
27. rábanos ‘radishes’ (modern [ráβanos], colonial [ráβanoṣ, rávanoṣ]: Tojolabal lawuniʃ,
Motocintleco luwaʔnʃa ‘rábano’, Tzotzil alavanuʃ. (Note, these all mean ‘radish’,
though borrowed from the Spanish plural form. Tzotzil has a phonemic contrast
between /v/ and /b/, but has no /w/; the other languages have no /v/, but do have /w/.)
(See also 1.)
28. botón(es) ‘button(s)’ (modern [botón], colonial [botón]: Q’eqchi’ ɓoto:nʃ, K’iche’
ɓotona, ɓotoniʃ, Tojolabal ɓoton ‘button, knot in wood’, Tzotzil ɓoton.
29. bolsa ‘bag, pocket’ (modern [bolsa], colonial [bolṣa, borṣa]): Chol borʃa, Q’eqchi’ ɓo:ʃ
‘pocket’, K’iche’ ɓorʃa, Tzeltal ɓolsa.
30. nabos ‘turnips’ (modern [naβos], colonial [naboṣ]): K’iche’ napuʃ, Tzotzil napuʃ,
Motocintlec kolinaʔwa. (See also 2. and 7.)
Based on these, what evidence can you derive from these loans in the Mayan languages relevant
to changes which have taken place in Spanish since these forms were borrowed?
Examples 1.-5.: Spanish still had the contrast between lj and j (“y”) when these forms were
borrowed. Later these varieties of Latin American Spanish underwent lj > j (merger of lj and j to
j).
The examples in 4.-13., 26.-30. with original /ṣ/ and examples in 2., 14.-18. with original /s̯/
show that these two sounds contrasted in the variety of Spanish from which these words were
borrowed. Later these varieties of Latin American Spanish underwent ṣ, s̯ > s (merger of ṣ and s̯
with s). Meanwhile, examples 19.-22. do not present a clear picture. They had ʃ in earlier
Spanish at the time these were borrowed, but for most of the languages the borrowings do not
distinguish this ʃ from ṣ, words with both sounds typically borrowed with ʃ in these languages.
However, Q’anjobal, Akateko, and Mam sometimes do have ṣ̌ in loans which originally had ʃ
in Spanish, but typically do not have this retroflexed sound in words from Spanish which
originally had ṣ. This suggests, but does not conclusively demonstrate, that Spanish at the time
these words were borrowed had two distinct sounds. One of these we know from other facts was
originally ṣ and shows up in these hispanisms as ʃ; the other was originally ʃ and shows up in
these borrowings mostly as ʃ, but in the languages which have a contrast between ʃ and ṣ̌ can
show up as ṣ̌, which is not true of words which in Spanish originally had ṣ
Examples 23.-26. show that the variety of Spanish from which these forms were borrowed
53
contrast with examples. 27.-30.
The examples in 1., 23.-26. which originally had a fricative, β or v, and examples in 2., 7., 19.,
27.-30 with original sotp b show that these two sounds contrasted in the variety of Spanish from
which these words were borrowed. The words with original stop b have /b/, /p/, or /ɓ/, that is a
stop, in most of these languages, while the words with a fricative (β or v) were mostly borrowed
with /w/ in these languages, most of which do not have labial fricatives. Later these varieties of
Latin American Spanish underwent the merger of these sounds, β or v and b > /b/ (with [b] and
[β] in complementary distribution, [β] between vowels, [b] elsewhere with some variation in
contexts involving /VbC depending on the variety and the particular C following it).
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EXERCISES FOR CHAPTER 4 ANALOGICAL CHANGE
Exercise 4.1
Observe the language of your friends and of newspapers, television and so on, and attempt to
find examples of your own of the various sorts of analogy.
No specific answers are offered here – just look for analogies used in the language around you.
In slang, advertising, puns, and jokes one usually finds many examples.
Exercise 4.2 Identifying analogical changes
Determine what kind of analogical change is involved in the following examples. Name the
kind of change, and attempt to explain how it came about, if you can.
(1) In some dialects of English, the pattern bring/brought/brought has become

bring/brang/brung.
Analogical extension: bring/brang/brung is probably modeled on the pattern of verbs such as

sing/sang/sung.
(2) Where Standard English has drag/dragged, some varieties of English have drag/drug. It
appears in this case that the Standard English pattern is older.
Analogical extension: drag/drug is probably modeled on the pattern of verbs such as dig/dug,
hang/hung.
(3) Old Spanish siniestro ‘left’ changed from Latin sinister ‘on the left’ to take ie under the
influence of the antonym diestro ‘right’, since diestro and siniestro frequently occurred
together.
Immediate model: since sinister ‘left’ and diestro ‘right’ frequently occurred together, the
former changed into siniestro by analogy to the latter.
(4) In many Spanish dialects, an intervocalic d is regularly lost, as in mercado > mercao
‘market’; in some instances, however, there are changes of the following sort: dialect bacalado
< Standard bacalao ‘codfish’; dialect Bilbado < Standard Bilbao (a place name).
Hypercorrection: since speakers of these Spanish dialects are conscious of the fact that in
words were their dialects lack intervocalic d, the more prestigious standard variety has d
between the vowels, they insert a d in attempts to sound more like Standard Spanish, but in the
process they overgeneralize the insertion of d in some instances and so produce forms which,
from the point of view of the standard language, erroneously contain a d in these words where
the Standard variety lacks intevocalic d.
55
(5) In the Dominican Republic, forms such as Standard Spanish atras ‘behind’ become astras;
in this variety of Spanish, preconsonantal s is often lost, as in ata < asta (spelled hasta) ‘until’.
Hypercorrection: since speakers in the Dominican Republic are conscious of the fact that where
their dialect often lacks s before a medial t, Standard Spanish often has s in words such as these,
so they insert an s in attempts to sound more like Standard Spanish, but in the process insert s in
some words which do not have s in the Standard language, and so produce forms which, from
the point of view of the standard language erroneously contain s in words where the Standard
variety lacks intevocalic s.
(6) English Jerusalem artichoke (a kind of sunflower, with some similarities to an artichoke) is
in origin from Italian girasóle articiocco, where Italian girasole /ǰirasóle/ contains gira- ‘turn
around, revolve, rotate’ + sole ‘sun’, and articiocco ‘artichoke’, with nothing associated with
Jerusalem; originally.
Folk etymology: because Italian girasole sounds to English speakers something like
‘Jerusalem’, they folk-etymologized it to Jerusalem, even though girasole had nothing to do
with Jerusalem.
(7) In English, Key West (in Florida) comes from the Spanish name cayo hueso, where cayo is
‘key, small island’ and hueso is ‘bone’.
Folk etymology: English speakers related Spanish hueso to English west because it sounded
somewhat similar and folk-etymologized the name to ‘Key West’.
(8) English heliport < helicopter + airport; snazzy < snappy + jazzy; jumble < jump + tumble.
Blending: two semantically somewhat similar or related words were combined to form the
single new words in these cases.
(9) Colloquial and regional varieties of Spanish have haiga where Standard Spanish has haya
(subjunctive, ‘there may be’) and vaiga where Standard Spanish has vaya (subjunctive, ‘may
go’). These have been influenced by Standard Spanish verb forms such as traiga (subjunctive of
traer ‘to bring’, ‘may bring’) and caiga (subjunctive of caer ‘to fall’, ‘may fall’).
Analogical extension: the pattern found in some frequent verbs which in the subjective end in -
aiga has been extended to haya and vaya, which formerly were not members of the class of
verbs that terminated in -aiga in the subjunctive, changing them to haiga and vaiga,
respectively.
(10) Middle English had help- ‘present tense’, holp ‘past tense’; Modern English has help,
helped for these.
Analogical leveling: the strong-verb pattern help/holp was leveled on analogy to the regular
weak-verb pattern, as in verbs such as bake/baked.
56
(11) English to emote is derived from emotion; to enthuse is derived from enthusiastic.
Back formation: on analogy to words in the pattern of, for example, quote/quotation and
promote/promotion, the noun emotion was assumed to be based on a verb root emote plus the
suffix -tion, and from this the verb emote was created by backformation. Enthuse is also a
backformation, on analogy to the same pattern that gives paraphrase/paraphrastic.
(12) Many varieties of English have a new verb to liaise based on liaison.
Backformation: possibly on analogy to many verbs ending in /-z/ which have related nouns,
such as analyze/analysis.
(13) English to diagnose is derived from diagnosis.
Back formation: the new verb diagnose was derived analogically on the model of the many
other verb-noun pairs in which a noun ending in -sis has a corresponding verb ending in /-z/, as
for example, hypothesize/hypothesis.
(14) Finnish rohtia ‘to dare’ resulted from both rohjeta ‘to be bold enough, to dare’ and tohtia
‘to dare’.
Blending: two semantically related words were combined to form a single new word.
(15) English hangnail is derived from Old English angnaegl ‘painful corn (on foot)’. When ang
‘pain’ as an independent word was lost (though later reborrowed in anguish), the angnaegl form
was reinterpreted as having something to do with ‘hanging’, with painful detached skin of toes
and then also hands.
Folk etymology: the word came to be associated with hang by folk etymology and thus was
reanalyzed as containing hang.
57
EXERCISES FOR CHAPTER 5 THE COMPARATIVE METHOD AND LINGUISTIC
RECONSTRUCTION
Exercise 5.1 Aimaran
Consider the following data from the two major branches of the Aimaran language family (Peru
and Bolivia). Focus your attention on the sibilant fricatives (s and š) only (ignore x and χ for
this exercise). What will you reconstruct? How many sibilant fricatives do you postulate for
Proto-Aimaran? State your evidence.
NOTE: š = IPA [ʃ], č = IPA [tʃ]; ) = voiceless uvular fricative; C’ = glottalized
[ejective] consonants.
Central Aimara Southern Aimara gloss

1. saxu sawu- ‘to weave’
2. sa(wi) sa(ta) ‘to plant’
3. asa asa- ‘ to carry flat things’
4. usu usu- ‘to become sick’
5. nasa nasa ‘nose’
6. aski hiskhi ‘to ask’
7. muxsa muχsa ‘sweet’
8. suniqi sunaqi ‘small spring’
9. šanq’a sanqa ‘to snuffle’
10. waša wasa ‘silent place’
11. iši isi ‘dress’
12. muši musi ‘to take care (of)’
13. puši pusi ‘four’
14. išt’a hist’a- ‘to close’
15. išapa isapa- ‘to hear, listen’
(Cerrón-Palomino 2000: 145–6)
Sound correspondences:
Central Aimara Southern Aimara Proto-Aimaran
s s *s
š s *š
Sound change:
*š > s in Southern Aimara
What will you reconstruct?

*s and *š as distinct phonemes.
How many sibilant fricatives do you postulate for Proto-Aimaran?
Two.
58
State your evidence.
The two sounds s and š appear both before and after all vowels and there does not appear to be
any conditioning from the consonants. There is no plausible phonetic environment which would
have conditioned one of these sounds to change to the other in a particular context in these data.
The two sounds thus appear to be distinct in Proto-Aimaran.
Exercise 5.2 Tulu
Tulu is a Dravidian language (of India) which has several varieties. Consider the following data
from two principal varieties. Focus your attention only on the nasals. What will you reconstruct
for these? How many nasals do you postulate for Proto-Tulu? State your evidence.
NOTE: j = [ǰ], IPA [dʒ]; ṇ = IPA [ɳ].
Shivalli Sapaliga gloss

1. a:ṇɨ a:nɨ ‘male’
2. uṇɨ a:nɨ ‘dine’
3. maṇṇ_ mann_ ‘soil’
4. ko:ṇε ko:nε ‘room’
5. e:ṇɨ ya:nɨ ‘I’
6. ninε ninε ‘wick’
7. ja:nε da:nε ‘what’
8. sanε tanε ‘conceiving’
(Bhat 2001: 11)
Sound correspondences:
Shivalli Sapaliga Proto-Tulu
n n *n
ṇ n *ṇ (retroflex)
Sound change:
*ṇ > n in Sapaliga
What will you reconstruct for these (the nasals)?

*n and *ṇ.
How many nasals do you postulate for Proto-Tulu?

Two.
State your evidence.

Both n and ṇ occur in the same vowel environments and there appears to be no plausible
phonetic conditioning for the difference in the two sounds from the other consonants. There is
no plausible phonetic environment which would have conditioned one of these sounds to
change to the other in these data. The two sounds thus appear to be distinct in Proto-Tulu.
Exercise 5.3 Polynesian
59
The Polynesian languages of the Pacific form a subgroup of the Oceanic branch of the
Austronesian family of languages. (1) What are the sound correspondences found in these data?
What sound do you reconstruct for the proto-language to represent each sound correspondence
set? (2) What sound change or changes have taken place in each of these languages? (3) What is
the best reconstruction (proto-form) for 6, 16, 20 and 32? Show how your postulated sound
changes apply to each of these to produce the modern forms. NOTE that not all sounds of the
proto language are represented in these cognate sets with their sound correspondences. For
example, in one not represented clearly here, Tongan has Ø corresponding to l or r of the other
languages (reflecting what is usually reconstructed as *r of Proto-Polynesian), distinct from the
set in which Tongan has l corresponding to l or r in these sister languages (reflecting Proto-
Polynesian *l). This distinction will not be clearly visible in the data presented in this exercise.
NOTE: <’> = [ʔ].
Māori Tongan Samoan Rarotongan Hawai’ian gloss

1. tapu tapu tapu tapu kapu ‘forbidden’, ‘taboo’
2. pito pito — pito piko ‘navel’
3. puhi puhi — pu’i puhi ‘blow’
4. taha tafa tafa ta’a kaha ‘side’
‘edge’
5. tae ta’e tae tae kae ‘excrement’
‘trash’
6. taŋata taŋata taŋata taŋata kanaka ‘man, person’
7. tai tahi tai tai kai ‘sea’
8a. kaha kafa ’afa ka’a ’aha ‘strong’
8b. ma:rohi- ma:lohi ma:losi ma:ro’i — ‘strong’
9. karo kalo ’alo karo ’alo ‘dodge’
10. aka aka a’a aka a’a ‘root’
11. au ’ahu au au au ‘gall’
12. uru ’ulu ulu uru ulu ‘head’
‘tip of weapon’ ‘centre’
13. uhi ufi ufi u’i uhi ‘yam’
14. ahi afi afi a’i ahi ‘fire’
15. φa: fa: fa: ’a: ha: ‘four’
16. φeke feke fe’e ’eke he’e ‘octopus’
17. ika ika i’a ika i’a ‘fish’
18. ihu ihu isu (puta-)i’u ihu ‘nose’
‘nostril’
(puta ‘hole’)
19. hau hau sau ’au hau ‘dew’
‘wind’
(hauku: ‘dew’
[-ku: ‘showery weather’])
20. hika — si’a ’ika hi’a ‘firemaking’
21. hiku hiku si’u ’iku hi’u ‘tail’
‘fishtail’
22. ake hake a’e ake a’e ‘up’
60
Māori Tongan Samoan Rarotongan Hawai’ian gloss
23. uru — ulu uru ulu ‘enter’
24. maŋa maŋa maŋa maŋa mana ‘branch’
25. mau ma’u mau mau mau ‘constant’
‘fixed’
26. mara — mala mara mala ‘fermented food’
‘marinated’
27. noho nofo nofo no’o noho ‘sit’
28. ŋaru ŋalu ŋalu ŋaru nalu ‘wave’
29. ŋutu ŋutu ŋutu ŋutu nuku ‘mouth’
30. waka vaka va’a vaka wa’a ‘canoe’
31. wae va’e vae vae wae ‘leg’
32. raho laho laso ra’o laho ‘scrotum’
‘testicle’
33. rou lohu lou rou lou ‘fruit-picking
‘long forked stick’ pole’
34. rua ua lua rua lua ‘two’
(1) What are the sound correspondences found in these data? What sound do you reconstruct for
the proto-language to represent each sound correspondence set?
Sound correspondencess and reconstruction:
Māori Tongan Samoan Rarotongan Hawai’ian Proto-Polynesian
1 p p p p p *p
In cognate sets 1.-3.
2 t t t t k *t
In cognate sets 1., 2., 4.-7., 29.
3 k k ’ k ’ *k
In cognate sets 8a.-10., 16.-17., 20.-22., 30.
4 ɸ f f ’ h *f-
5 h f f ’ h *-f-
In cognate sets 4., 8a., 13., 14.
6 h h s ’ h *s
In cognate sets 3., 8b., 18.-21., 32.
7 m m m m m *m
In cognate sets 8b., 24.-26.
8 n n n n n *n
In cognate set 27.
9 ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ n *ŋ
In cognate sets 6., 24., 28.-29., 34.
10a r l l r l *l
In cognate sets 8b., 9., 12., 23., 26., 28., 32.-33.
(10b r Ø l r l *r
In cognate set 34.)
11 w v v v w *w
61
Māori Tongan Samoan Rarotongan Hawai’ian Proto-Polynesian
12 Ø ’ Ø Ø Ø *ʔ
In cognate sets 5., 25., 31.
13 Ø h Ø Ø Ø *h
In cognate sets 7., 11., 33.
14 i i i i i *i
In cognate sets 2., 3., 7., etc.
15 a a a a a *a
In cognate sets 1., 4., etc.
16 o o o o o *o
In cognate sets 2., 8b., 9., etc.
17 u u u u u *u
In cognate sets 1., 3., 12., etc.
(2) What sound change or sound changes have taken place in each of these languages?:
In Māori, Samoan, Rarotongan, Hawai‘ian
1. *ʔ and *h > Ø /V__ V (in Sound Correspondences [= SC] 12, 13)
(ʔ and h were retained only in Samoan)
In Māori
2. *f > h /V __ V (in SC 5)
In Hawai‘ian (and Rarotongan)

3. *f > h (in SC 4, 5)
In Māori, Tongan, Hawai‘ian (and Rarotongan)

4. *s > h (in SC 6)
In Tongan and Hawai‘ian

5. *k > ʔ (in SC 5)
In Māori and Rarotongan

6. *l > r (in SC 10a)
Note that with only one cognate set for 10b, in which Tongan has Ø corresponding to l or r in
the other languages, there is not much you can say. However if additional data were added, you
might be able to formulate better hypotheses about how to explain this. For example, if we add
Tongan huu ‘enter’ to cognate set 23., the SC would have to cognate sets exemplifying it. This
SC is generally held to represent Proto-Polynesian *r and to be in contrast with that of SC 10a,
representing *l. The Proto-Polynesian word in 23. is reconstructed as *huru.
In Tongan, Samoan, Rarotongan

7. *w > v (in SC 11)
For the correspondence set reconstructed with *w, it might be suspected that it was originally *v
(under majority wins) which changed to w in two of the languages. However, in terms of
directionality, w > v is more common than v to w. Actually, it may be that the w had [β] (a
bilabial fricative) as an allophone in most of these languages.
62
In Rarotongan
8. h > ʔ (in 4, 5, 6)
This assumes that in Rarotongan *f and *s went through an intermediate state in which *f and *s
> h, shared with other languages, and then later in its independent history Rarotongan h (from
all sources) > ʔ.
In Hawai‘ian:
9. *t > k (in 2)
10. *ŋ > n (in 9)
In Māori
11. *f > ɸ /#__ (in 4)
NOTE: the reconstruction of *f fits these data and may be correct, though some might prefer to
reconstruct *ɸ (a bilabial rather than a labiodental fricative). Reasons might be that (1) some of
the things written as f may in fact actually be bilabial; (2) in directionality ɸ > f may be more
expected than f > ɸ; and (3) f in a number of cases is due to later European influence, where
European languages with labiodenetal [f] influenced other languages to shift bilabial [ɸ] to [f].
(3) What is the best reconstruction (proto-form) for 6, 16, 20 and 32?
Reconstructions:
6. *taŋata ‘man, person’
16. *feke ‘octopus’
20. *sika ‘firemaking
32. *laso ‘scrotum, testicle’
Show how your postulated sound changes apply to each of these to produce the modern forms.
The following derivations show the application of these sound changes in sequence.
When the change does not apply to a particular language, it is left blank; when the sound change
takes place in the language but does not apply to the particular form in question, this is signaled
by “--”.
6. *taŋata
Changes Māori Tongan Samoan Rarotongan Hawai‘ian
1 -- -- -- --
2 --
3 -- --
4 -- -- -- --
5 -- --
6 -- -- --
7 -- -- --
8 --
9 kaŋaka
10 kanaka
11 --
Result: taŋata taŋata taŋata taŋata kanaka
63
16. *feke ‘octopus’
1 -- -- -- --
2 --
3 heke heke
4 -- -- -- --
5 fe’e he’e
6 -- -- --
7 -- -- --
8 ’eke
9 --
10 --
11 ɸeke
Result: ɸeke feke fe’e ’eke he’e
20. *sika ‘firemaking’

1 -- -- -- --
2 --
3 hika -- --
4 -- hika hika
5 si’a hi’a
6 -- --
7 -- --
8 ’ika
9 --
10 --
11 --
Result: hika -- si’a ’ika hi’a
32. *laso ‘scrotum, testicle’

1 -- -- -- --
2 --
3 -- --
4 laho laho laho laho
5 -- --
6 raho raho
7 -- -- --
8 ra’o
9 --
10 --
11 --
Result: raho laho laso ra’o laho
64
Relative Chronology: The exercise does not call for you to work out and state the relative
chronology. However, it may be important to point out that change 1. (*ʔ and *h > Ø /V__ V)
had to take place prior to 2. (*f > h /V __ V in Māori) and before 3. (*f > h) in Hawai‘ian and
Rarotongan, and before 8. (h > ʔ) in Rarotongan, for otherwise the h and ʔ produced by these
changes would have gone on in change 1. to be lost in these languages. However, since that did
not happen, the loss of h and ʔ by 1. must have taken place before these later cases of h and ʔ
were created by subsequent sound changes in these languages.
Exercise 5.4 Orokolo-Toaripi (Eleman languages)
Orokolo and Toaripi are two closely related Eleman languages (usually assigned to the Trans-
New Guinea grouping, though this is as yet uncertain). Compare the data presented here and
reconstruct Proto-Orokolo-Toaripi. (1) List the sound correspondences you find. (2) Give the
proto-sounds you reconstruct to represent these. (3) Present the sound changes which you
postulate that each language has undergone. (4) If there is any relative chronology involved
among these changes, state what it is and the evidence for it. (5) Give your reconstruction of 12,
25 and 35 together with how the individual sound changes apply to these to produce the modern
forms.
NOTE: for this problem, consider Orokolo r and l the same sound. Do not struggle over the
difference between ae and ai in no. 38.
Toaripi Orokolo gloss

1. uti uki ‘bone’
2. ete eke ‘vagina’
3. tete keke ‘fish scales’
4. tao kao ‘tooth’
5. toare koare ‘senior’
6. tola kora ‘tree’
7. tolotolo korokoro ‘leaves’
8. tapare kapare ‘grease’
9. torea korea ‘theft’
10. turuturu kurukuru ‘thundering’
11. aite aire ‘after’

12. kite kile ‘mat’
13. lauta laura ‘flame tree’
14. ita ila ‘pig’
15. puta pura ‘cloth’
16. uta ura ‘hole’
17. fi hi ‘cry’
18. firu hiru ‘portion’
19. fe he ‘penis’
20. fere here ‘betel nut’
21. fapai hapa ‘open’
65
22. fave have ‘stone’
23. forerai horera ‘appear’
24. furi huri ‘pus’
25. afutae ahurae ‘ashes’
26. sisia hihia ‘sour’

27. siri hiri ‘mildew’
28. ase ahe ‘sugarcane’
29. seseroro heheroro ‘thin’
30. sare hare ‘sun, day’
31. sarea harea ‘sorcery’
32. soa hoa ‘time’
33. sua hua ‘pigeon’
34. susu huhu ‘plank’
35. farisa harita ‘arrow’
36. marisa marita ‘girl’
37. taisa kaita ‘paddle’
38. saesa haita ‘dish’
39.[=12] kite kile ‘mat’

40. kiva kiva ‘care’
41. koko koko ‘narrow’
42. ekaka ekaka ‘fish’
(1) Sound correspondences and (2) reconstructed proto-sounds:

Toaripi Orokolo Proto-Eleman
t k *t (In 1.-10., 37.)
2 -t- -r- (-l-) *t (In 11.-16., 25.)
3 -s- -t- *s (In 35.-38.)
4 k k *k (In 12., 39.-42.)
5 -r- -r- *r (In 5.-10., 18., 20., 23.-24., 27., 29.-31.,35.-36.)
6 f h *f (In 17.-25., 35.)
7 v v *v (In 22., 40.)
8 s h *s (In 26.-34., 38.)
9 m m *m (In 36.)
10 p p *p (In 8., 15., 21.)
Note that the reconstruction of the correspondence sets involving the sounds t, r, s, and k may
appear difficult. In the sets where both languages have the same sound, we reconstruct that
particular sound, so *k for sound correspondence [SC] 4 (k : k), and *r intervocalically for SC 5
(-r- : -r-). Given that we reconstruct *k correspondence set 4 (k : k), we must reconstruct
something other than *k for SC 1 (t : k), since the sounds of this correspondence set occur in the
same environments where SC 4 (k : k) is found. Therefore, we reconstruct *t for 1 (t : k) and
postulate a sound change of *t > k in Orokolo.
The correspondence sets 2 (-t- : -r-) and 5 (r : r) can occur in the same environments, so
they require different reconstructions. Since we already reconstructed *r intervocalically for SC
66
5 (-r- : -r-), SC 2 (-t- : -r-) requires a different explanation. For it, we reconstruct *t and
postulate a sound change in Orokolo of *t > r between vowels when the preceding vowel is high
and the following vowel is non-high (see charts below).
This leave SC 3 (-s- : -t-) unaccounted for. Since *t is taken already by the
reconstruction for correspondence sets 1 (t : k) and 2 (-t- : -r-), it is not available for
reconstructing SC 3, as SC 2 and SC 3 are found in the same environments. This leaves *s the
best hypothesis for 3 (-s- : -t-), even though it requires the postulation of a less likely sound
change *s > t intervocalically between i and a in Orokolo, an environment that is different from
those of SC 8 (s : h), for which *s is the best reconstruction. While a change of *s > t goes
against the typical direction of sound change (t > s is much more common), in its favor is the
fact that there seems to be no other more plausible way to account for the contrasting
correspondence sets, and for Orokolo now to have no s, with h as the only fricative, is not
inconsistent with the phonology of some other languages of Papua New Guinea.
To discover the different conditioning environments for the sounds in these
correspondence sets, it is helpful to draw up lists or a chart of the environments where the
sounds occur, as for example in the following:
k:k t:k t:r r:r s:t s:h

#__i u__i i__e i__e i__a #__i
#__o e__e u__a e__e #__e
e__a #__ao i__a o__e #__a
a__a #__o e__a #__o
#__a u__i #__u
#__u i__i i__i
#__e e__o e__e
u__u o__o u__u
a__e a__e
a__i
A comparison of the t : k column (SC 1) and the t : r column (SC 2) reveals that while both can
occur after high vowels and both can occur before non-high vowels, t : r (SC 2) can occur only
when the preceding vowel is high AND the following vowel is non-high. In the case of t : k (SC
1), both the preceding and following vowel is high, or both non-high, or it is in word-initial
position, but never in a context between a high vowel and a non-high vowel. While this is
unusual conditioning, it does seem to be what accounts for these data, allowing us to reconstruct
*t for both sound correspondences.
(3) Sound changes:

In Orokolo
1. *t > r /high V__non-high V
2. *t > k
3. *s > t /i__a
4. *f and *s > h (fricative > h)
In Toaripi: no changes.
(4) Relative chronology:
67
The chronological order of the changes was: first change 1., then 2., then 3., and finally 4.
Change 3. had to precede change 3., for otherwise original *s would have changed to h by
change 4. and there would have been no s left in the forms to undergo the change s > t in change
3., giving the wrong results, as for example in 35. *farisa ‘arrow’ > hariha by change 4., so that
no s remained to turn to t by change 3., giving erroneous ✘hariha rather than harita in Orokolo,
which is the proper outcome which comes about as the result of change 3. preceding change 4.
Change 3. took place after chances 1. and 2. had run their course, since otherwise, *s would
change to t by 3. and then both this new t and original t would have changed to r (in 1.) or to k
(in 2.), giving erroneous results, as in: 36. *marisa ‘girl’ > marita by 3., then marita > ✘marira
by 1. In the correct temporal order, 36. *marisa ‘girl’ > marita by 3., after changes 1. and 2.
were no longer operable, giving the correct outcome.
Changes 1., 2., and 4. do not interact with one another, involving different sounds or
different environments, so no relative chronology can be established among them.
(5) Give your reconstruction of 12, 25 and 35 together with how the individual sound
changes apply to these to produce the modern forms.
In Orokolo:
12. *kite ‘mat’ 25. *afutae ‘ashes’ 35. *farisa ‘arrow’
1. *t > r/l /high V__non-high V kile afurae --
2. *t > k -- -- --
3. *s > t /i__a -- -- farita
4. *f and *s > h (fricative > h) -- ahurae harita
Result: kile ahurae harita
In Toaripi: no changes: kite, afutae, farisa
Exercise 5.5 Lencan

Compare the cognates from the two Lencan languages (both of which have recently become
extinct: Chilanga Lenca was spoken in El Salvador; Honduran Lenca was spoken in Honduras).
Work only with the consonants in this problem (the changes involving the vowels are too
complex to solve with these data alone). (1) Set up the correspondence sets; (2) reconstruct the
sounds of Proto-Lencan; (3) find and list the sound changes which took place in each language;
and (4) determine what the relative chronology may have been in any cases where more than
one change took place in either individual language, if there is evidence which shows this.
NOTE: t’, k’ and ts’ are glottalized consonants. Also, these data do not provide enough
information for you to recover all the consonants of the proto-language, so that it will be
difficult to apply steps 5 and 6 here.
Honduran Chilanga gloss

Lenca
1. pe pe ‘two’
2. lepa lepa ‘jaguar’
3. puki puka ‘big’
4. ta ta ‘cornfield’
5. tem tem ‘louse’
6. ke ke ‘stone’
68
7. kuma kumam ‘fingernail, claw’
8. katu katu ‘spider’
9. waktik watih ‘sandals’
10. kakma k’ama ‘gourd’
11. siksik sisih ‘shrimp’
12. nek neh ‘tooth’
13. insek ints’eh ‘beak’
14. taw t’aw ‘house’
15. tutu t’ut’u ‘flea’
16. kin k’in ‘road’
17. kunan k’ula ‘who’
18. kelkin k’elkin ‘tortilla griddle’
19. sewe ts’ewe ‘monkey’
20. saj ts’aj ‘five’
21. musu muts’u ‘liver’
22. sak- ts’ih- ‘to wash’
23. lawa lawa ‘three’
24. liwa- liwa- ‘to buy’
25. tal- tal- ‘to drink’
26. wala wala ‘raccoon’
27. was wal ‘water’
28. asa alah ‘head’
29. wasan wila ‘urine’
30. wara wara ‘river’
31. siri sirih ‘star’
32. sili sili ‘iron tree’ (tree species)
33. suri-sur ʃurih ‘squirrel’
[NOTE: suri-sur involves reduplications; just compare the suri- segment of it]
34. saj- ʃej- ‘to want’
35. so ʃo ‘rain’
36. suna ʃila ‘flower’
37. soko ʃoko ‘white’
38. sak ʃah ‘firewood’
39. wewe wewe ‘baby’
40. jet- jete- ‘to laugh’
41. juku juku ‘coyol palm’ (palm tree species)
42. sa ʃam ‘good’
(1) Set up the correspondence sets; (2) reconstruct the sounds of Proto-Lencan:
Honduran Chilanga Proto-Lencan
Lenca
(1) -k- Ø *k *k > Ø /__C in Chilanga
In 9. watktik / watih, 10. kakma / k’ama 11. siksik, sisih
(2) -k -h *k *k > h /__# in Chilanga
69
In 9. watktik / watih, 11. siksik / sisih, 12.nek / neh, 13. insek / ints’eh, 22. sak- / ts’ih-, 38.
sak / ʃah
(3) k k *k (elsewhere) in both languages

In 3. puki / puka, 18. kelkin / k’ilkin
(4) -h -Ø *h *h > Ø /__# in Hondoruan Lenca

In 28. asa / alah, 31. siri / sirih, 33. suri(-sur) / ʃurih
(5) -n -Ø *n *n > Ø /a__# in Chilanga

In 17. kunan / k’ula, 29. wasan, wila
(6) n l *n *n > l /V__V in Chilanga
In 17. kunan / k’ula, 36. suna / ʃila
(A possible alternative reconstruction: n : l *l with *l > n /u__ in Honduran Lenca; there is,
however, no good phonetic reason why u should condition l to change to n).
(7) n n *n (elsewhere) in both languages
In 12. nek / neh, 13. insek / ints’eh, 16. kin / k’in
(8) l l *l
In 2. lepa / lepa, 22. lawa / lawa, 24. liwa- / liwa-, 25. tal- / tal-, 26. wala / wala, 32. sili /
sili, 18. kelkin / k’elkin, 31. sili / sili
(9) s l *ɫ *ɫ > s in Honduran Lenca

(ɫ = voiceless “l”) *ɫ > l in Chilanga
In 27. was / wal, 28. asa / alah, 29. wasan / wila
(10) s ts’ *ts’ *ts’ > s in Honduran Lenca
In 13. insek / ints’eh, 19. sewe / ts’ewe, 20. saj / ts’aj, 21. musu / muts’u, 22. sak- / ts’ih-
(11) t t’ *t’ *t’ > t in Honduran Lenca
In 14. taw / t’aw, 15. tutu / t’ut’u
(12) k k’ *k *k’ > k in Honduran Lenca

In 10. kakma / k’ama, 16. kin / k’in, 17. kunan / k’ula, 18. kelkin / k’elkin
(13) s s *s
In 11. siksik / sisih, 31. siri / sirih, 32. sili / sili
(14) s ʃ *ʃ *ʃ > s in Honduran Lenca
In 33. suri(-sur) / ʃurih, 34. saj- / ʃej-, 35. so / ʃo, 36. suna / ʃila, 37. soko / ʃoko, 38. sak /
ʃah, 42. sa / ʃam
(3) Sound changes in each language (C = Chilanga, HL = Honduran Lenca):

In Chilanga:
(C1a) *k > Ø /__C,
(C1b) *k > h /__#
It is possible to combine (C1a) and (C1b) into a single change, *k changing in different,
complementary environments; *k was lost before a consonant, and changed to h word-
finally.
70
(C2a) *n > Ø /a__#,
(C2b) *n > l /V__V
It is possible to combine (C2a) and (C2b) into a single change, *n changing in different,
complementary environments; *n was lost after a at the end of words, and changed to l
between vowels.
(C3) *ɫ > l (voiceless “l” > plain “l”)
In Honduran Lenca:
(HL1) *h > Ø /__#
Final h was lost.
(HL2) *ɫ > s (voiceless “l” > s)
(HL3) C’ > C (glottalized C > plain counterpart, *t’ > t, *k’ > k, *ts’ > ts)
Glottalized consonants lost their glottalization. [NOTE: this is true of these data as
given, though it is equally plausible that Honduran Lenca did retain glottalized
consonants, but that they were just not recorded in the attestations available to us.]
(HL4) ts (from *ts’ by HL3) > s
Plain ts, after (HL3) changed *ts’ to ts, went on to change to s (ts’ > ts > s)
(HL5) *ʃ > s
(4) Determine what the relative chronology may have been:

There is no basis for determining relative chronology for any of these changes in either
language, since the sounds involved in one change do not figure in any other change. Only in
the case of (HL3) and (HL4) do they interact, so that in (HL3) *ts’ > ts produces ts, which is an
intermediate stage that then goes on, changing ts > s in (HL4). However, while it is phonetically
likely that there was an intermediate stage with ts, this is not necessary. It could be assumed that
(HL4) was rather of the form *ts’ > s (directly or possibly through an intermediate stage of ts)
but that this happened before (HL3) took place. It is also possible to assume that perhaps (HL3)
involved only the stops and that *ts’ was not part of that change, making (HL3) and (HL4)
independent of one other, with no interaction.
Exercise: 5.6. Uto-Aztecan
(1) State the sound correspondences. (2) Present the sound that you reconstruct for Proto-Uto-
Aztecan for each sound correspondence. (3) List the sound changes that you observe in the
various languages. Ignore vowel length and do not attempt to reconstruct the vowels for this
exercise. There are not sufficient examples in the data given here to be able to reconstruct the
full set of Proto-Uto-Aztecan sounds. Assume that correspondences found in only a single
cognate set would recur if more data were present. Attempt to reconstruct the consonants in
initial and medial position and state the sound changes you postulate to get from your
reconstructed consonants to the actual forms in the various daughter languages. Given the
paucity of forms cited here, you may have to postulate some sound changes on the basis of poor
evidence, in hopes of confirming (or disconfirming) them when more data are brought into the
picture. It is often the case that the historical linguist must work with incomplete or imperfect
data, so the challenge here of attempting to reconstruct with less than complete information is a
realistic experience. (NOTE: a few examples have been regularized, slightly modified, in order
to avoid complications for the reconstruction.)
Tohono
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Cupeño Hopi Comache O’odham Huichol Nahuatl
1 paqa pa:qa- paka ‘arrow’ wa:-pka haka a:ka ‘reed’
2 papa:hɨ pa: wa- ha: a: ‘water’
3 pah pa:y- pahi- -- hai- e:y ‘three’
4 puš po:si pui wuhi hɨši i:š ‘eye’
5 pi- pöhɨ puʔe wo:g hu:ye: oʔ ‘road’
6 -- pɨtɨ pɨhtɨ we:č he:te ete- ‘heavy’
7 tama tama ta:ma ta:-tami tame tla:n ‘tooth’
8 -- teni -- čini teni te:n ‘mouth’
9 tuu-, tula tö:vɨ (kuh-)tu:bi ču:d tɨ: ti:l ‘charcoal’
10 -- tös- tus(oyuni) čuhi tɨsi tiš ‘grind, flour’
‘grindstone’
11 -- qa:si -- kahio -- ikši ‘leg, thigh’
12 qwaše kwasi kwasɨ-pɨ bahi kwaši ikwši ‘cooked, ripe’
w
13 q aš -- kwasi bahi kwaši -- ‘tail’
14 qweʔ- kwɨʔɨ -- baʔa -kwaʔa kwa ‘eat’
15 -- kwita kwita- bi:t kwita kwitla ‘excrement’
16 maqa maqa maka ma:k -- maka ‘give’
17 -- mo:ki -- mu:ki mɨki miki ‘kill, die’
18 mala mata -- maččud ma:ta: matla ‘grindstone’
19 naqa na:qa na:ki na:k naka nakas ‘ear’
20 nema nɨ:ma nɨ:ma nem nema -- ‘liver’
21 waxe la:ki -- gaki -waki wa:ki ‘dry’
22 wexi- lökö woko -- huku oko ‘pine’
(Based on Stubbs 2011.)
(3) List the sound changes that you observe in the various languages.
(1) State the sound correspondences. (2) Present the sound that you reconstruct for the Proto-
Uto-Aztecan for each sound correspondence:
Initial:
Tohono
Cupeño Hopi Comanche O’odham Huichol Nahuatl PUA Cognate set number
p p p w h Ø *p 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
t t t t t tl *t 7
t t (t) č t t *t 8, 9, 10
-- q - k k k *k 11
qw kw kw b kw kw *kw 12, 13, 14, 15
m m m m m m *m 16, 17, 18
n n n n n n *n 19, 20
w l g w w w *w 21
w l g w h Ø *w 22
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Medial:
Tohono
Cupeño Hopi Comanche O’odham Huichol Nahuatl PUA Cognate set number
l t t č t t *t 6
l t t č t tl *t 18
-- t t t t tl *t 15
q q k k k k *k 1, 16, 19
x k k k k k *k 21, 22
š s Ø h š š *s 4
š s s h š š *s 12, 13
m m m m m -n *m 7, 20
-- n -- n n n *n 8
ʔ ʔ -- ʔ ʔ Ø *ʔ 14
(3) Sound changes:

In Cupeño:
(C1) *k > q /__ a, *kw > qw /__ a (in 12, 13, 14)
Velars (k, kw) became uvulars (q, qw) before a.
(C2) *k > x /__ i, e (in 21, 22)
(C3) *t > l /V__V (intervocalic t > l)
(C4) *s > š /__ i, e (4, 12, 13)
In Hopi:
(H1) *k > q /__ a (1, 11, 16, 19)
(H2) *w > l /#__ (in 21, 21)
Initial w became l.
In Tohono O’odham:
(TO1) *w > g (in 21)
(TO2) *t > č /__high V (as in 6, 8, 9, 10)
(TO3) *kw > b (as in 12, 13, 14, 15)
(TO4) *s > h /V__V (intervocalic s > h, as in 4, 12, 13)
(TO5) *p > w in Tohono O’odham (as in 1, 2, 4, 5, 6)
In Huichol and Nahuatl:
(HN1) *p > h
[NOTE: if more data were given, it would be seen that this change affected only initial *p.]
In Nahuatl:
(N1) h (from *p) > Ø
If we assume that Huichol and Nahuatl belong to the same subgroup, more closely related to
one another than to other languages, we may postulate (HN1) *p > h in the parent of the
subgroup to which Huichol and Nahuatl belong, then later Nahuatl h > Ø in (N1).
(N1) *t > tl /__a
Here, *t became the lateral affricate tl before a (as in 6, 7, 15, 18).
(N2) *s > š /__ i (as in 4, 10, 11, 12)
(N3) *ʔ > Ø (or h, ʔ > Ø, see N1 above, reflexes of *p)
(N4) *a > Ø /Voiceless Stop __ Voiceless Stop
Here, a was lost between voiceless stops (as in 11, 12)
73
(N5) Ø > i /#__CC
Here, i was epenthesized at the beginning of a word before a consonant cluster (in 11,
12).
Relative chronology (not called for in the instructions): There are a few cases of obvious
relative chronology.
For example, a must have been lost in (N4) in order for the consonant cluster to come into
existence which is the conditioning environment for (N5) in Nahuatl: in 11 *kasi ‘leg, thigh’ >
ksi (by N5), then > iksi (by N6), and to ikši (by N2) – (N2) could have taken place in any
temporal order with respect to (N4) and (N5).
In Tohono O’odham, (TO1) *w > g must have preceded (TO5) *p > w, for otherwise the w
from original *p (by TO5) and original *w would have both ended up as g; original *pa: ‘water’
would have become wa: by (TO5) and then gone on erroneously to ✘ga: by (TO1), if that had
been the temporal sequence. Therefore, (TO1) took place first, changing *w to g, and then
(TO5) later changed *p to w (but this new w did not change further, as it would have if the order
of the changes had been reversed).
Exercise 5.7 Jicaquean
Jicaquean is a family of two languages in Honduras. Jicaque (Jicaque of El Palmar) is extinct;

Tol (Jicaque of La Montaña de la Flor) is still spoken by a few hundred people, but has become
extinct or nearly so everywhere except in the village of La Montaña de la Flor. Reconstruct
Proto-Jicaquean; state the sound correspondences which you encounter in the following cognate
sets, and reconstruct a proto-sound for each. State the sound changes that have taken place in
each language.
HINT: your reconstruction should include the following sounds:
p t ts k ʔ i _ u
h h h h
p t ts k e o
p’ t’ ts’ k’ a
s
l
m n
w j h
What happens to each of the proto-sounds which you reconstruct in initial and in final position
in these two languages? Can you make guesses about an appropriate reconstruction and sound
changes to account for sounds in medial positions?
NOTE: the correspondences involving affricates and sibilants are quite complex, and you will
need to pay special attention to the possibilities for combining some of the initial
correspondence sets with some of the medial ones as reflecting the same proto-sound. The
consonants p’, t’, ts’, k’ are glottalized. The accent mark on a vowel (for example á) means that
it is stressed; this is not relevant to the sound changes. In a few cases, a non-initial h does not
match well in the two languages; ignore this, since it is due to changes for which you do not
have enough evidence in these data. The hyphen (-) before some words, as in 9 (-rɨk), means
that these occur with some other morpheme before them which is not relevant and so is not
presented here.
74
Jicaque Tol gloss
1. pe pe ‘stone’
2. pit pis ‘meat’
3. pɨné pɨné ‘big’
4. pɨga- pɨʔa- ‘jaguar’
5. pen pel ‘flea’
6. kamba kampa ‘far, long’
7. arba- alpa ‘above’
8. to-bwe to-pwe ‘to burn’
9. -rɨk -lɨp ‘lip’
10. kek kep ‘woman’
11. ik hip ‘you’
12. huruk hulup ‘grain’ (of corn)
13. huk hup ‘he, that’
14. nak nap ‘I’
15. -kuk -kup ‘we’
16. te te ‘black’
17. tek tek ‘leg’
18. tebé tepé ‘he died’
19. tɨt tɨt’ ‘louse’
20. mandɨ mantɨ ‘vulture’
21. n-gon n-kol ‘my belly’
22. harek halek ‘arrow’
23. mak mak ‘foreigner’
24. n-abuk n-ajphuk ‘my head’
25. kon kom ‘liver’
26.[=6] kamba kampa ‘far, long’
27. pɨrɨk pɨlɨk ‘much’
28. keré kelé ‘nephew’
29. mik mik ‘nose’
30. korok kolok ‘spider’
31. phe phe ‘white’
h h
32. p en p el ‘arm, shoulder’
33. -pha -pha ‘dry’
h h
34. p ɨja p ɨja ‘tobacco’
35. m-bat m-phats’ ‘my ear’
36. lɨbɨ- lɨphɨ ‘wind’
h h h
37. p ɨbɨh p ɨp ɨh ‘ashes’
38. urubana (j)uluphana ‘four’
39. ten them ‘boa constrictor’
40. tut thuth ‘spit’
h
41. peten pet el ‘wasp’
42. kun khul ‘fish’
h h
43. ke-ke (k )ek e ‘agouti’
[NOTE: keke is a reduplicated form and should be treated as
the root ke- repeated, rather than as having an intervocalic -k-]
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44. kan khan ‘bed’
45. kere khhele ‘bone’
46. to-gon- to-khol ‘to grind’
47. kujuh khujuh ‘parrot’
48. pɨt p’ɨs ‘deer’
49. m-bɨj m-p’ɨj ‘my body’
50. pɨčá p’ɨsá ‘macaw’
51. -te -t’e ‘to cut’
52.[=19] tɨt tɨt’ ‘louse’
53. -tja -t’ja ‘to be late’
54. mata mat’a ‘two’
55. kat ʔas ‘blood’
56. kot ʔos ‘I sit, am’
57. kaw- ʔaw-a ‘fire’
58. kona ʔona ‘sour’
59. kan ʔan ‘zapote’ (fruit)
60.[=4] pɨga- pɨʔa- ‘jaguar’
61. te-ga te-ʔa ‘to give’
62. čok sok’ ‘tail’
63. čorin tsolin ‘salt’
64. ču(h) tsu ‘blue’
65. čiwiri -tsiwil- ‘to lie’
66. čigin- tsikin ‘summer’
67. čoʔ- tsoʔ- ‘to nurse’
68. čuba tsupa ‘to tie’
69. nočot notsots ‘fly’
70. ʃeme tsheme ‘horn’
71. ʃijó tshijó ‘dog’
72. ʃe(w) tshew ‘scorpion’
73. čin ts’il ‘hair, root’
74. -čun ts’ul ‘intestines’
75. čoron ts’olol ‘oak’
76. čih ts’ih- ‘caterpillar’
77. te-neče te-nets’e ‘to sing’
78. ločak lots’ak ‘sun’
79. m-bat m-phats’ ‘my ear’
80. čot sots’ ‘owl’
81. -čɨ -sɨ ‘water’
82. čok sok’ ‘tail’
83. [=2] pit pis ‘meat’
84. -mut mus ‘smoke’
85. hoč(uruk) hos- ‘his heart’
86.[=50] pɨčá p’ɨsá ‘macaw’
87. mon mol ‘cloud’
88.[=25] kon kom ‘liver’
89. ma ma ‘land’
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90. wa wa ‘house’
91. wara wala ‘forehead’
92. jo jo ‘tree’
93. he he ‘red’
94.[=22] harek halek ‘arrow’
(Data from Campbell and Oltrogge 1980)
State the sound correspondences which you encounter in the cognate sets, and reconstruct a
proto-sound for each.
Jicaque Tol Proto-Jicaque
1 p p *p (In 1.-5., 27., 41., 60., 83.)
2 b p *p (In 6.-8., 18., 26., 68.) (/m__, V__V/w)
3 t t *t (In 8., 16.-19., 46., 52., 61., 77.)
4 d t *t (In 20.)
5 k k *k (In 6., 10., 15., 17., 22.-30., 78., 88., 94.)
6 -g- -k- *k (In 66.)
7 -k -p *p (In 9.-15.)
h h * h
8 p- p- p (In 31.-34.)
9 -b- ph- * h
p (In 24., 35.-38.)
h h
10 t- t- *t (In 39.-41.)
11 k kh * h
k (In 43.-45., 47.)
h h
12 -g- k *k (In 46.)
13 p p’ *p’ (In 48., 50., 86.)
14 -b- -p’- *p’ (In 49.) (/m__)
15 t t’ *t’ (In 19., 51.-54.)
16 -k’ -k’ *k’ (In 62., 82.)
17 k- ʔ- *k’ (In 55.-59.
18 -g- -ʔ- *k’ (In 4., 60.-61.)
19 č ts *ts (In 63.-69.)
20 -t -ts *ts (In 69.)
h
21 ʃ- ts *tsh (In 70.-72.)
22 č ts’ *ts’ (In 73.-78.)
23 -t ts’ *ts’ (In 35., 79.-80.
24 č s *s (In 62., 80.-82., 85.-86.)
25 -t -s *s (In 2., 48., 55.-56., 83.-84.)
26 l- l- *l (In 36., 78.)
27 -r- -l- *l (In 7., 9., 12., 22., 27.,-28., 30., 38., 45., 63., 65., 75., 91., 94.)
28 -n -l *l (In 5., 21., 32., 41.-42., 46., 73.-75., 87.)
29 m m *m (In 6., 20., 23., 26., 29., 35., 54., 70., 79., 84., 87., 89.)
30 n n *n (In 3., 14., 20., 38., 44., 58.-59., 63., 66., 69., 77.)
31 -n -m *m (In 25., 39., 88.)
32 w w *w (In 8., 57., 72., 90.-91.)
33 j j *j (In 34., 47., 49., 53., 71., 92.)
34 h h *h (In 12.-13., 22., 37., 47., 85., 93.-94.)
35 ʔ ʔ *ʔ (In 67.)
Vowel correspondences are the same in the two language and so the numbers that identify
77
the cognate sets exemplifying the vowel correspondences are not listed here:
Jicaque Tol Proto-Jicaque
36 i i *i
37 e e *e
38 a a *a
39 o o *o
40 u u *u
41 ɨ ɨ *ɨ
Sound changes in Jicaque:

1. *p’, *t’, *k’, *ts’ > p, t, k, ts respectively
Glottalized stops and affricates lost glottalization, changing to their plain counterparts. (In
sound correspondences [SC] 13-18, 22.-23.) Some of these sounds changed further in later
changes.
[NOTE: it is quite possible that Jicaque maintained glottalized consonants but that the
attestations we have simply did not record them. However, the fact that they become
voiced in change 3. suggests that they did lose glottalization, at least in some
environments.]
2. *p > k /__ # (In SC 7)
3. Stop > voiced /voiced C __ and /V__
Stops are voiced following a voiced consonant or a vowel (p, t, k > b, d, g /voiced C __,
and p, t, k > b, d, g /V __). This includes plain and aspirated voiceless stops; it also
includes original glottalized stops which lost glottalization in sound change 1. (In SCs 2,
4, 6, 9, 12, 14, 18.)
4. ts, *s > t /__ #
Sibilants (ts, s) > t word-finally. This includes also ts from original *ts’ which lost
glottalization in sound change 1. (In SCs 20, 23, 25.)
5. ts > č
This includes also ts originally from *ts’ which lost glottalization in sound change 1. (In
SC 19.)
(Changes 4. and 5. could perhaps be combined into a single change by notational
conventions, since they apply in complementary environments, cognates involved in 4.
word-finally, and those in SC 5. elsewhere, not word-finally.)
6a. *l > n /__#
6b.*l > r /V__Segment
Here, *l > n word-finally (in 6a) (in SC 28), and *l > r (in 6b) when between a vowel and
another segment (in SC 27). It is possible to combine 6a. and 6b. into a single change
using appropriate notation, since they involve complementary environments. (In 6b. the l
must be followed by another segment, a vowel in most instances, a consonant in some (as
for example in cognate set 7.), since without mentioning a following segment, if *l
followed a vowel but were in final position, it would become n. It is of course possible to
conclude that these changes took place in sequence, first 6a., so that once *l became n,
there would be no remaining instances of final l and so it would not be necessary to
specify a following segment in the environment for 6b., just *l > r /V__.
Sound changes in Tol:
78
7. *k’ > ʔ /__V
Here, *k’ > ʔ before a vowel, that is, initially and intervocalically, where a vowel follows
in both. (In SCs 17., 18.)
Exercise 5.8 K’ichean
K’ichean is a subgroup of the Mayan family. Compare these cognate forms and set up the sound
correspondences; propose the most appropriate reconstruction for the sound in the proto-
language for each, and write the sound changes which account for the developments in the
daughter languages. Are any instances found in any of the individual languages in which it is
necessary to state what the relative chronology of changes was?
NOTE: ɓ = voiced imploded bilabial stop; t’, ts’, č’, k’, q’, m’, w’ = glottalized consonants. In
Uspanteko, the accent mark over the vowel, as in ò:x ‘avocado’, indicates falling tone. Although
the correspondence set in which Q’eqchi’ h corresponds to x of the other languages is not found
in these data before u, ignore this – this sound correspondence occurs in general with no
restrictions that have anything to do with u.
NOTE: y = IPA [j], š = IPA [ʃ], č = IPA [tʃ] C’ = glottalized [ejective] consonants.
Abbreviations:
Kak = Kaqchikel
Tz’u = Tz’utujil
K’i = K’iche’
Poq = Popomam
Usp = Uspanteko
Q’eq = Q’eqchi’
PK = Proto-K’ichean
Kak Tz’u K’i Poq Usp Q’eq gloss

1. pak pak pak pak pak pak ‘custard apple’
2. pur pur pur pur pur pur ‘snail’
3. pim pim pim pim pim pim ‘thick’
4. toʔ toʔ toʔ toʔ toʔ toʔ ‘to help’
5. tox tox tox tox tox tox ‘to pay’
6. kiʔ kiʔ kiʔ kiʔ kiʔ kiʔ ‘sweet’
7. ka:ʔ ka:ʔ ka:ʔ ka:ʔ ka:ʔ ka:ʔ ‘quern’(metate)
8. k’el k’el k’el k’el k’el (k’el) ‘parrot’
9. qa- qa- qa- qa- qa- qa- ‘our’
10. qul qul qul — qul — ‘neck’
11. q’o:l q’ol q’o:l q’o:l q’o:l q’o:l ‘resin, pitch’
12. q’an q’an q’an q’an q’an q’an ‘yellow’
13. si:p si:p si:p si:p si:p si:p ‘tick’
14. saq saq saq saq saq saq ‘white’
15. tsuy tsuy tsuh suh tsuh suh ‘water gourd’
16. uts uts uts us uts us ‘good’
17. tsats tsats tsats sas tsats sas ‘thick’
79
18. ts’iʔ ts’iʔ ts’iʔ ts’iʔ ts’iʔ ‘ts’iʔ’ ‘dog’
19. če:ʔ če:ʔ če:ʔ če:ʔ če:ʔ če:ʔ ‘tree, wood’
Kak Tz’u K’i Poq Usp Q’eq gloss
20. ču:n ču:n ču:n ču:n ču:n ču:n ‘lime’
21. č’o:p č’o:p č’o:p č’o:p č’o:p č’o:p ‘pineapple’
22. xul xul xul xul xul xul ‘hole, cave’
23. winaq winaq winaq winaq winaq kwinq ‘person’
24. we:š we:š we:š we:š — kwe:š ‘trousers’
25. ya:x ya:x ya:x ya:x ya:x ya:x ‘genitals, shame’
26. mu:x mu:x mu:x mu:x mù:x mu:h ‘shade’
27. o:x o:x o:x o:x ò:x o:h ‘avocado’
28. ča:x ča:x ča:x ča:x čà:x ča:h ‘ashes’
29. tu:x tu:x tu:x tu:x tù:x tu:h ‘steambath’
30. q’i:x q’i:x q’i:x q’i:x q’ì:x (-q’ih) ‘day, sun’
31. ka:x ka:x ka:x ka:x kà:x — ‘sky’
32. čax čax čax čax čax čax ‘pine’
33. k’ax k’ax k’ax k’ax k’ax k’ax ‘flour’
34. k’o:x k’o:x k’o:x k’o:x k’o:x k’o:x ‘mask’
35. ɓa:y ɓa:y ɓa:h w’a:h ɓa:h ɓa:h ‘gopher’
36. ɓa:q ɓa:q ɓa:q w’a:q ɓaq ɓaq ‘bone’
37. ɓe:y ɓe:y ɓe:h w’e:h ɓe:h ɓe:h ‘road’
38. siɓ siɓ siɓ sim’ siɓ siɓ ‘smoke’
39. xaɓ xaɓ xaɓ xam’ xaɓ haɓ ‘rain’
40. xuku:ʔ xuku:ʔ xuku:ɓ xuku:m’ xuku:ɓ xukuɓ ‘canoe, trough’
41. a:q’aʔ a:q’aʔ a:q’aɓ a:q’am’ a:q’aɓ (a:q’ɓ) ‘night’
42. xal xal xal xal xal hal ‘ear of corn’
43. xe:y xe:y xe:h xe:h xe:h he:h ‘tail’
44. č’o:y č’o:y č’o:h č’o:h č’o:h č’o:h ‘mouse, rat’
45. k’yaq k’yaq k’yaq k’aq k’aq k’aq ‘flea’
46. kyaq kyaq kyaq kaq kaq kaq ‘red’
47. (i)kyaq’ (i)kyaq’ kyaq’ kaq’ — — ‘guava’
48. išk’yaq šk’yaq išk’yaq išk’aq išk’aq — ‘fingernail’
49. winaq winaq winaq winaq winaq kwinq ‘person’
50. šikin šikin šikin šikin šikin (šikn) ‘ear’
51. išoq išoq išoq išoq — išq ‘woman’
52. nimaq nimaq nimaq nimaq nimaq ninq ‘big’ (plural)
53. sanik sanik sanik (sanik) sanik sank ‘ant’
54. suʔt suʔt suʔt suʔt sù:t’ (suʔut) ‘cloth, kerchief’
55. poʔt poʔt poʔt poʔt pò:t’ poʔot ‘blouse’
56. piʔq piʔq piʔq piʔq pì:q’ — ‘corncob’
57. atiʔt atiʔt atiʔt atiʔt atì:t’ atiʔt ‘grandmother’
58. k’ax k’ax k’ax k’ax k’ax k’ax ‘flour’
59. k’ay k’ay k’ah k’ah k’ah k’ah ‘bitter’
60. k’ay k’ay k’ay k’ay k’ay k’ay ‘to sell’
61. mo:y mo:y mo:y mo:y mo:y mo:y ‘blind’ (dark)
62. ča:x ča:x ča:x ča:x čà:x ca:h ‘ashes’
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63. čax čax čax čax čax čax ‘pine’
64. č’ax č’ax č’ax — č’ax č’ax ‘to wash’
65. č’ay č’ay č’ay č’ay — — ‘to hit’
Sound correspondences, and reconstruction for the sound in the proto-language:

Kak Tz’u K’i Poq Usp Q’eq PK
[1] x x x x x x *x
[2] x x x x x h *xy
[3] y y h h h h *h
[4] ts ts s s ts ts *ts
[5] ɓ- ɓ- ɓ- w’- ɓ- ɓ- *ɓ
[6] -ɓ -ɓ -ɓ -m’ -ɓ -ɓ *ɓ
[7] -ʔ -ʔ -ɓ -m’ -ɓ -ɓ *ɓ
[8] k k k k k k *k
[9] ky ky ky k k k *k
[10] VʔC VʔC VʔC VʔC V̀:C VʔC *VʔC (C= stop)
[11] V: V: V: V: V̀: V: *V: /__xy
[12] V V V V V Ø *V /VC__C#
[13] m m m m m n *m /__q
[14] w w w w w kw *w /#__
[15] p p p p p p *p
[16] t t t t t t *t
[18] č č č č č č *č
[17] k k k k k k *k
[18] q q q q q q *q
[19] ʔ ʔ ʔ ʔ ʔ ʔ *ʔ
[20] ts’ ts’ ts’ ts’ ts’ ts’ *ts’
[21] č’ č’ č’ č’ č’ č’ * č’
[22] k’ k’ k’ k’ k’ k’ *k’
[23] q’ q’ q’ q’ q’ q’ *q’
[24] s s s s s s *s
[25] š š š š š š *š
[25] l l l l l l *l
[26] r r r r r r *r
[27] m m m m m m *m
[28] n n n n n n *n
[29] y y y y y y *y
The vowels have identical correspondences across the languages (with the exception of
the change affecting tone in Uspantec, and the deletion of short vowels and the shortening of
long vowels in final syllables followed by a final consonant in Q’eqchi’. The vowels are thus
reconstructed as:
*i *u
*e *o
*a
Plus their long counterparts.
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Sound changes in the daughter languages:
(1) Short V > Ø /VC__C# In Q’eqchi’ in SC [12] (as in examples 23. *winaq > kwinq, 52.
*nimaq > ninq, 54. *sanik > sank)
Short vowels were deleted in the final syllable before a final consonant.
(2) *m > n /__q In Q’eqchi’ in SC [13] (as in 52. *nimaq > ninq)
(3) *ɓ > ʔ /VC__# In Kaqchikel and Tz’utujil in SC [7] (as in 40. *xukuɓ, 41. *a:q’aɓ)
Final imploded “b” changed to glottal stop.
(4a) *ɓ > w’ /#__ In Poqoman in SC [5] (as in 35. *ɓah, 36. *ɓaq, 37. *ɓe:h)
Initial imploded “b” changed to glottalized “w”.
(4b) *ɓ > m’ /__# In Poqomam in SC [6] (as in 38. *siɓ, 39. *xaɓ, 40. *xukuɓ, 41. a:q’aɓ)
Final imploded “b” changed to glottalized “m”.
Here, (4a) and (4b) can be combined into a single change, since they affect
complementary environments; imploded “b” became a glottalized w word-initially and a
glottalized m word finally. [NOTE: with more data, it would become clear that the change
was to m’ word-finally and to w’ in all other positions, not just initially.]
(5) Ø > y /k(’)__Vq(’) In Kaqchikel, Tz’utujil, K’iche’, Poqomam in SC [9] (as in 45. *k’aq >
k’yaq, 46. *kaq > kyaq, 47. *ikaq’ > (i)kyaq’, 48. *išk’aq > išk’yaq).
A y was inserted after a velar stop (k or k’) when followed by a vowel and a uvular stop
(q or q’). [This seems to be dissimilation, making a verlar more distinct from a uvular
within the same syllable.]
(6) VʔC > V̀:C’ In Uspanteko (where the C = stop) in SC [10] (as in 54. *suʔt > sù:t’, 55.
*poʔt > pò:t/, 56. *piʔq > pì:q’, 57. *atiʔt > atì:t’).
The sequence of a Vowel, glottal stop (ʔ), and a stop together resulted in the stop
becoming glottalized, the glottal stop disappearing, and the preceding vowel being
lengthened with falling tone.
(7) V: > V̀: /__ *xy In Uspanteko in SC [11] (as in 26. *mu:xy > mù:x, 27. *o:xy > ò:x, 28. [also
62.] *ča:xy > čà:x, 29. *tu:xy > tù:x, 30. *q’i:xy > q’ì:x, 31. *ka:xy > *kà:x).
A long vowel developed falling tone before the fronted velar fricative *xy.
y
(8) *x > h In Q’eqchi’ in SC [2] (as in 26., 27., 28. [= 62.], 29., 30., 39., 42., 43.)
(9) *xy > x In Kaqchikel, Tz’utujil, K’iche’, Poqomam, and Uspanteko in SC [2] as (in 26., 27.,
28. [= 62.], 29., 30., 39., 42., 43.).
(10) *ts > s In Poqomam and Q’eqchi’ in SC [4] (as in 15. *tsuh > suh, 16. *uts > us, 17. *tsats
> sas).
(11) *h > y /__# In Kaqchikel and Tz’utujil in SC [3] (as in 15., 35., 43., 59.).
Kaqchikel and Tz’utujil share the change of final h to y.
(12) *w > kw /#__ In Q’eqchi’ in SC [14] (as in 23., 24.).
In Q’eqchi’, initial *w was strengthened to kw.
[In these data there is no indication that *w did not become kw in all contexts; had more
data been provided, it would become clear that syllable final w remained unchanged.]
Relative chronology:
Change (1) took place before (2) in Q’eqchi’. In 52. *nimaq > nimq by change (1) comes
before nimq > ninq by change (2). If (2) had occurred before (1), then (2) would not apply to
*nimaq; it could not change m to n before q, since there would be no q following m, and if (1)
then took place after (2), we would end up with ✘nimq, the wrong outcome.
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Change (7) took place before change (9) in Uspanteko. For example, in 28. (same as 62.)
*ča:x > čà:xy ‘ashes’ by (7), and then čà:xy > čà:x by (9), but in 63. ‘pine’ change (7) does not
y
apply to *ča:x, since there is no xy in the environment to condition the tone change in the
preceding vowel, and change (9) does not apply, again, since there was no xy to change to x:
*ča:xy ‘ashes’ *ča:x ‘pine’
y
Change (7) čà:x --
Change (9) čà:x --
Result čà:x ča:x
However, if change (9) had taken place earlier than change (7) in the history of Uspanteko, then
in 28./62. ‘ashes’, xy > x (*ča:xy > *ča:x) by (9), and if (7) had come later, there would no
longer have been the xy needed for (7) to lower the tone on the preceding vowel, giving the
wrong form:
*ča:xy ‘ashes’ *ča:x ‘pine’
Change (9) ča:x --
Change (7) -- --
Result ✘ča:x ča:x
Exercise 5.9 Quechuan
Quechuan is a family of several languages spoken in the Andes region of South America, with
varieties found in Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. Compare the cognates from
the languages listed here. Set up the correspondence sets; reconstruct the sounds of Proto-
Quechuan; find and list the sound changes which took place in each language (variety);
determine what the relative chronology may have been in any cases where more than one
change took place in an individual language (variety), if there is evidence which shows this.
What do you think the inventory of Proto-Quechuan sounds was? (Note that there is some
controversy about the historical status of glottalized consonants (p’, t’, č’, k’, q’) and aspirated
consonants (ph, th, čh, kh, qh) in Quechuan. For the purposes of this exercise do not try to
reconstruct them, but rather treat those few which occur (in the Cuzco variety) as though they
were equal to the plain counterparts.) (NOTE: [Ŋ̣] = uvular nasal; y = IPA [j]; l y = IPA [lj]; ny
= IPA [nj].
Abbreviations:
An = Ancash
Ju = Junín
Ca = Cajamarca
Am = Amazonas
Ec = Ecuador
Ay = Ayacucho
Cu = Cuzco
An Ju Ca Am Ec Ay Cu
1. paka- paka- paka- paka- paka- paka- paka- ‘begin’
2. apa- apa- apa- apa- apa- apa- apa- ‘wash’
3. rapra lapla rapra rapra — rapra raφra ‘leaf, wing’
4. pampa pampa pamba pamba pamba pampa pampa ‘plains’
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5. tapu- tapu- tapu- tapu- tapu- tapu- tapu- ‘ask’
6. wata- wata- wata- wata- wata- wata- wata- ‘tie’
7. utka utka utka utka — utka uskha ‘cotton’
8. inti inti indi indi indi inti inti ‘sun’
9. kimsa kimsa kimsa kimsa kimsa kimsa kimsa ‘three’
10. puka puka — puka puka puka puka ‘red’
11. haksa- saksa- saksa- saxsa- saxsa- saksa- saxsa- ‘be full, fed up’
12. kuŋka kuŋka kuŋga kuŋga kuŋga kuŋka kuŋka neck
13. qam am qam kam kaŋ χam qaŋ ‘you’ (SG)
14. qoha usa qosa kusa kusa χosa qosa ‘husband’
15. waɢa- waʔa- waga- waka- waka- waχa- waqa- ‘cry’
16. hoχta suʔta soχta sukta suxta soχta soχta ‘six’
17. heŊ̣ɢa siŋʔa seŊ̣ɢa siŋga siŋga seŊ̣χa seŊ̣qa ‘nose’
18. tsaki čaki čaki čaki čaki čaki č’aki ‘dry’
19. mutsa- muča- muča- muča- muča- muča- muč’a- ‘kiss’

20. mantsa- manča- manča- manča- manča- manča- manča- ‘fear, be afraid’
21. putska- pučka- pučka- pučka- puʃka- pučka- puska-
‘to thread’
22. e:tsa ayča ayča e:ča ayča ayča ayča ‘meat’
23. čaki č̣aki č̣aki č̣aki č̣aki čaki čaki ‘foot’

24. kača- kač̣a- kač̣a- kač̣a- kač̣a- kača- kača- ‘send’
25. učpa uč̣pa uč̣pa uč̣pa uʃpa učpa uspha ‘ashes’
26. kički kič̣ki kič̣ki kič̣ki kiʃki kički k’iski ‘narrow’
27. haru- salu- saru- saru- saru- saru- saru- ‘to step on’
28. hara sala sara sara sara sara sara ‘maize, corn’
29. qaha asa qasa kasa kasa χasa qasa ‘ice’
30. isqoŋ isʔuŋ esqoŋ iʃkuŋ iʃkuŋ isχoŋ esqoŋ ‘nine’
31. — aysa- aysa- e:sa- aysa- aysa- aysa- ‘pull’
32. waʃa waʃa waʃa waʃa waʃa wasa wasa ‘behind’
33. iʃke: iʃkay iʃkay iʃke: iʃkay iskay iskay ‘two’
34. hatuŋ hatuŋ atuŋ atuŋ hatuŋ hatuŋ hatuŋ ‘big’

35. hutsa huča uča uča huča huča huča ‘fault’
36. humpi humpi — umbi humbi humpi hump’i ‘sweat’
37. laki lyaki ʒaki ǰaki ʒaki lyaki lyaki ‘pain, trouble’
38. kila kilya kiʒa kiǰa kiʒa kilya kilya ‘moon’
39. alba alypa aʃpa aǰpa aʒpa alypa halyp’a ‘land’
40. aylu aylyu ayʒu e: ǰu ayʒu aylyu aylyu ‘family’
41. rima- lima- rima- rima- rima- rima- rima- ‘to speak’
42. karu kalu karu karu karu karu karu ‘far’
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43. warmi walmi warmi warmi warmi warmi warmi ‘woman’
44. waχra waʔla waχra wakra — waχra waχra ‘horn’
45. nina nina nina nina nina nina nina ‘fire’
46. yana yana yana yana yana yana yana ‘black’
47. wayna wayna wayna wayna wayna wayna wayna ‘young man’
48. aŋya- aŋya- aŋya- aŋya- aŋya- aŋya- aŋya- ‘to reprove’
49. nawi nyawi nyawi nyawi nyawi nyawi nyawi ‘eye’

50. wanu- wanyu- wanyu- wanyu- wanyu- wanyu- wanyu- ‘to die’
51. qepa ipa qepa kipa kipa χepa qhepa ‘behind’

52. weɢe wiʔi — wiki wiki weχe weqe ‘tear(drop)’(NOUN)
53. qeʃpi- iʃpi- — kiʃpi- kiʃpi- χespi- qespi- ‘to escape’

54. qo- u- qo- — ku- χo- qo- ‘to give’
55. qoŊ̣ga- uŋʔa- qoŊ̣ga- kuŋga- kuŋga- χoŊ̣χa- qoŊ̣qa- ‘to forget’
Set up the correspondence sets, reconstruct the sounds of Proto-Quechuan:

An Ju Ca Am Ec Ay Cu Proto-Quechua
1 p p p p p p p *p
(In 1., 2., 3., 5., 10., 21., 25., 51., 53.)
2 p p p p p p ɸ *p (In 3.)
3 p p b b b p p *p (In 36.)
4 b p p p p p p *p (In 40.)
5 t t t t t t t *t (In 5.-6., 16., 34. )
6 t t t t t t s *t (In 7.)
7 t t d d d t t *t (In 8.)
8 k k k k k k k *k
(In 9.-10., 12., 21., 23.-24., 26., 33., 37.-38., 42.)
9 k k k x x k x *k (In 11.)
10 k k g g g k k *k (In 12. )
11 q Ø q k k χ q *q (In 13.-14., 51., 53.-55.)
An Ju Ca Am Ec Ay Cu Proto-Quechua
12 ɢ ʔ ɢ k k χ q *q (In 15., 52.)
13 ɢ ʔ ɢ g g χ q *q (In 17., 55.)
14 χ ʔ χ k x χ χ *q (In 16., 44.)
15 ts č č č č č č *č (In 18.-20., 22.)
16 ts č č č ʃ č s *č (In 21.)
17 č č̣ č̣ č̣ č č č *č (In 23-24.)
18 č č̣ č̣ č̣ ʃ č s *č̣ (In 25.-26.)
19 h s s s s s s *s (In 27.-29., 31.)
20 s s s s s s s *s (In 9., 11., 31.)
21 s s s ʃ ʃ s s *s (In 30.)
22 ʃ ʃ ʃ ʃ ʃ s s *s (In 32., 33., 53.)
y y y * y
23 l l ʒ ǰ ʒ l l l (In 37.-38., 40.)
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24 l ly ʃ ǰ ʒ ly ly * y
l (In 39.)
25 r l r r r r r *r (In 41.-44.)
26 m m m m m m m *m
(In 4., 9., 19.-20., 36., 41., 43.)
27 m m m m ŋ m ŋ *m (In 13.)
28 n n n n n n n *n (In 20., 45.-47.)
29 ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ ŋ *n (In 12.)
30 ŋ̣ ŋ ŋ̣ ŋ ŋ ŋ̣ ŋ̣ *n (In 17., 30., 55.)
y y y
31 n n n n ny ny ny * y
n (In 49.-50.)
32 w w w w w w w *w (In 43.-44., 47., 49.-50., 52.)
33 y y y y y y y *y (In 46.-48.)
34 h h Ø Ø h h h *h (In 34.-36.)
35 a a a a a a a *a (In many.)
36 i i i i i i i *i (In many.)
37 e i e i i e e *i (In 17., 51.-53.)
38 i i e i i i e *i (In 30.)
39 u u u u u u u *u (In many.)
40 o u o u u o o *u (In. 14., 16., 30., 54.-55.)
41 e: ay ay e: ay ay ay *ay (In. 22., 31., 33., 39.)
42 ay ay ay ay ay ay ay *ay (In 40., 47.)
Sound changes: find and list the sound changes which took place in each language
(variety):
Changes affecting all varieties, as allophones in Proto-Quechua:

Qu 1. Nasal assimilation: *n > ŋ /__ velar (In sound correspondence [SC] 29), *n > Ŋ̣ /__
uvular (In SC 30), *n > m /__ labial (In SCs 4, 38), and *n remains n before alveolars and
alveopalatals (In cognate sets 8., 20.).
Qu 2. *n > ŋ /__ #
Final *n became ŋ (an allophone of *n). (In SC 30).
Qu 3. High vowel > non-high /q __ and /__ (n)q (In SCx 37-40)
*i > e, and *u > o in the environment of q, either after q or before *q or *nq. Some languages
later underwent additional minor changes in these vowels resulting in some variation in the
individual languages, where the environment of the vowel lowering change has been
extended to include *sq. The languages which lost the q : k contrast (Junín, Amazonas, and
Ecuador) also do not have e or o in the environment of earlier *q. The vowel lowering was
allophonic, not phonemic, as e and o did not contrast with i and u, but rather were automatic
co-articulation affects as a consequence of the uvular consonant in the environment. Since
the lowering was tied so closely to the presence of a uvular, when q > k in these languages,
there was no longer a uvular to condition these vowels to lower, and as a consequence, the
languages lacking q also lack e and o as allophones of /i/ and /u/.
Ancash sound changes:

An 1. *p > b /__l (In SC 4)
An 2a. *q > ɢ /V__V (In SG 12)
An 2b. *q > ɢ /Nasal __ (In SC 13)
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In Ancash the uvular stop *q became voiced (ɢ) both between vowels and after nasals.
An 3. *q > χ /__C (In SC 14)
An 4. *č > ts (In SCs 15, 16)
An 5. *č̣ > č (In SC 17)
An 6. *s > h /#__ a (In SC 19)
An 7. Palatalized sonorants > non-palatalized
* y
l > l (In SCs 23, 24), *ny > n (In SC 31)
An 8. *ay > e: /__ obstruent
Here, ay monophongized to e: before obstruents (as in SC 41 [examples in cognate sets 22., 31.,
33., 39.]), but not before sonorants (l and n, as in SC 42 [examples in cognate sets 40, 47.]).
Ancash relative chronology:

An 4. (*č > ts) preceded An 5. (*č̣ > č), for otherwise *č̣ would have become č first (by An 5),
and then the new č and original *č would both have become ts (by An 4), giving wrong
results (as in SC 17, which retained č). This is, in effect, a small chain shift; it would be
considered a pull chain if first *č > ts, leaving an opening for *č̣ to move into the space
vacated by former č. It would be a push chain if evidence could be found that *č̣ started
moving towards the space of č, causing č to move to ts in order to maintain the contrast and
avoid merger with the new č from earlier *č̣.
Junín sound changes:

Ju 1. *q > Ø /#__ (In SC 11)
Initial *q was lost.
Ju 2. *q > ʔ /V__V (In SCs 12, 13)
*q became a glottal stop between vowels.
Ju 3. *s > ʃ /__ C (In SC 22) (perhaps only before velars and uvulars).
(Ju lost allophonic e and o as a consequence of the loss of the contrastive uvulars.)
Cajamarca sound changes:

Ca 1. Stop > voiced /__ Nasal (In SCs 3, 7, 10, 13)
Here, p, t, k, q > b, d, g, ɢ, respectively, before a nasal.
Ca 2. *q > χ /__ C (In SC 14)
Ca 3. *ly > ʒ /__ V (In SC 23), *ly > ʃ /__ C (In 24)
Ca 4. i > e /__ Cq (In SC 38, also in SC 37)
It is presumed that Cajamarca extended the environment of the Qu 3. allophonic change to
applying not just when adjacent to q or before *nq, but to include also any consonant
followed by q (before *sq or *nq, the only clusters involving q as the second member in
these data).
Amazonas sound changes:

Am 1. k > x /__ C (In SC 9)
Am 2. *q > k (In SCs 11, 12, 13, 14)
Am 3. Stop > voiced /__ Nasal (In SCs 3, 7, 10, 13)
p, t, k > b, d, g, respectively, before nasals.
Am 4. *s > ʃ /__ C, (In SC 21) *s > ʃ /V__V (In SC 22)
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*s > ʃ before consonants and intervocalically, but not initially nor after consonants (as in
cognate set 9.).
Am 5. *ly > ǰ (In SCs 23, 24)
Am 6. *ay > e: /__ obstruent
Here, ay monophongized to e: before obstruents (as in SC 41 [examples in cognate sets
22., 31., 33., 39.]), but not before sonorants (l and n, as in 42 [examples in cognate sets 40,
47.]).
(Am lost allophonic e and o as a consequence of the loss of *q.)
Amazonas relative chronology:

Am 1. must have preceded Am. 2., since otherwise original *q > k (by Am 2) and then both
original *k and the new k from *q would have become x (by Am 1), as in cognate set 44.
*waqra > wakra by Am 2. then ✘waxra by Am 1., an error. With Am. 1. taking place before
Am 2., the outcome gives the right result: to *waqra Am. 1. did not apply, as if affects only
k not q, then later Am 2. applied to give the correct wakra.
Ecuador sound changes:

Ec 1. *q > k (In SCs 11, 12, 13, 14)
Uvulars and velars merged to velars.
Ec 2. k > x /__ C (In SCs 9, 14)
Both original *k and new k from q in Ec. 1 become x before a following consonant.
Ec 3. Stop > voiced /__ Nasal (In SCs 3, 7, 10, 13)
p, t, k > b, d, g, respectively, before nasals.
Ec 4. *s > ʃ /__ C, (In SC 21), *s > ʃ /V__V (In SC 22)
Here, *s > ʃ before consonants and intervocalically, but not initially nor after consonants
(as in cognate set 9.).
Ec 5. *č > ʃ /__ C (In SC 16)
Ec 6. *ly > ʒ (In SCs 23, 24)
(Ec lost allophonic e and o as a consequence of the loss of *q.)
Ecuador Relative Chronology:

Ec 1. preceded Ec. 2., since original *q > k and then both original *k and the new k from *q
became x, as in cognate set 44. *waqra > wakra by Ec 1., then waxra by Am 1.
Ayacucho sound changes:

Ay 1. *q > χ (In SCs 11, 12, 13, 14)
Cuzco sound changes:

Cu 1. *č̣ > *č (In SCs 15-18)
*č and *č̣ merged to č.
Cu 2. Stops and affricates > fricatives /__ C (In SCs 3, 6, 9, 14, 16, 18)
Before a consonant: p > ɸ, t > s, č (from both *č and *č̣) > s, k > x, q > χ. Presumably in
the change of č > s there was an intermediate stage: č > ʃ > s, which would require another
change, Cu 2a. ʃ > s.
Cu 3. i > e /__ Cq (In SC 38, also SC 37)
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It is presumed that Cuzco extended the environment of the Qu 3. allophonic change to
apply not just being adjacent to q or before *nq, but to include also any consonant
followed by q (before *sq or *nq, the only clusters involving q as the second member in
these data).
Proto-Quechua phonemic inventory, as reflected in these data:

p t *č *č̣ k q
s h
y
r l
m n ny
w y
i u
a
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EXERCISES FOR CHAPTER 6 LINGUISTICS CLASSIFICATION
6.1 Exercise: Polynesian subgrouping
There are numerous Polynesian languages, of which the ones in this exercise are only a sample.
Polynesian is a branch (subgroup) of the Austronesian family. Consider the two cognate sets
from these five Polynesian languages. What sound change has taken place? Observe which
languages underwent the change and which ones did not, and on this basis draw all the
alternative possible family trees that could account for the subgrouping of these languages.
(Clue: which languages share an innovation? Which languages share a retention?) Note that the
medial consonant, spelled <ng> or <g>, is /ŋ/ in all the languages.
Proto-Polynesian *songi ‘smell’ *sae ‘to tear’

Tongan hongi hae
Niuean hongi hee
Samoan sogi sae
East Futuna sogi sae
Luangiua songi sae
(Data from Otsuka 2005.)
The sound change is: *s > h

The languages which underwent this change are: Tongan and Niuean.
Tongan and Niuean share the innovation (*s > h).
Samoan, East Futuma, and Luangiua share only a retention (of *s).
Possible family trees based on the shared innovation: so long as Tongan and Niuean are
joined together in a single branch, all other logically possible combinations are possible family
trees, based on these data. Keep in mind, however, various family trees remain possibilities
because the evidence is insufficient to rule them out, and these are not subgroupings that are
supported by shared innovations – only the branch containing both Tongan and Niuean is
securely supported by the shared innovation (and even then, we are assuming that the change
did not take place independently in the two languages, although that possibility cannot be ruled
out).
The possible family trees are:
(1) Proto-Polynesian
Tongan Niuean Samoan East Futuna Luangiua
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(Four independent branches, one of which is a subgroup of the two languages Tongan and
Niuean.)

(Two branches, one subgroup with Tongan and Niuean, another subgroup with the other three
languages, Samoan, East Futuna, and Luangiua. There is evidence, the shared innovation, for
the subgroup that includes Tongan and Niuean; there is no evidence to confirm or deny the
other logically possible subgroup, joining Samoan, East Futuna, and Luangiwa.)

(Three branches, one with Tongan and Niuean, one with Samoan and East Futuna, and one with
independent Luangiua. There is evidence, the shared innovation, for the subgroup that includes
Tongan and Niuean; there is no evidence to confirm or deny the other possible subgroup that
joining Samoan and East Futuna, nor the independence of Luangiwa.)
Tongan Niuean Samoa East Futuna Luangiua

(Three branches, one subgroup with Tongan and Niuean, one with independent Samoan, and
one with East Futuna and Luangiua.)
Some other possibilities would be:

(1) A subgroup of Tongan-Niuean-Samoan, with East Futuna and Luangiua as two
independence branches, where Tongan-Niuean and Samoan would then later split, and after the
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Samoan split off, the ancestor of Tongan-Niuean underwent the change that came to be
reflected as a shared innovation in Tongan and Samoan.
(2) As in (1), with a subgroup of Tongan-Niuean-Samoan but with East Futuna and Luangiua
together in a subgroup, though there is no evidence of a Futuna-Luagiua subgroup in these data.
(3) A subgroup of Tongan-Niuean-East Futuna, with Samoan and Luangiua as separate
branches.
(4) As in (3), with a subgroup of Tongan-Niuean-East Futuna, but with Samoan and Luangiua
together in a subgroup, though there is no evidence of a Samoan-Luagiua subgroup in these
data.
6.2 Exercise: Barbacoan subgrouping
Barbacoan is a small family of languages spoken in Colombia and Ecuador; its members
include: Awa Pit, Cha’palaachi, Guambiano, Totoró, and Tsafiqui. Consider the following
sound changes in the various Barbacoan languages. On the basis of these, draw the most likely
family tree which represents the subgrouping of the Barbacoan family. (Note, č = IPA tʃ, š =
IPA ʃ.)
1. Proto-Barbacoan *t > č / __ i (when before i) in Guambiano

2. Proto-Barbacoan *t > č / __ i (when before i) in Totoró
3. Proto-Barbacoan *t > š / __ i (when before i) in Awa Pit
4. Proto-Barbacoan *t > tʂ elsewhere (when not before i) in Guambiano
5. Proto-Barbacoan *t > tʂ elsewhere (when not before i) in Totoró
6. Proto-Barbacoan *t > s elsewhere (when not before i) in Awa Pit
7. Proto-Barbacoan *š > Ø /__ # (lost word-finally) in Guambiano
8. Proto-Barbacoan *š > Ø /__ # (lost word-finally) in Totoró
9. Proto-Barbacoan *l > n / #__ i (before i) in Guambiano
10. Proto-Barbacoan *l > n / #__ i (before i) in Totoró
11. Proto-Barbacoan *l > n / #__ i (before i) in Awa Pit
12. Proto-Barbacoan *p, *t, *k > Ø/__ # (stops lost word-finally) in Cha’palaachi
13. Proto-Barbacoan *p, *t, *k > Ø/__ # (stops lost word-finally) in Tsafiqui
14. Proto-Barbacoan *s > h in Cha’palaachi
15. Proto-Barbacoan *s > h in Tsafiqui
(Source Curnow and Liddicoat 1998.)
Shared sound changes and generalized treatment of the changes:

(1) *t > č /__ i shared by Guambiano, Totoró, and Awa Pit (sound changes 1.-3.)
(2) č [from *t by (1)] > š in Awa Pit (in sound change 3., better seen as *t > č > š)
(3) *t > tʂ shared by Guambiano, Totoró, and Awa Pit (sound changes 4.-6.)
(4) tʂ [from *t by (3)] > s in Awa Pit (in sound change 6., better seen as *t > tʂ > s)
(5) *š > Ø /__ # shared by Cha’palaachi and Tsafiqui (sound changes 7.-8.)
(6) *l > n /#__ i shared by Guambiano, Totoró, and Awa Pit (sound changes 9.-11.)
(7) *p, *t, *k > Ø/__ # shared by Cha’palaachi and Tsafiqui (sound changes 12.-13.)
(8) *s > h shared by Cha’palaachi and Tsafiqui (sound changes 14.-5.)
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Guambiano, Totoró, and Awa Pit share the changes described in (1), (3), and (6).
Cha’palaachi and Tsafiqui share those in (5), (7), and (8).
The possible trees must group Guambiano, Totoró, and Awa Pit in one subgroup (based on the
shared innovations (1), (3), and (6)), and Cha’palaachi and Tsafiqui in another subgroup (based
on the shared innovations (5), (7), and (8)). However, the evidence here is insufficient to
determine which of other possible groupings may be more likely (more historically accurate).
The possible trees are:
(1) Proto-Barbacoan
Guambiano Totoró Awa Pit Cha’palaachi Tsafiqui

(Two subgroups, one with two languages, Cha’palaachi and Tsafiqui, and one with three
equally distant languages, Guambiano, Totoró, and Awa Pit.)
(2) Proto-Barbacoan

(Two subgroups, one with two languages, Cha’palaachi and Tsafiqui; the other which is further
subdivided into two branches of its own, one with Guambiano and Totoró more closely related
to one another, and with Awa Pit more distantly related to these two within this subgroup.)
(3) Proto-Barbacoan

(Two subgroups, one with two languages, Cha’palaachi and Tsafiqui; the other further
subdivided into two branches of its own, one branch with Guambiano, and the other with Totoró
and Awa Pit more closely related to one another.)
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EXERCISES FOR CHAPTER 8 INTERNAL RECONSTRUCTION
Exercise 8.1 German internal reconstruction
Compare the following German words; find the variants of forms of the roots (do not be
concerned with the forms of the suffixes), and apply internal reconstruction to these.
Reconstruct a single original form for the morphemes which have alternate forms, and postulate
the changes which you think took place to produce the modern variants. Present your reasoning;
why did you choose this solution? (Hint: the criterion of predictability is important in this case.)
(German traditional orthography is given in parentheses after the forms, which are presented in
phonemic transcription. The ‘e’ of the final syllable in these forms is phonetically closer to [ə]
in most dialects, though this is not a relevant fact for solving this problem.)
1. ty:p (Typ) ‘type’ ty:pen (Typen) ‘types’

2. to:t (tot) ‘dead’ to:te (Tote) ‘dead people’
3. lak (Lack) ‘varnish’ lake (Lacke) ‘kinds of varnish’
4. tawp (taub) ‘deaf’ tawbe (Taube) ‘deaf people’
5. to:t (Tod) ‘death’ to:de (Tode) ‘deaths’
6. ta:k (Tag) ‘day’ ta:ge (Tage) ‘days’
Reconstruct a single original form for the morphemes:

Pre-German root
1. ty:p (Typ) ‘type’ ty:p-en (Typen) ‘types’ *ty:p
2. to:t (tot) ‘dead’ to:t-e (Tote) ‘dead people’ *to:t
3. lak (Lack) ‘varnish’ lak-e (Lacke) ‘kinds of varnish’ *lak
4. taup (taub) ‘deaf’ taub-e (Taube) ‘deaf people’ *taub
5. to:t (Tod) ‘death’ to:d-e (Tode) ‘deaths’ *to:d
6. ta:k (Tag) ‘day’ ta:g-e (Tage) ‘days’ *ta:g
Change 1.: stop > voiceless /__#
Stops in word-final position become voiceless (as in 4., 5. 6.).
Examples of reconstruction and application of Change 1:

1. *ty:p *ty:p-en 4. *tawb *tawb-e
‘type’ ‘types’ ‘deaf’ ‘deaf people’
Change 1.: -- -- tawp --
Result: ty:p ty:pen tawp tawbe
Reasoning: A proposed alternative reconstruction with voiceless final consonants as

original and a change to voice them intervocalically produces erroneous forms; it fails on the
criterion of predictability:
Change A.: C > voiced /V__V
1. *ty:p *ty:p-en 4. *tawp *tawp-e
Change A.: -- ty:ben -- taube
Result ty:p ✘ty:ben tawp taube
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Change A. cannot distinguish between cases such as 4. where the stop ends up voiced between
vowels (taube) and cases such as 1. where the change predicts the stop should also be voiced in
ty:pen but it is not voiced. The change would produce erroneous ✘ty:ben. Since this proposed
alternative cannot accurately predict all the resulting forms, it must be abandoned. The solution
with Change 1. devoicing final stops does correctly predict the outcomes of all these forms.
Exercise 8.2 Kaqchikel internal reconstruction
Kaqchikel is a Mayan language of Guatemala. Compare the following words; find the forms
which have variants; apply internal reconstruction to these forms. Reconstruct a single original
form for the morphemes which have alternate forms, and postulate the changes that you think
must have taken place to produce these variants. Present your reasoning; why did you choose
this solution and reject other possible hypotheses? (Note that -ir is the inchoative suffix,
meaning ‘to become/turn into’, and-isax is the causative suffix.)
1. nax ‘far’ naxt-ir-isax ‘to distance’

2. čox ‘straight’ čoxm-ir ‘to become straight’
3. war ‘sleep’ wart-isax ‘to put to sleep’
4. ax ‘ear of corn’ axn-i ‘of corn’ (i ‘adjective suffix’)
Reconstruct a single original form for the morphemes which have alternate forms:
Pre-Kaqchikel root
1. nax ‘far’ naxt-ir-isax ‘to distance’ *naxt
2. čox ‘straight’ čoxm-ir ‘to become straight’ *čoxm
3. war ‘sleep’ wart-isax ‘to put to sleep’ *wart
4. ax ‘ear of corn’ axn-i ‘of corn’ (i ‘adjective suffix’) *axn
Postulate the changes:

Change 1.: C > Ø /C __ #
The last consonant of a word-final consonant cluster was deleted.
Examples of reconstruction and application of the change:

1. *naxt *naxt-ir-isax 2. *čoxm *čoxm-ir
‘far’ ‘to distance’ ‘straight’ ‘to become straight’
Change 1.: nax -- čox --
Result: nax naxtirisax čox čoxmir
Reasoning: An alternative analysis which would reconstruct the roots with only a
single final consonant (*nax, *čox, *war, *ax) and then attempt to predict which consonant was
added when not word final, that is, when followed by a suffix, does not work, since there is no
logical phonetic basis for predicting which consonant would be added, why a -t- in 1., but -m- in
2., and so on.
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Exercise 8.3 Sanskrit internal reconstruction
Compare the following forms from Sanskrit. Identify the variants of the various roots and attempt to
reconstruct a Pre-Sanskrit form for each root. Note that the reconstructions for the forms in 10–16 are
not straightforward and may require some creative thinking on your part. What change do you think took
place to produce these forms? Why did you choose this particular analysis and not some other?
NOTE: j = [ǰ], IPA [dʒ]; consonants with dots underneath are retroflex.)
Nominative Instrumental
1. šarat ‘autumn’ šarad-ā ‘by autumn’
2. sampat ‘wealth’ sampad-ā ‘by wealth’
3. vipat ‘calamity’ vipad-ā ‘by calamity’
4. marut ‘wind’ marut-ā ‘by wind’
5. sarit ‘river’ sarit-ā ‘by river’
6. jagat ‘world’ jagat-ā ‘by world’
Nominative Ablative
7. suhṛt ‘friend’ suhṛd-ā ‘from friend’
8. sukṛt ‘good deed’ sukṛt-ā ‘from good deed’
9. sat ‘being’ sat-ā ‘from being’
10. bhiṣak ‘physician’ bhiṣaj-ā ‘from physician’
11. ṛtvik ‘priest’ ṛtvij-ā ‘from priest’
12. yuk ‘yoke’ yuj-ā ‘from yoke’
13. srak ‘garland’ sraj-ā ‘from garland’
14. rāṭ ‘king’ rāj-ā ‘from king’
15. iṭ ‘worship’ ij-ā ‘from worship’
16. sṛṭ ‘creation’ sṛj-ā ‘from creation’
(Bhat 2001: 33, 91,94)
Variants of the roots and Pre-Sanskrit reconstructions:

Pre-Sanskrit
1. šarat šarad- *šarad ‘autumn’
2. sampat sampad- *sampad ‘wealth’
3. vipat vipad- *vipad ‘calamity’
4. marut *marut ‘wind’
5. sarit *sarit ‘river’
6. jagat *jagat ‘world’
7. suhṛt suhṛd- *suhṛd ‘friend’
8. sukṛt *sukṛt ‘good deed’
9. sat *sat ‘being’
10. bhiṣak bhiṣaj- *bhiṣag ‘physician’
11. ṛtvik ṛtvij- *ṛtvig ‘priest’
12. yuk yuj- *yug ‘yoke’
13. srak sraj- *srag ‘garland’
14. rāṭ rāj- *rāḍ ‘king’
15. iṭ ij- *iḍ ‘worship’
16. sṛṭ sṛj- *sṛḍ ‘creation’
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Change 1. Final devoicing: stop > voiceless /__#
Change 2. Palatalization: g, ḍ > j /__ ā
*šarad *šarad-a *yug *yug-ā *rāḍ *rāḍ-ā
Ch1: šarat -- yuk -- rāṭ --
Ch 2: -- -- -- yuj-ā -- rāj-ā
Result: šarat šarada yuk yujā rāṭ rājā
Change 2 Palatalization of g and ḍ to ǰ would not be unusual, except here the change
takes place before ā, not before front vowels, as is common of palatalization changes cross-
linguistically. Given the limitations of the data in the exercise, you might say that the change
took place before any suffix vowel: g, ḍ > j /__+V, though if more data were given, we would
find out that this change did not happen before just any vowel at the beginning of a suffix.
Historically, Sanskrit e > a, and it can be assumed that at an earlier time it was e and ē which
conditioned the palatalization in Change 2, like similar changes in many languages before front
vowels, and then later e and ē changed to a and ā, respectively, after the preceding g and ḍ had
become palatalized. It is unlikely that most people would posit an earlier stage with e and ē for
these vowels in order to have a plausible environment for the palatalization in Change 2 and
then later merge e and ē with a and ā, respectively, after palatalization had changed the forms. If
you did postulate such a solution, it would be within the bounds of internal reconstruction,
though hard to justify on the basis of these data alone.
Exercise 8.4 Internal reconstruction of Finnish vowels
Compare the following words; what happens when the i ‘plural’ or i ‘past tense’ morphemes are
added to these roots? State what the variants (allomorphs) of the roots are; apply internal
reconstruction to these forms. Reconstruct a single original form for each root morpheme and
postulate the changes which you think must have taken place to produce these variants. Present
your reasoning; why did you choose this solution and reject other possible hypotheses? NOTE:
double vowels, such as aa, yy, and so on, are phonetically long vowels ([a:], [y:], etc. Finnish ä
= IPA [æ], ö = [ø]. HINT: Native Finnish words do not have (surface) oo, ee, or öö [øø]; rather,
Finnish has uo, ie, and yö [yø] where long mid vowels would be expected. The correct answer
for words containing these diphthongs does NOT involve the first vowel being lost when i is
added (that is, NOT suo + i > soi by loss of u).
1. saa ‘gets’ sai ‘got’

2. maa ‘land’ mai- ‘lands’
3. puu ‘tree’ pui- ‘trees’
4. luu ‘bone’ lui- ‘bones’
5. pii ‘tooth (of rake)’ pii- ‘teeth’
6. pää ‘head’ päi- ‘heads’
7. pyy ‘wood grouse’ pyi- ‘wood grouses’
8. täi ‘louse’ täi- ‘lice’
9. suo ‘grants’ soi ‘granted’
10. suo ‘swamp’ soi- ‘swamps’
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11. luo ‘creates’ loi- ‘created’
12. syö ‘eats’ söi ‘ate’
13. lyö ‘hits’ löi ‘hit’
14. tie ‘road’ tei- ‘roads’
15. vie ‘takes’ vei ‘took’
16. talo ‘house’ taloi- ‘houses’
17. hillo ‘jam’ hilloi- ‘jams’
18. halu ‘desire’ halui- ‘desires’
19. hylly ‘shelf’ hyllyi- ‘shelves’
20. nukke ‘doll’ nukkei- ‘dolls’
21. tekö ‘deed’ teköi- ‘deeds’
22. sata ‘hundred’ satoi- ‘hundreds’
23. pala ‘piece’ paloi- ‘pieces’
24. hella ‘stove’(‘cooker’) helloi- ‘stoves’ (‘cookers’)
25. hilkka ‘hood’ hilkkoi- ‘hoods’
26. hiha ‘sleeve’ hihoi- ‘sleeves’
27. sota ‘war’ sotei- ‘wars’ (soti- in Modern Finnish)
28. pora ‘drill’ porei- ‘drills’ (pori- in Modern Finnish)
29. muna ‘egg’ munei- ‘eggs’ (muni- in Modern Finnish)
30. rulla ‘roll’ rullei- ‘rolls’ (rulli- in Modern Finnish)
31. tupa ‘cabin’ tupei- ‘cabins’ (tupi- in Modern Finnish)
32. jyvä ‘grain’ jyvei- ‘grains’ (jyvi- in Modern Finnish)
33. hätä ‘distress’ hätei- ‘distresses’ (häti- in Modern Finnish)
34. mökä ‘hullabaloo’ mökei- ‘hullabaloos’ (möki- in Modern Finnish)
Reconstruct a single original form for each root morpheme:

Variants Pre-Finnish Pre-Finnish
1. saa / sa- *saa ‘get’ *saa-i- ‘got’
2. maa / ma- *maa ‘land’ *maa-i- ‘lands’
3. puu / pu- *puu ‘tree’ *puu-i- ‘trees’
4. luu / lu- *luu ‘bone’ *luu-i- ‘bones’
5. pii / pi- *pii- ‘tooth’ *pii-i- ‘teeth (of rake)’
6. pää / pä- *pää ‘head’ *pää-i- ‘heads’
7. pyy / py- *pyy ‘wood grouse’ *pyy-i- ‘wood grouses’
8. täi / tä- * täi ‘louse’ *täi-i- ‘lice’
9. suo / so- *soo ‘grants’ *soo-i- ‘granted’
10. suo / so- *soo ‘swamp’ *soo-i- ‘swamps’
11. luo / lo- *loo ‘creates’ *loo-i- ‘created’
12. syö / sö- *söö ‘eats’ *söö-i- ‘ate’
13. lyö /lö- *löö ‘hits’ *löö-i- ‘hit’
14. tie / te- *tee ‘road’ *tee-i- ‘roads’
15. vie / ve- *vee ‘takes’ *vee-i- ‘took’
16. talo *talo ‘house’ *talo-i- ‘houses’
17. hillo *hillo ‘jam’ *hillo-i- ‘jams’
18. halu *halu ‘desire’ *halu-i- ‘desires’
19. hylly *hylly ‘shelf’ *hylly-i- ‘shelves’
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20. nukke *nukke ‘doll’ *nukke-i- ‘dolls’
21. hölmö *hölmö ‘fool’ *hölmö-i- ‘fools’
22. sata / sato- *sata ‘hundred’ *sata-i- ‘hundreds’
23. pala / palo- *pala ‘piece’ *pala-i- ‘pieces’
24. hella / hello- *hella ‘stove’ *hella-i- ‘stoves’ (‘cookers’)
25. hilkka / hilkko- *hilkka ‘hood’ *hilkka-i- ‘hoods’
26. hiha / hiho- *hiha ‘sleeve’ *hiha-i- ‘sleeves’
27. sota / sote- *sota ‘war’ *sota-i- ‘wars’
28. pora / pore- *pora ‘drill’ *pora-i- ‘drills’
29. muna /mune- *muna ‘egg’ *muna-i- ‘eggs’
30. rulla /rulle- *rulla ‘roll’ *rulla-i- ‘rolls’
31. tupa / tupe- *tupa ‘cabin’ *tupa-i- ‘cabins’
32. jyvä / jyve- *juvä ‘grain’ *jyvä-i- ‘grains’
33. hätä /häte- *hätä ‘distress’ *häta-i- ‘distresses’
34. mökä / möke- *mökä ‘hullabaloo’ *möka-i- ‘hullabaloos’
Changes:
Change 1.: V > Ø /V __ +i
Complex vowel nuclei were adjusted so that no more than two moras appear; thus, long
vowels were shortened and the last vowel of diphthongs (vowel clusters) was dropped before
i, presumably to prevent more than two moras from coming together), in examples 1.-25., for
example.
Change 2. a-raising and dissimilation:
a > o /a, e, i Co __ +i; a > e /o, u Co __ +i; ä > e /y, ö, ä Co __ +i.
That is, before i in a suffix, a was raised to a mid vowel, either to e or o, the choice of which
was determined by dissimilation from the vowel of the preceding syllable. Thus if the vowel
of the preceding syllable is back and round (as in 27. sota ‘war’), the second vowel raises and
dissimilates to be non-back and non-round, *sota-i- > sotei (and eventually on to soti- in
modern Finnish), and if the preceding vowel is non-round (a, e, i), then the a in this context
raises and dissimilates to a back round vowel (as in 22. where *sata-i- ‘hundreds’ > sato-i-).
Where ä is the vowel that changes, it raises to e before -i). More formally, the change might
be stated as something like:
a > [-low, -αback, -βround] /[αback, βround]VCo __+i
ä > [-low] /VCo __ +i
Change 3. Long-Mid Vowel Diphthongization: ee > ie, oo > uo, öö > yö.
Examples of the reconstructions and how the changes apply to them:

9. *soo *soo-i 27. *sota *sota-i 22. *sata *sata-i-
‘grants’ ‘granted’ ‘war’ ‘wars’ ‘hundred’ ‘hundreds’
Change 1. -- soi -- -- -- --
Change 2. -- -- -- sotei -- satoi
Change 3. suo -- -- -- -- --
Result: suo soi sota sotei- sata satoi-
Relative Chronology: As stated, Change 1., which works to prohibit vowel clusters of
more than two moras, must have taken place before Change 3., diphthongization. Otherwise, we
would get erroneous results, if the changes had happened in the opposite order:
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9. *soo *soo-i
‘grants’ ‘granted’
Change 3. suo suo-i
Change 1. -- sui
Result: suo ✘sui
Exercise 8.5 Nahuatl internal reconstruction
Nahuatl is a Uto-Aztecan language, spoken by over 1,000,000 people in Mexico; it was the
language of the Aztecs and the Toltecs. Compare the following words. Find the forms which
have variants; apply internal reconstruction to these forms. Reconstruct a single original form
for the morphemes which have alternate shapes, and postulate the changes which you think
must have taken place to produce these variants. Can you establish a relative chronology for any
of these changes? Present your reasoning; why did you choose this solution and reject other
possible hypotheses? NOTE: tl is a single consonant, a voiceless lateral affricate; k w is a
labialized velar stop and is a single segment; č = IPA tʃ; š = IPA ʃ. Note that the morpheme
which has the allomorphs -tl, -tli, -li is traditionally called the ‘absolutive’; it has no other
function than to indicate a noun root which has no other prefixes or suffixes.
1a tepos-tli ‘axe’ 13a ikʃi-tl ‘foot’

1b no-tepos ‘my axe’ 13b no-kʃi ‘my foot’
1c tepos-tlān ‘place of axes’ 14a ikni-tl ‘fellow’
2a kak-tli ‘shoe, sandal’ 14b no-kni ‘my fellow’
2b no-kak ‘my shoe, sandal’ 15a isti-tl ‘fingernail’
3a teʃ-tli ‘flour’ 15b no-sti ‘my fingernail’
3b no-teʃ ‘my flour’ 16a ihti-tl ‘stomach’
4a mis-tli ‘cougar’ 16b n-ihti ‘my stomach’
4b mis-tlān ‘place of cougars’ 17a īʃte-tl ‘eye’
5a kal-li ‘house’ 17b n-īʃte ‘my eye’
5b no-kal ‘my house’ 18a ihwi-tl ‘feather’
6a tlāl-li ‘land’ 18b n-ihwi ‘my feather’
6b no-tlāl ‘my land’ 19a itskwin-tli ‘little dog’
7a čīmal-li ‘tortilla griddle’ 19b n-itskwin ‘my little dog’
7b no-čīmal ‘my tortilla griddle’ 20a ička-tl ‘cotton’
7c čīmal-lan ‘place of 20b no-čka ‘my cotton’
tortilla griddles’
8a mīl-li ‘cornfield’ 21a okič-tli ‘male, man’
8b no-mīl ‘my cornfield’ 21b n-okič ‘my husband’
8c mīl-lan ‘place of cornfields’ 22a kaʃi-tl ‘bowl’
9a āma-tl ‘paper, fig tree’ 22b no-kaʃ ‘my bowl’
9b n-āma ‘my paper, fig tree’ 23a kwawi-tl ‘tree, wood’
9c āma-tlān ‘place of paper, 23b no-kwaw ‘my tree, wood’
fig trees’
10a e-tl ‘bean’ 24a māyi-tl ‘hand’
10b n-e ‘my bean’ 24b no-māy ‘my hand’
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10c e-tlān ‘place of beans’ 25a ʃāmi-tl ‘brick’
11a siwā-tl ‘woman’ 25b no-ʃān ‘my brick’
11b no-siwā ‘my wife’ 26a pāmi-tl ‘flag’
11c siwa-tlān ‘place of women’ 26b no-pān ‘my flag’
12a ol-li ‘rubber’ 27a kōmi-tl ‘jug’
12b n-ol ‘my rubber’ 27b no-kōn ‘my jug’
12c ol-lān ‘place of rubber’
Reconstructions of Pre-Nahuatl:
Affixes:
*-tlān ‘place of’
*-tli ‘Absolutive’
*no- ‘my’
Roots:
1 *tepos ‘axe’ 15 *sti ‘fingernail’
2 *kak ‘shoe, sandal’ 16 *ihti ‘stomach’
3 *teš ‘flour’ 17 *īšte ‘eye’
4 *mis ‘cougar’ 18 *ihwi ‘feather’
5 *kal ‘house’ 19 *itskwin ‘little dog’
6 *tlāl ‘land’ 20 *čka ‘cotton’
7 *čīmal ‘tortilla griddle’ 21 *okič ‘male, man’
8 *mīl ‘cornfield’ 22 *kaši ‘bowl’
9 *āma ‘paper, fig tree’ 23 *kwawi ‘tree, wood’
10 *e ‘bean’ 24 *māyi ‘hand’
11 *siwā ‘woman’ 25 *šāmi ‘brick’
12 *ol ‘rubber’ 26 *pāmi ‘flag’
13 *kši ‘foot’ 27 *kōmi ‘jug’
14 *kni ‘fellow’
Changes:
Change 1. tl-deaffrication:
tl > l /l __
The lateral affricate tl became l after another l, i.e. tl-l > ll (as in 5a, 6a, 7a, 7c, 8a, 8c,
12a, 12c)
Change 2. o-deletion:
o > Ø /n__+V (as in 9b, 10b, 12b, 16b, 17b, 18b, 19b)
The o of prefixes of the shape no- was deleted when the prefix was attached to a stem
beginning in a vowel.
Change 3. Epenthesis:
Ø > i /#__CC (as in 13a, 14a, 15a, 20a)
Word-initially before a consonant cluster, i was inserted.
Change 4. Apocope of final i:
i > Ø /VC__# (as in 22b, 23b, 24b, 25b, 26b, 27b)
A final i was deleted in polysyllabic words when the i was preceded by a single
consonant.
Change 5. Final m > n:
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m > n /__ # (as in 25b, 26b, 27b).
Final m became n.
Examples of reconstructions with changes applied to them in temporal order:

1a *tepos-tli 5a *kal-tli 7c *čīmal-tlān 9b *no-āma
‘axe’ ‘house’ ‘tortilla griddle’ ‘my paper’
Change 1. -- kal-li čīmal-lān --
Change 2. -- -- -- n-āma
Change 3. -- -- -- --
Change 4. -- -- -- --
Change 5. -- -- -- --
Result: tepostli kalli čīmallān nāma
13a *kši-tli 15b *no-kši 16a *ihti-tli 16b *no-ihti

‘foot’ ‘my foot’ ‘stomach’ ‘my stomach’
Change 1. -- -- -- --
Change 2. -- -- -- n-ihti
Change 3. ikši-tli -- -- --
Change 4. ikši-tl -- ihti-tl --
Change 5. -- -- -- --
Result: ikšitl nokši ihtitl nihti
22a *kaši-tli 22b *no-kaši 25a *šāmi-tli 25b *no-šāmi

‘bowl ‘my bowl’ ‘brick’ ‘my brick’
Change 1. -- -- -- --
Change 2. -- -- -- --
Change 3. -- -- -- --
Change 4. kaši-tl no-kaš šāmi-tl no-šām
Change 5. -- -- -- no-šān
Result: kašitl nokaš šāmitl nošān
Change 1. tl-deaffrication does not interact with the other changes and therefore could
have taken place at any time relative to any of the other changes.
Change 4. Apocope of final i took place before Change 5. (final m > n), for otherwise we
would get erroneous results if we assumed they took place in the opposite temporal sequence, as
in, for example:
25a *šāmi-tli 25b *no-šāmi
‘brick’ ‘my brick’
Change 5. -- --
Change 4. šāmi-tl no-šām
Result: šāmitl ✘nošām
As stated, Change 2. o-deletion and Change 3. i-epenthesis do not interact with one
another; however, if formulated differently, one might get erroneous results if the changes had
not taken place in the order of 2. before 3. If Change 3 did not specify word-initially before a
consonant cluster (/# __ CC) but were formulated, for example, as though it applied before a
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consonant cluster at the beginning of a morpheme (/+__CC), then the temporal order would
need to be stipulated, as seen for example in the following where the changes are in a different
sequence and produce erroneous results:
13a *kši-tli 15b *no-kši 16a *ihti-tli 16b *no-ihti
‘foot’ ‘my foot’ ‘stomach’ ‘my stomach’
Change 3. ikši-tli no-ikši -- --
Change 2. -- n-ikši -- n-ihti
Change 4. ikši-tl -- ihti-tl --
Result: ikši-tl ✘nikši ihtitl nihti
Exercise 8.6 Indonesian internal reconstruction
Identify the morphemes which have more than one variant in the following data from
Indonesian (an Austronesian language). Apply internal reconstruction to these forms;
reconstruct a single original form for each of the roots and for the prefix, and postulate the
changes you think must have taken place to produce these variants. Can you establish a relative
chronology for any of these changes? Provide sample derivations which show your
reconstruction and how the changes apply to it for both the simple and the prefixed forms in 2,
12, 13, 15 and 19. (The prefix in the second column has a range of functions, among them, it
places focus on the agent (‘doer’) of a verb, derives transitive or causative verbs, and derives
verbs from nouns.)
HINT: relative chronology is important to the solution of this problem. (/ɲ/ = palatal nasal.)
simple form prefixed form gloss

1. lempar məәlempar ‘throw’
2. rasa məәrasa ‘feel’
3. wakil məәwakil- ‘represent’
4. yakin məәyakin- ‘convince’
5. masak məәmasak ‘cook’
6. nikah məәnikah ‘marry’
7. ŋačo məәŋačo ‘chat’
8. ɲaɲi məәɲaɲi ‘sing’
9. hituŋ məәŋhituŋ ‘count’
10. gambar məәŋgambar ‘draw a picture’
11. kirim məәŋirim ‘send’
12. dəәŋar məәndəәŋar ‘hear’
13. tulis məәnulis ‘write’
14. bantu məәmbantu ‘help’
15. pukul məәmukul ‘hit’
16. ǰahit məәɲǰahit ‘sew’
17. čatat məәɲčatat ‘note down’
18. ambil məәŋambil ‘take’
19. isi məәŋisi ‘fill up’
20. undaŋ məәŋundaŋ ‘invite’
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Identify the morphemes which have more than one variant:
11. kirim / -irim ‘send’ (in 11.)
13. tulis / -ulis ‘hear’ (in 13.)
15. pukul / -ukul ‘hit’ (in 15.)
Prefix: məә- (in 1.-8.), məәŋ- (in 9.-11., 18.-20.), məәn- (in 12.-13.), məәm- (in 14.-15.), məәɲ- (in
16.-17.)
Reconstruct a single original form for each of the roots and for the prefix:
11. *kirim ‘send’
13. *tulis ‘hear’
15. *pukul ‘hit’
Prefix *məәŋ-
Postulate the changes:

Change 1. Nasal loss:
Nasal > Ø /__ Sonorant (as in 1.-8.)
Nasals were deleted before sonorants (l, r, w, y, other nasals).
Change 2. Nasal assimilation:
Nasal > [αPlace] /__ [αPlace, non-continuent]
Nasals assimilate to the point of articulation of a following stop or affricate:
ŋ > m /__ p, b (in 14.-15.)
ŋ > n /__ t, d (in 12.-13.)
ŋ > ɲ /__ č, ǰ (in 16.-17.)
ŋ > ŋ /__ k, g (here the change applies only vacuously; since it starts out as ŋ already,
assimilating it to the place of articulation of velar stops leaves it as ŋ) (in. 10.-11.)
Change 3. Voiceless stop loss after a nasal:
Voicless stop > Ø /Nasal __
Voiceless stops were lost after nasals (as in 11., 13., 15.)
Provide sample derivations which show your reconstruction and how the changes apply
to it for both the simple and the prefixed forms in 2, 12, 13, 15 and 19.
2. ‘feel’ 12. ‘hear’
*rasa *məәŋ-rasa *dəәŋar *məәŋ-dəәŋar
Change 1. Nasal-loss: -- məә-rasa -- --
Change. 2. Nasal assimilation: -- -- -- məәn-dəәŋar
Change 3. Voiceless stop loss: -- -- -- --
Result: rasa məә-rasa dəәŋar məәndəәŋar
13. ‘write’ 15. ‘hit’

*tulis *məәŋ-tulis *pukul *məәŋ-pukul
Change 1. Nasal-loss: -- -- -- --
Change. 2. Nasal assimilation: -- məәn-tulis -- məәm-pukul
Change 3. Voiceless stop loss: -- məәnulis -- məәm-ukul
Result: tulis məәnulis pukul məәmukul
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19. ‘fill up’ 20. ‘invite’
*isi *məәŋ-isi *undaŋ *məәŋ-undaŋ
Change 1. Nasal-loss: -- -- -- --
Change. 2. Nasal assimilation: -- -- -- --
Change 3. Voiceless stop loss: -- -- -- --
Result: isi məәŋisi undaŋ məәŋundaŋ
Change 1. Nasal loss does not interact with the other changes and so could have taken place at
any time with respect to the other two changes. However, Change 2. (Nasal assimilation) had to
have taken place before Change 3. (Voiceless stop loss), for otherwise erroneous forms would
result, as seen, for example, in the following, if the temporal sequence were assumed to be in
the other order, with 3. before 2.:
13. ‘write’ 15. ‘hit’
*tulis *məәŋ-tulis *pukul *məәŋ-pukul
Change 3. Voiceless stop loss: -- məәŋ-ulis -- məәŋ-ukul
Change. 2. Nasal assimilation: -- -- -- --
Result: tulis ✘məәŋulis pukul ✘məәŋukul
Exercise 8.7 Tol (Jicaque) internal reconstruction
Jicaque (called Tol by its speakers) is spoken in Honduras. State the variants (allomorphs) of the
roots and of the possessive pronominal prefixes; apply internal reconstruction to these forms.
Reconstruct a single original form for each root morpheme and write the changes which you
think must have taken place to produce these variants. Present your reasoning; why did you
choose this solution and reject other possible hypotheses? (HINT: the original form of the
possessive pronouns was: *n- ‘my’, *hi- ‘your’, *hu- ‘his’; original *n+h > n.) Note that what is
structurally a labialized w is realized phonetically as [w_], but is written as ww in this problem.
my your his Meaning of the noun root

1. mbata peta pota ‘duck’
2. mbapay pepay popay ‘father’
3. ndaʔ teʔ toʔ ‘man’s brother’
4. ndarap terap torap ‘woman’s younger sister’
5. ŋkhan khen khon ‘bed’
6. nlara lera lora ‘mouth’
7. ntsham tshem tshom ‘foot’
8. mbe hepe pwe ‘rock, stone’
9. mbep hepep pwep ‘fingernail’
10. mberam heperam pweram ‘tongue’
11. mphel hephel phwel ‘arm’
12. ŋgerew hekerew kwerew ‘cousin’
13. ŋkhere hekhere khwere ‘bone’
14. ŋgiway hikiway kwiway ‘woman’s brother’
15. nǰič hičič čwič ‘tendon’
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my your his Meaning of the noun root
16. nǰipe hičipe čwipe ‘paired sibling’
17. mbomam pyomam hopomam ‘chokecherry’
18. mphok phyok hophok ‘cheek’
19. ŋgol kol hokol ‘belly’
20. nts’ul ts’yul huts’ul ‘intestines’
21. mphɨya phyeya hɨphɨya ‘tobacco’
22. mp’ɨs p’yɨes hɨp’ɨs ‘deer’
23. ndɨm tyem hɨtɨm ‘heel’
24. mbasas wesas wosas ‘woman’s sister-in-law’
25. mbis hiwis wwis [wɨis] ‘tooth’
26. mbin hiwin wwin [wɨin] ‘toad’
27. mboyum wyoyum howoyum ‘husband’
28. namas mes mos ‘hand’
29. nemen hemen mwen ‘neck’
30. nimik himik mwik ‘nose’
31. nɨmɨnɨ mjenɨ hɨmɨnɨ ‘yam’
32. namap hemap homap ‘aunt’
33. nasunu hesunu hosunu ‘chest’
Variants (allomorphs) of the roots (together with changes in roots that reflect possessive
pronouns):
1. -bata / peta / pota
2. -bapay / pepay / popay
3. -daʔ / teʔ / toʔ
4. -darap/ terap / torap
5. -khan / khen / khon
6. -lara / lera / lora
7. -tsham / tshem / tshom
8. -be / -pe / pwe
9. -bep / -pep / pwep
10. -beram / -peram / pweram
11. -phel / phwel
12. -gerew / -kerew / kwerew
13. -khere / khwere
14. -giway / -kiway kwiway
15. -ǰič / / -čič
16. -ǰipe / -čipe / čwipe
17. -bomam / pyomam / -pomam
18. phok / phyok
19. -gol / kyol / -kol
20. -ts’ul / ts’yul
21. phɨya / phyeya
22. -p’ɨs / p’yes
23. dɨm / tyɨm / tɨm
24. -basas / wesas / wosas
25. -bis / -wis / -wwis
26. -bin / -win / wwin
27. -boyum / wyoyum / -woyum
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28. -mas / -mes / -mos
29. -men / mwen
30. -mik / mwik
31. -mɨnɨ / myenɨ
32. -amap / hemap / homap
33. -asunu / hesunu / hosunu
Variants of the possessive pronominal prefixes:

‘my’: m- /__ labials, n- /__ alveolars, ŋ /__ velars (that is, a nasal which assimilates to the point
of articulation of the following consonant),
nV1 /__+ Nasal V1 (the prefix is nV-, where the vowel is identical to the first vowel of the
root, when prefixed to a nasal-initial root, as in 28., 29., 30., 31.).
‘your’: palatalization of the initial consonant of forms which have o, u, or ɨ as the first vowel of
the root (as in 17., 20., 21.-23., 27., 31.),
change of a or ɨ when they are the first vowel of a root to e (as in 1.-7., 21.,-24., 28., 31.-33.),
hi- when the first vowel of the root to which this prefix is attached is i, and he- when the first
vowel of the root is e (as in 8.,-16., 25.-26., 29.).
‘his’: labialization of the initial consonant of forms which have e or i as the first vowel of the
root (as in 8.-16., 25.-26., 29.-30.),
change of a to o when a is the first vowel of a root (as in 1.-7., 24., 28., 32.-33.),
ho- with o as the first vowel of the root to which this prefix is attached, hu with u, and hɨ with
ɨ (as in 17.-23., 27., 31.)
Reconstructions:
*n- ‘my’ *hi- ‘your’ *hu- ‘his’
1. *pata ‘duck’
2. *papay ‘father’
3. *taʔ ‘man’s brother’
4. *tarap ‘woman’s younger sister’
5. *khan ‘bed’
6. *lara ‘mouth’
7. *tsham ‘foot’
8. *pe ‘rock, stone’
9. *pep ‘fingernail’
10. *peram ‘tongue’
11. *phel ‘arm’
12. *kerew ‘cousin’
13. *khere ‘bone’
14. *kiway ‘woman’s brother’
15. *čič ‘tendon’
16. *čipe ‘paired sibling’
17. *pomam ‘chokecherry’
18. *phok ‘cheek’
19. *kol ‘belly’
20. *ts’ul ‘intestines’
21. *phɨya ‘tobacco’
22. *p’ɨs ‘deer’
23. *tɨm ‘heel’
24. *wasas ‘woman’s sister-in-law’
25. *wis ‘tooth’
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26. *win ‘toad’
27. *woyum ‘husband’
28. *mas ‘hand’
29. *men ‘neck’
30. *mik ‘nose’
31. *mɨnɨ ‘yam’
32. *hamap ‘aunt’
33. *hasunu ‘chest’
Changes:
Change 1 Nasal-assimilation: n > [αPlace] /__ [αPlace, -nasal, -low]C
Nasals assimilate to point of articulation of a following consonant when that C is not nasal or h.
As in 1. *n-pata ‘my duck’ > m-pata (later mbata), 3. *n-taʔ ‘man’s brother’ > ntaʔ (later
*ndaʔ), 5. *n-khan > ŋkhan ‘bed’, also in 2., 4., 6.-27.
Change 2 Voicing: p, t, k, č > voiced /Nasal __
Plain stops and affricates (non-aspirated and non-glottalized ones) are voiced after a nasal, as in
1. *n-pata ‘my duck’ > mpata (and to mbata later). (See also 2.-4., 8.10., 12., 14.-17., 19., 23.)
Change 3 h-loss: h > Ø /n __
As in 32. *n-hamap ‘aunt’ > namap, also in 33.
Change 4 w > b: w > b /Nasal__.
A w changes to b when following a nasal, as in 25. *n-wis ‘my tooth’ > m-wis by Change 1
(nasal-assimilation) > mbis by Change 4. (See also 24.-27.)
Change 5a Palatalization: C > Cy /i+ __ V (V ≠ i).
A consonant is palatalized after i of a prefix if the following vowel is not i, as in 1. *hi-pata
‘your duck’ > hi-pyata (and by later changes > peta), 20. *hi-ts’ul ‘your intestines’ > hits’yul
(and by later changes to ts’yul), and in 2.-7., 17.-19., 21.-24., 27.-28., 31.
Change 5b Labialization: C > Cw /u + __ V (V ≠ u, o).
A consonant is labialized after u of a prefix if the following vowel is not round (not u or o) as
in 1. *hu-pata ‘his duck’ > hu-pwata (and by later changes pota), 8. *hu-pe ‘his rock, stone’ >
hu-pwe (and by later changes pwe), and in 2.-16., 24.-26., 28.-30.
Note that 5a and 5b can be seen as a single change (collapsed together by the notation of
distinctive features, though the classes for the vowels conditioning labialization and
palatalization are difficult to reconcile).
Change 6a Vowel assimilation of i: i > e /h__ +Ce
As in 8. *hi-pe ‘your rock, stone’ > hepe; see also 9.-13., 29.
Change 6b Vowel assimilation of u: u > o /h__ +Co, u > ɨ /h__ +Cɨ
As in 19. *hu-kol ‘his belly’ > hokol, and in 22. *hu-p’ɨs ‘his deer’ > hɨp’ɨs; see also 17., 21.,
22.-23., 27., 31.
That is, the i of the prefix hi- assimilates to e when the first vowel of the root to which this
prefix is attached has e, and the u of hu- assimilates to o when the first vowel of the root to
which the prefix is joined has o, and to ɨ when the first vowel of the root to which the prefix
is joined has ɨ.
Note that changes 6a and 6b can be combined into a single change using the distinctive features
of the vowels involved.
Change 7 hi- and hu- loss: hi- and hu- > Ø /__ Cy, Cw.
After the first consonant of the root was palatalized (in ‘your’ forms due to the influence of
the vowel in the prefix hi-) or labialized (in ‘his’ forms due to the influence of the vowel in
108
the prefix hu-), the palatalization and the labialization were sufficient to mark these forms as
‘your’ or ‘his’ respectively, and so the now redundant prefixes hi- and hu- were dropped.
This is seen for example in:
1. *hi-pata ‘your duck’ > hipyata by Change 5a (palatalization) > pyata by Change 7 (and
peta by later changes) and *hu-pata ‘his duck’ > hupwata by Change 5b (labialization) >
pwata by Change 7 (and pota by later changes). In 8. *hu-pe ‘his rock, stone’ > hupwe by
Change 5b, then pwe by Change 7, but *hi-pe ‘your rock, stone’ does not fit the environment
for Change 5a (palatalization), and so the prefix *hi- remains, though the vowel of the prefix
is assimilated, turning it into hepe by Change 6a.
(See also 2.-7., 9.-16., 24.-26., 28.-30.)
It is unusual to delete multiple segments at once in a single sound change; it is possible that
this involved intermediate stages, perhaps first loss of the vowel i or u of the prefixes when
the following consonant was palatalized or labialized and then later loss of the h, or the
reverse, first the lost of h followed later by the loss of i- and u- (*hu-pe ‘his stone’ > hupwe >
hpwe > pwe ?).
Change 8 Vowel coalescence: Cya, Cyɨ > Ce; Cwa > Co.
The palatal off-glide that results from Change 5a and an a or ɨ next to it together coalesce
(like monophthongization) into e, and the labial off-glide that results from Change 5b and a
following a coalesce to o. This is seen in, for example 1. hi-pata ‘your duck’ > hipyata by
Change 5a, then hipyata > pyata by Change 6, and finally pyata > peta by rule 8; similarly 1.
hu-pata ‘his duck’ > hupwata by Change 5b, then hupwata > pwata by Change 7, and finally
pwata > pota by rule 8. (See also 2.-7., 21.-24., 28., 31.-33.)
Change 9: ww > wɨ
This is a phonetic change to accommodate the structure of labialization for ‘his’ forms where
there is the phonetic problem that it is not actually possible to labialize a w, which is already
labial, seen in 25. *hu-wis ‘his tooth’ > hu-wwis (by Change 5b.) > wwis by Change 7. and
this wwis > [wɨis] by Change 9. (See also 26.)
Change 10 Epenthesis: Ø > V1 /n__ Nasal V1.
A vowel which is a copy of the first root vowel is inserted between n- of a prefix and a nasal,
as in 28. *n-mas ‘my hand’ > namas. (See also 29.-30.)
Derivations: the following examples illustrate how these changes applied to various
reconstructed forms.
1. ‘my duck’ ‘your duck’ ‘his duck’
*n-pata *hi-pata *hu-pata
Change 1 mpata -- --
Change 2 mbata -- --
Change 3 -- -- --
Change 4 -- -- --
y
Change 5 -- hip ata hupwata
Change 6 -- -- --
y
Change 7 -- p ata pwata
Change 8 -- peta pota
Change 9 -- -- --
Change 10 -- -- --
Result: mbata peta pota
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2. ‘my father’ ‘your father’ ‘his father’
*n-taʔ *hi-taʔ *hu-taʔ
Change 1 ntaʔ -- --
Change 2 ndaʔ -- --
Change 3 -- -- --
Change 4 -- -- --
Change 5 -- hityaʔ hutwaʔ
Change 6 -- -- --
Change 7 -- tyaʔ twaʔ
Change 8 -- teʔ toʔ
Change 9 -- -- --
Change 10 -- -- --
Result: ndaʔ teʔ toʔ
13. ‘my bone’ ‘your bone’ ‘his bone’

*n-khere *hi-khere *hu-khere
Change 1 ŋkhere -- --
Change 2 -- -- --
Change 3 -- -- --
Change 4 -- -- --
Change 5 -- -- hukhwere
Change 6 -- hekhere --
Change 7 -- -- khwere
Change 8 -- -- --
Change 9 -- -- --
Change 10 -- -- --
Result: ŋkhere hekhere khwere
15. ‘my tendon’ ‘your tendon’ ‘his tendon’

*n-čič *hi-čič *hu-čič
Change 1 (nčič) -- --
Change 2 nǰič -- --
Change 3 -- -- --
Change 4 -- -- --
Change 5 -- -- hučwič
Change 6 -- -- --
Change 7 -- -- čwič
Change 8 -- -- --
Change 9 -- -- --
Change 10 -- -- --
Result: nǰič hičič čwič
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19. ‘my belly’ ‘your belly’ ‘his belly’
*n-kol *hi-kol *hu-kol
Change 1 ŋkol -- --
Change 2 ŋgol -- --
Change 3 -- -- --
Change 4 -- -- --
Change 5 -- hikyol --
Change 6 -- -- hokol
Change 7 -- kyol --
Change 8 -- -- --
Change 9 -- -- --
Change 10 -- -- --
Result: ŋgol kyol hokol
25. ‘my tooth’ ‘your tooth’ ‘his tooth’

*n-wis *hi-wis *hu-wis
Change 1 mwis -- --
Change 2 -- -- --
Change 3 -- -- --
Change 4 mbis -- --
Change 5 -- -- huwwis
Change 6 -- -- --
Change 7 -- -- wwis
Change 8 -- -- --
Change 9 -- -- wɨis
Change 10 -- -- --
Result: mbis hiwis wɨis
29. ‘my neck’ ‘your neck’ ‘his neck’

*n-men *hi-men *hu-men
Change 1 -- -- --
Change 2 -- -- --
Change 3 -- -- --
Change 4 -- -- --
Change 5 -- -- humwen
Change 6 -- hemen --
Change 7 -- -- mwen
Change 8 -- -- --
Change 9 -- -- --
Change 10 nemen -- --
Result: nemen hemen mwen
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33. ‘my chest’ ‘your chest’ ‘his chest’
*n-hasunu *hi-hasunu *hu-hasunu
Change 1 -- -- --
Change 2 -- -- --
Change 3 nasunu -- --
Change 4 -- -- --
Change 5 -- hihyasunu huhwasunu
Change 6 -- -- --
Change 7 -- hyasunu hwasunu
Change 8 -- hesunu hosunu
Change 9 -- -- --
Change 10 nemen -- --
Result: nasunu hesunu hosunu
Exercise 8.8 Samoan internal reconstruction
Compare words in the two columns. Identify the morphemes which have more than one variant.
Reconstruct a single original form for all the morphemes here, and postulate the changes you
think must have taken place to produce these forms. Can you establish a relative chronology for
any of these changes? Why did you choose this solution and reject other possible hypotheses?
NOTE: many roots will have two allomorphs; the suffix also has more than one variant in
several of the cases.
HINT: think ‘predictability’ and exploit gaps in the inventory of the consonants that can occur as
the last consonant in these words.
1. alofa ‘love’ alofaŋia ‘loved’

2. taŋo ‘grasp’ taŋofia ‘grasped’
3. fua ‘measure’ fuatia ‘measure’
4. au ‘reach’ aulia ‘reached’
5. faitau ‘read’ faitaulia ‘read’
6. u ‘to bite’ utia ‘bitten’
7. ula ‘smoke’ ulafia ‘smoked’
8. na ‘hide’ natia ‘hidden’
9. fau ‘bind’ fausia ‘bound’
10. ʔata ‘laugh’ ʔataŋia ‘laughed’
11. inu ‘drink’ inumia ‘drunk’
12. taofi ‘hold’ taofia ‘held’
13. mu ‘burn’ muina ‘burned’
14. tuʔu ‘put’ tuʔuina ‘put’
15. faŋa ‘feed’ faŋaina ‘fed’
16. sauni ‘prepare’ saunia ‘prepared’
17. siʔi ‘raise’ siʔitia ‘raised’
18. pisi ‘splash’ pisia ‘splashed’
19. ao ‘gather’ aofia ‘gathered’
20. ilo ‘perceive’ iloa ‘perceived’
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21. ʔave ‘take’ ʔavea ‘taken’
22. oso ‘jump’ osofia ‘jumped’
23. ʔino ‘hate’ ʔinosia ‘hated’
24. filo ‘mix’ filoŋia ‘mixed’
25. fasioti ‘kill’ fasiotia ‘killed’
26. utu ‘fill’ utufia ‘filled’
27. ufi ‘cover’ ufitia ‘covered’
28. ʔai ‘eat’ ʔaiina ‘eaten’ (cf. 6)
29. afio ‘come in’ afioina ‘(has) come in’
30. laʔa ‘step over’ laʔasia ‘stepped over’
31. manaʔo ‘want’ manaʔomia ‘wanted’
32. mataʔu ‘destroy’ mataʔutia ‘destroyed’
33. milo ‘twist’ milosia ‘twisted’
34. taŋi ‘cry’ taŋisia ‘cried’
35. vavae ‘divide’ vavaeina ‘divided’
This is an unusual problem. The solution is relatively simple once found, but it may be difficult
to discover. To solve it, first attempt to determine the allomorphs of the roots and suffixes. A
clue to the morphological analysis is: seek “recurrent partials” – recurring parts of the words
that seem to have the same meaning of function. In looking for recurrent partials, you might
proceed in two different ways for the data in this exercise. First, if you compare across the
columns, you start seeing what in the first column is repeated as a recurrent partial in the second
column, with something left over in the second column. For example, in the first row alofa
occurs in both columns, with -ŋia left over in the second column. In this sort of comparison
across columns, we see:
alofa -ŋia
taŋo -fia
fua -tia
au -lia
etc.
This kind of comparison between the forms in each row would seem to find that the root in both
columns is constant and would postulate what is left over as a suffix, but a suffix with a large
number of alternants, -ŋia (in 1., 10., 24.), -fia (in 2., 7., 12., 19., 22.), -tia (in 3., 6., 8., 17., 27.,
32.), -lia (in 4., 5.), -sia (9., 23., 30., 33., 34.), -mia (11., 31.), etc. Since nothing about the final
V of the root nor about the consonant before it or anything else in the phonology of the roots
seems to condition differences in the suffixes, to sustain this hypothesis of multiple allomorphs
for this suffix, it would be necessary to assume that Samoan children acquire the language by
just memorizing which from the various suffix forms goes with each root, alofa taking -ŋia,
taŋo requiring -fia, and so on. That line of reasoning would postulate morphological
conditioning, as in English where speakers memorize that the plural allomorph is -en with ox,
and Ø with deer, rather than the more usual phonologically conditioned allomorphs of plural,
where the form is predictable based on the phonology of the forms to which they are attached,
with ɨz as the allomorph of plural after sibilants as in /fɔksɨz/ ‘foxes’, voiceless s after voiceless
consonants as in /kæt-s/ ‘cats’, and voiced after voiced consonants as in /dɔgz/ ‘dogs’.
Morphological conditioning is unusual. This solution would require a very heavy learning
burden for Samoan children who would have to memorize which different form of the suffix
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goes with each root.
In the second kind of comparison, if you compare the forms in the second column with
one another, what recurs in most cases is -ia, which leaves seemingly different forms of the
roots in the first and second columns, the form in the first column with no final consonant, and
the form in the second often with a final consonant:
1. alofa lofaŋ- + -ia
2. taŋo taŋof- + -ia
3. fua fuat- + -ia
etc.
In this approach to the data, we would reconstruct these roots with the final consonant present
together with a postulated sound change that deletes final consonants when no suffix is present
to prevent them from occurring in final position.
Sound change (1) Final consonant loss: C > Ø /__ #

As in:
Pre-Samoan *alofaŋ ‘love’ *alofaŋ-ia ‘loved *taŋof ‘grasp *taŋof-ia ‘grasped’
Change (1): alofa -- taŋo --
Result: alofa alofaŋia taŋo taŋofia
Not all roots appear to have had final consonants, however. Some appear to have no
final consonant and some also seem to take a different form of the suffix, as in:
16. sauni saunia
18. pisi pisia
20. ilo iloa
21. ʔave ʔavea
25. fasioti fasiotia
In these cases, the sufix *-ia is added to a vowel-final root and the i of the suffix is deleted
(presumably to avoid vowel clusters of three members); we postulate:
Sound change (2) i-deletion in vowel clusters: i > Ø /V+__a
This change is seen in the following:
Pre-Samoan *sauni ‘prepare’ *sauni-ia ‘prepared’ *ilo ‘perceive’ *ilo-ia ‘perceived’

Change (2): -- saunia -- iloa
Result: sauni saunia ilo iloa
However, not all forms appear to behave as those involving consonant-final roots
subject to change (1) or vowel-final roots subject to change (2). A number of seeming
exceptions remain:
13. mu muina
14. tuʔu tuʔuina
15. faŋa faŋaina
28. ʔai ʔaiina
29. afio afioina
35. vavae vavaeina
These forms present a problem for the analysis so far, for if we assume they are vowel-final, we
would expect mu / mua and afio / afioa, or we would expect mu and afio to have a consonant
when followed by the suffix, muC-ia and afioC-ia (where C is some unpredictable consonant
that is part of the root). A look at the final consonant of the roots which do show up before -ia in
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the data reveals C+ia combinations with all possible consonants of Samoan except -n+ia. We
take advantage of the gap in the inventory of root-final consonants that occur, from which -n is
missing, together with the problem of otherwise not being able to predict the outcomes for these
exceptional forms, and we postulate an original root-final -n in these forms and a sound change
of metathesis:
Change (3) n-metathesis: n+ia > ina
Seen in the following:
Pre-Samoan *mun ‘burn *mun-ia ‘burned *afion ‘come in’ *afion-ia ‘entered’
Change (1): mu -- afio --
Change (2) -- -- -- --
Change (3) -- muina -- afioina
Result: mu muina afio afioina
The internal reconstructions postulated for the different sorts of roots and and how the
sound changes apply to them are illustrated in the following forms:
Pre-Samoan *alofaŋ *alofaŋ-ia *ilo *ilo-ia *mun *mun-ia
‘love’ ‘loved ‘perceive’ ‘perceived’ ‘burn’ ‘burned
Change (1): alofa -- -- -- mu --
Change (2) -- -- -- iloa -- --
Change (3) -- -- -- -- -- muina
Result: alofa alofaŋia ilo iloa mu muina
Exercise 8.9 Nivaclé internal reconstruction
Nivaclé (also called Chulupí) is a Matacoan language of northern Argentina and Paraguay.
Compare the forms in the two columns; identify the morphemes which have more than one
phonological shape (variant). Attempt to reconstruct a unique form for each of these words in
Pre-Nivaclé, and state the changes which have taken place, according to your analysis, in the
transition from Pre-Nivaclé to modern Nivaclé. Is there any relative chronology involved in the
changes you postulate? If so, state what it is and show sample derivations of at least four word
pairs (for example both words of 12, 14, 18, and 20).
NOTE: /kl/ is a single segment, both phonemically and phonetically – the velar closure and the
lateral articulation are released simultaneously as a single sound; /ts/ is also a single segment, an
alveolar affricate; /ɑ/ is a back low vowel, and contrasts with /a/, a cental low vowel; ɫ =
voiceless l; C’ = glottalized [ejective] consonants. The š is IPA ʃ, the č IPA tʃ. The plural
suffixes, in the second column, have several different forms, but do not attempt to reconstruct
them.
Set I
1. xutsax ‘vulture’ xutsx-as ‘vultures’
2. ɸatsux ‘centipede’ ɸatsx-us ‘centipedes’
3. snomax ‘ash’ snomx-as ‘ashes’
4. ɫtɑsex ‘seed’ ɫtɑsx-ey ‘seeds’
5. kutsxanax ‘thief’ kutsxanx-as ‘thieves’
6. ipɑset ‘my lip’ ipɑst-es ‘my lips’
7. nasuk ‘guayacán (tree)’ nask-uy ‘guayacans’
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8. ɸaʔayuk ‘algarrobo (tree)’ ɸaʔayk-uy ‘algarrobos’
9. axɑyuk ‘mistol (tree)’ axɑyk-uy ‘mistols’
Set II
10. inkɑʔp ‘year’ inkɑp-es ‘years’
11. ɫuʔp ‘nest’ ɫup-is ‘nests’
12. k’utxaʔn ‘thorn’ k’utxan-is ‘thorns’
13. ɫsɑʔt ‘vein’ ɫsɑt-ɑay ‘veins’
14. tisuʔx ‘quebracho (tree)’ tisx-uy ‘quebrachos’
15. k’utsaʔx ‘old man’ k’utsx-as ‘old men’
Set III
16. towɑk ‘river’ towx-ɑy ‘rivers’
17. ɸinɑk ‘tobacco’ ɸinx-ɑy ‘tobaccos’
18. ituʔk ‘my arm’ itx-uy ‘my arms’
19. tsanuʔk ‘duraznillo (tree)’ tsanx-uy ‘duraznillos’
20. namač ‘axe’ namx-ay ‘axes’
21. šateč ‘head’ šatx-es ‘heads’
22. titeč ‘plate’ titx-ey ‘plates’
23. k’atseč ‘wood chip’ k’atsx-es ‘wood chips’
24. axpɑyič ‘your house’ axpɑyx-ey ‘your houses’
Reconstructions:
1. *xutsax ‘vulture’ *xutsax-as ‘vultures’
2. *ɸatsux ‘centipede’ *ɸatsux-us ‘centipedes’
3. *snomax ‘ash’ *snomax-as ‘ashes’
4. *ɫtɑsex ‘seed’ *ɫtɑsex-ey ‘seeds’
5. *kutsxanax ‘thief’ *kutsxanax-as ‘thieves’
6. *ipɑset ‘my lip’ *ipɑset-es ‘my lips’
7. *nasuk ‘guayacán (tree)’ *nasuk-uy ‘guayacans’
8. *ɸaʔayuk ‘algarrobo (tree)’ *ɸaʔayuk-uy ‘algarrobos’
9. *axɑyuk ‘mistol (tree)’ *axɑyuk-uy ‘mistols’
10. *inkɑʔp ‘year’ *inkɑʔp-es ‘years’

11. *ɫuʔp ‘nest’ *ɫuʔp-is ‘nests’
12. *k’utxaʔn ‘thorn’ *k’utxaʔn-is ‘thorns’
13. *ɫsɑʔt ‘vein’ *ɫsɑʔt-ɑy ‘veins’
14. *tisuʔx ‘quebracho (tree)’ *tisuʔx-uy ‘quebrachos’
15. *k’utsaʔx ‘old man’ *k’utsaʔx-as ‘old men’
16. *towɑk ‘river’ *towɑk-ɑy ‘rivers’

17. *ɸinɑk ‘tobacco’ *ɸinɑk-ɑy ‘tobaccos’
18. *ituʔk ‘my arm’ *ituʔk-uy ‘my arms’
19. *tsanuʔk ‘duraznillo (tree)’ *tsanuʔk-uy ‘duraznillos’
20. *namak ‘axe’ *namak-ay ‘axes’
21. *šatek ‘head’ *šatek-es ‘heads’
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22. *titek ‘plate’ *titek-ey ‘plates’
23. *k’atsek ‘wood chip’ *k’atsek-es ‘wood chips’
24. *axpɑyik ‘your house’ *axpɑyɑk-ey ‘your houses’
Changes:
1. V > V1 /V1(C)C+__ y, s
The vowel of the plural suffix, -Vy or -Vs, assimilates completely to the preceding
vowel, as in 1. *xutsax-Vs ‘vultures’ > *xutsax-as (which later becomes xutsxas by other
changes). In the reconstructed forms given above, the vowel is given in its already
assimilated form, though perhaps *xutsx-Vs would be more representative.
[It is not easy to determine what the vowel of the plural suffixes was originally – usually
it is a totally assimilated copy of the vowel preceding it in the stem to which the plural
suffix is attached, though there are some exceptions, usually with i or e, with suggest
perhaps it may have been i or e originally. This, however, is beyond the scope of the
data presented here.]
2. V > Ø /VC__(ʔ)C+V
The vowel of a stem was lost if followed by a single consonant or a glottal stop and
consonant when a vowel-initial suffix is attached so long as it did not result in a root
with no vowels (that is, as long as the form to which the suffix was attached had more
than one syllable and would not result in a consonant cluster of more than two
consonants together), as. in 1. *xutsax-Vs ‘vultures’ > xutsx-as (by 1. and 2.)
3. ʔ > Ø /__C+V
Glottal stop before another consonant in roots was lost when a vowel-initial suffix was
attached, as is 11. *ɫuʔp-is ‘nests’ > ɫupis.
4. k > x /C__
Here, *k became x when it followed another consonant. This is seen in 16. *towɑk-Vy
‘rivers’ > towɑk-ɑy by 1., then towɑk-ɑy > towkɑy by 2., and then towkɑy > towxɑy by 4.
As is seen in the examples, k came to follow another consonant often due to change 2.
which deleted an intervening vowel.
5. k > č / i, e, a __
Here, *k became č when followed by non-back vowels (i, e, a) (not o, u, ɑ; note that /a/
is a central, not back vowel, while /ɑ/ is back), as in 21. *šatek ‘head’ > šateč.
Change 1. (vowel-assimilation) came before change 2. (vowel-loss), since if the vowel
were lost in 2. before assimilation in 1., the vowel in the root to which the suffix vowel
assimilates by change 2. would not be there to change the suffix vowel.
Change 3. (ʔ-deletion) does not interact with the other changes and so could have taken
place at any time relative to the others.
Change 2. preceded change 4. If the sequence had been the opposite, erroneous forms
would have resulted, as for example with 16. *towɑk-Vy ‘rivers’ > towɑk-ɑy by 1., the 4. (k > x
before a consonant) would not have been applicable, since k would be between vowels, then
later change 2. (vowel-deletion) would give erroneous results, towɑkɑy > ✘towkɑy.
Change 4. took place before change 5, changing k to x thus not leaving a k to change to č
before i, e, or a, as in 22. *titek-ey ‘plates’ > titkey by 2., at which point if Change 5. had taken
place, we would get then titčey, making later change 4. (k > x) inapplicable to this form, since
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titčey would no longer has a k which could change to x in 4., leaving us with the erroneous form
✘titčey.
Derivations of the words of 12, 14, 18, and 20:

12. *k’utxaʔn ‘thorn’ *k’utxaʔn-is ‘thorns’
1. -- [exception to change 1.]
2. -- -- [not applicable, clusters of three
C’s (txn) not permitted]
3. -- k’utxan-is
4. -- --
5. -- --
Result k’utxaʔn k’utxanis
14. *tisuʔx ‘quebracho (tree)’ *tisuʔx-Vy ‘quebrachos’

1. -- tisuʔxuy
2. -- tisʔxuy
3. -- tisxuy
4. -- --
5. -- --
18. *ituʔk ‘my arm’ *ituʔk-Vy ‘my arms’

1. -- ituʔkuy
2. -- itʔkuy
3. -- itkuy
4. -- itxuy
5. -- --
Result ituʔk itxuy
20. *namak ‘axe’ *namak-Vy ‘axes’

1. -- namakay
2. -- namkay
3. -- --
4. -- namxay
5. namač --
Result namač namxay
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EXERCISES FOR CHAPTER 9 SEMANTIC CHANGE
AND LEXICAL CHANGE
Exercise 9.1
Attempt to find examples of your own of new vocabulary items which represent some of the
categories of lexical and semantic change discussed in this chapter. Try to name or identify the
categories involved. You can do this by listening for words that you think are new in the speech
of your friends and family or by asking others if they can think of any examples. Slang is a
fertile area for new vocabulary and semantic shifts.
There is, obviously, no set answer to this exercise. While the exercise calls for making personal
observations, you can get ideas of new vocabulary from a number of internet and library
sources. For example, a search for “new words (added to the dictionary)” will reveal new words
added to dictionaries in particular years and will lead you to examples such as, bloggable,
drama queen, facebook, scareware, supersize, etc. Searches, for example, for “new slang
words”, “creation of new words”, “new words in English”, and “neologisms” will take you to
numerous others.
Exercise 9.2 Lexical change
The following are a few of the many new words (neologisms) that have been added to English
recently. Can you determine where these come from, that is, how they came about? What
processes of vocabulary creation, semantic change or other kinds of linguistic changes do you
think lie behind the creation of these new words? (You may need to look some of these up to
find their meanings, or ask your friends who might know what they mean.)
app, buzzword, de-friend / unfriend, emoticon, guesstimate, mouse potato, to google,

LOL, tweet, webinar, wiki, WMD.
app: Clipping, from ‘application’.

buzzword: Compounding, buzz and word.
de-friend /
unfriend: Word-formation.
emoticon: Blending, emote + icon.
guesstimate: Blending, guess + estimate.
mouse potato: [someone who spends excessive amounts of time on the computer]
Compounding, on analogy to ‘couch potato’.
to google: From brand name, Google (and word-formation, noun > verb).
LOL: Acronym, from ‘laughing out loud’.
tweet: Metaphor, on similarity with tweet ‘sound made by a small bird’.
webinar: Blending, web + seminar.
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wiki: ultimately a loanword, from Hawai‘ian wikiwiki ‘fast, swift’;
originally from WikiWikiWeb, which was introduced and named by Ward
Cunningham in 1995.
WMD: Acronym, from ‘weapons of mass destruction’.
Exercise 9.3 Semantic change
Look up the following words in a dictionary which provides basic etymologies for words. (The
Oxford English Dictionary is generally recognized as the primary authority in this area and is
recommended here, although a number of other dictionaries also provide useful etymological
information.) Determine what change in meaning has taken place in each word. State which
type of semantic change is involved (from among the types defined in this chapter). For
example, if you were to see villain in the list, you would look it up and find out that it originally
meant ‘person of the villa/farm’ but has changed its meaning to ‘criminal, scoundrel’, and you
would state that this is an example of degeneration (or pejoration).
corpse; crafty; disease; fame; journey; officious; science; starve; thing; vulgar
corpse: a variant spelling of corps, which is derived from French cors ‘body’, ultimately
from Latin corpus ‘body’. The semantic shift is from ‘body’ to ‘dead body’, an
example of narrowing. (Some may imagine that degeneration may have been
involved, also.)
crafty: from Old English cræftig ‘strong, powerful’, expanded to include ‘skillful’.
(Based on the root craft, Old English cræft ‘strength, power’ and later ‘skill’.) The
semantic shift is from ‘skillful’ to ‘cunning, sly’, an example of degeneration.
disease: borrowed from Old French desaise ‘lack, discomfort, trouble, misfortune,
sickness’ (derived from des- ‘without’ + aise ‘ease’). The semantic shift from
‘discomfort’ to ‘illness’ is an example of degeneration. It may also be seen
perhaps as having involved narrowing, metonymy, or litotes.
fame: borrowed from Old French fame ‘fame, reputation, renown, rumor’, from Latin
fāma ‘talk, rumor, report, reputation’ (based on an Indo-European root ‘to speak’).
The goddess Fāma personified rumor in Roman mythology. The semantic shift
from ‘report, talk’ to ‘reputation, renown’ is an example of elevation. (Narrowing
is also involved.)
journey: borrowed from Old French journée ‘a day’s work, day’s travel’, ultimately
from Vulgar Latin diurnum ‘day’. The semantic shift was from ‘a day’s work or
travel’ to ‘travel, trip, journey’. It may be seen as an example of metaphor or
broadening (from how far one jouneyed in a day to the jouney generally).
officious: borrowed from Latin officiōsus ‘dutiful’ (derived from officium ‘duty,
service’. The semantic shift from ‘dutiful’ to ‘intrusive, obstructive’ (asserting
authority in an annoyingly domineering way about trivial matters). It is an example
of degeneration (also involving narrowing).
science: borrowed from Latin scientia ‘knowledge’ (from the root scire ‘to know’). The
semantic shift from ‘knowledge’ to ‘knowledge acquired by a particular method’ is
an example of narrowing.
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starve: from Old English steorfan ‘to die’ (compare the German cognate sterben ‘to
die’). The semantic shift was first from ‘to die’ to ‘to die of cold’ and then to ‘to
die of hunger’; it is an example of narrowing. (It might be thought also to involve
hyperbole.)
thing: from Old English þing ‘governing assembly’. The semantic shift from ‘assembly’
to ‘object, entity, matter’ is an example of metonymy, where people talked about
‘matters, events, entities’ in assemblies. (Some might see synecdoche.)
vulgar: borrowed from Latin vulgāris ‘of or pertaining to the common people’ (from the
root vulgus ‘the common people, multitude, crowd’). The semantic shift from ‘of
the common people’ to ‘lacking sophistication or good taste, unrefined’ and on to
include ‘coarse, rude, making explicit and offensive reference to sex or bodily
functions’. It is an example of degeneration. (Narrowing can also be said to be
involved.)
Exercise 9.4
In the following examples of semantic change, identify the kind of semantic change involved
(widening, narrowing, metonymy and so on).
1. Spanish cosa ‘thing’ < Latin causa ‘cause, question, matter’.

Metonymy.
2. Spanish dinero ‘money’ < Latin dēnāriu ‘coin (of a particular denomination)’.
Widening.
3. Spanish pariente ‘relative’ < Old Spanish pariente ‘parent’.
Widening.
4. Spanish segar ‘to reap (to cut grain, grass with a scythe)’ < Latin secāre ‘to cut’.
Narrowing. (Perhaps also metonomy or synecdoche.)
5. Old Spanish cuñado ‘relation by marriage’ shifted to ‘brother-in-law’ in Modern Spanish.
Narrowing.
6. Mexican Spanish muchacha, formerly only ‘girl’, now has a primary
meaning ‘maid, servant woman’ in some contexts.
Narrowing. (Perhaps also some degeneration.)
7. Modern Spanish siesta ‘afternoon nap (rest period during the heat of the day)’ < Old Spanish
siesta ‘midday heat’ (ultimately from Latin sexta (hora) ‘sixth (hour)’).
Metonomy.
8. English gay ‘homosexual’ is the result of a recent semantic shift, where the original sense,
‘cheerful, lively’, has become secondary; the shift to the ‘homosexual’ sense perhaps came
through other senses, ‘given to social pleasures, licentious’, which the word had.
Views may vary here; some may believe it involves metaphor, some elevation, others
degeneration, some taboo replacement or euphemism.
9. English to spill formerly meant (from c.1300 to 1600) ‘to destroy by depriving of life, to put
to death, to slay, to kill’.
Hyperbole.
10. French cuisse ‘thigh’ < Latin coxa ‘hip’ (Spanish cojo ‘lame, crippled’ is thought also to be
from Latin coxa ‘hip’).
Synecdoche or metonomy.
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11. Spanish cadera ‘hip’ < Latin cathedra (from Greek) ‘seat’.
Synecdoche or metonomy.
12. Spanish ciruela ‘plum’ < Latin prūna cēreola ‘waxy plum’ (prūna ‘plum’ + cēreola ‘of
wax’).
Displacement (ellipsis).
13. French viande ‘meat’ formerly meant ‘food’ in general. (This change parallels English meat
which originally meant ‘food’.)
Narrowing.
14. Spanish depender ‘to depend’ < Latin dēpendere ‘to hang’.
Metonomy.
15. English lousy ‘worthless, bad’ < ‘infested with lice’.
Metonomy.
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EXERCISES FOR CHAPTER 11 SYNTACTIC CHANGE
Exercise 11.1 Syntactic change in Panare
Consider the following from Panare (a Cariban language of Venezuela). (NOTE: y = IPA [j], ñ = IPA
[ɲ], č = IPA [tʃ].) The basic word order is verb first and subject final.) When the subject is ‘I’ or ‘you’,
no copula (form of the verb ‘to be’) is required in the present tense, as in:
(1) maestro yu (2) maestro aməәn

teacher I teacher you
‘I am a teacher’ ‘You are a teacher’
However, with a third-person subject, a copula is obligatory. With an inanimate subject, the copula is
məәn, as in (3):
(3) eʔčipen məәn manko

fruit məәn mango
‘Mango is a fruit’
For this exercise, such examples with inanimate subjects are not so relevant. However, with an animate
subject, the copula is either kəәh or nəәh, with a difference in meaning. Sentences (4) and (5) show that
sentences with third-person subjects but with no copula are ungrammatical (here /✘/ means
ungrammatical):
(4) ✘maestro eʔñapa (5) ✘eʔčipen manko

teacher Panare fruit mango
Sentences (6) (7) and (8) illustrate the kəәh and nəәh copulas and their difference:
(6) maestro kəәh eʔñapa (7) eʔčipen məәn manko
teacher kəәh Panare fruit məәn mango
‘This Panare here is a teacher’ ‘Mango is a fruit’
(8) maestro nəәh eʔñapa

teacher nəәh Panare
‘That Panare there is a teacher’
Now consider some demonstratives. The demonstratives məәh ‘this person whom I can see now’ and kəәn
‘that person whom I can’t see now’ at first glance appear to behave straightforwardly, as in (9) and (10):
(9) maestro kəәh məәh (10) maestro nəәh kəәn

teacher kəәh this.guy teacher nəәh that.guy
‘This guy is a teacher here’ ‘That guy is a teacher there’
But consider the additional Panare copular sentences in (11) through (14) (note here that /y/ changes to
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/č/ after /h/, so that yu ‘I’ in this example is ču in this context):
(11) maestro nəәh məәh (12) maestro nəәh ču

teacher nəәh this.guy teacher nəәh I
‘This guy was a teacher’ ‘I was a teacher’
(13) maestro nəәh aməәn (14) maestro kəәh kəәn

teacher nəәh you teacher kəәh that.guy
‘You were a teacher’ ‘That guy is being a teacher
right now’
(that is, he is off somewhere performing his
teaching duties at this very moment).
Though originally not possible, notice also that kəәh and nəәh now can also occur with ordinary verbs, as
in (15) through (18) (the question mark indicates a sentence which sounds very strange to native
speakers):
(15) əәʔ púmanəәpəәh kəәh Toman (16) ? əәʔ púmanəәpəәh nəәh Toman
be falling kəәh Thomas be falling nəәh Thomas
‘Tom is falling’ ‘Tom is falling (but I can’t see him)’
(17) yɨupúməәn kəәh Toman (18) yɨupúməәn nəәh Toman
fall kəәh Thomas fall nəәh Thomas
‘Tom is going to fall!’ ‘Tom is going to fall one day’,
or ‘Tom fell’
State the syntactic changes which have affected kəәh and nəәh. Explain the historical development of these
items as best you can using the terms and mechanisms presented in this chapter.
(Based on Gildea 1993, exercise prepared by Verónica Grondona.)
State the syntactic changes which have affected kǝh and nǝh.
Stage I:
nǝh Copula with human visible non-pronominal subject (visible, present, or near)
kǝh Copula with human non-visible non-pronominal subject (not visible, not present, or
distant).
Stage II: Reanalysis: nǝh and kǝh copulas are reanalyzed also as verbal tense-aspect markers:
nǝh takes on the added function of ‘past’ (non-visible) verbal tense-aspect marker
kǝh takes on the added function of ‘non-past’ (visible) verbal tense-aspect marker.
Exercise 11.2 Syntactic change in Estonian
Compare the sentences in this exercise, which represent different stages of Estonian (a Finno-Ugric
language); explain what changed and identify the kinds of changes or the mechanisms involved.
Stage I: Estonian had two alternative constructions for subordinate clauses involving the
complements of speech-act and mental-state main verbs, illustrated in (1) and (2) (Gen = ‘genitive’,
Nom = ‘nominative’, Part = ‘participle’, Pres = ‘present indicative’):
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(1) sai kuulda, et seal üks mees ela-b
got to.hear that there one.NOM man.NOM live-3rd.PRES
‘He/she came to hear that a man lives there’
(2) sai kuulda seal ühe mehe ela-vat

got to.hear there one.GEN man.GEN live-PARTICIPLE
(same meaning as (1))
Stage II: (1) and (2) remain possible, but the construction in (3) also became possible (note that
‘participle’ became ‘indirect’):
(3) sai kuulda, (et) seal üks mees ela-vat

got to.hear (that) there one.NOM man. NOM live-INDIRECT
(3a) ‘he/she came to hear that they say a man lives there’/
(3b) ‘he/she came to hear that reportedly a man lives there’
Stage III: (1), (2) and (3) are all possible now, but forms formerly found only in subordinate
clauses, as in (3), came to be found also in main clauses, as in (4):
(4) ta tege-vat töö-d
he.NOM do-INDIRECT work-PARTICIPLE
‘They say he is working’ / ‘Reportedly he is working’
Explain what changed and identify the kinds of changes or the mechanisms involved.
Changes:
Reanalysis. In Stage II, the Participle -vat was reanalyzed as ‘Indirect’ (reported speech).
Extension: In Stage III, the reanalyzed -vat ‘Indirect’ was extended so that it was no longer restricted to
subordinate clauses, as in (3) in Stage II, but now can appear also in main clauses, as in (4) in Stage
III.
Exercise 11.3 The development of the perfect auxiliaries in Spanish
In the following, the stages in the development of perfect auxiliaries in Spanish from their Latin
origins are described and illustrated. On the basis of this information, compare the stages and
attempt to determine the changes which took place and to identify the kinds of changes or the
mechanisms involved. (Fem = ‘feminine’, Masc = ‘masculine’, Part = ‘participle’, Pl = ‘plural’,
PPP = ‘past passive participle’).
Stage I, the beginning state for this problem (no changes yet): Latin used expressions with ‘past
passive participle’ (PPP) in combination with the verbs tenēre ‘hold’, habēre ‘keep, hold’, and other
verbs meaning ‘hold, possess, own’, to represent something as ready or kept in a completed condition, as
in (1):
(1) Metuō enim nē ibi vos habeam fatigā-tō-s (Late Latin)

fear.I truly lest there you have.I fatigue-PPP.Masc-Pl
‘I fear that I have you tired’ / ‘that I have tired you’ /
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‘that you are tired’
This construction with ‘past passive participle’ was quite limited in its occurrence in
Classical Latin, but became associated with ‘perfect’ aspect in combination with the
development of habēre as an auxiliary. Originally this construction had habēre ‘keep, hold,
have’ (a main verb) with the ‘past passive participle’ form as an adjective which modified the
direct object (both the logical and surface object) of this main verb (habēre), which agreed in
number and gender with this object as its head, as seen in the contrast between (2a) and (2b):
(2a) [habe-ō] [litter-ā-s scrip-t-ā-s]

have-I letter-Fem-Pl.Acc write-PPP-Fem-Pl.Acc
‘I have written letters’ (‘I have letters that are written’)
(2b) [habe-ō] [scrip-tum libr-um]
have-I write-PPP.Masc.Acc.Sg book-Masc.Acc.Sg
As seen here, the Past Passive Participles scriptās in (2a) and scriptum in (2b) are declined as
adjectives that agree in case, gender, and number with the head nouns, litterās in the (2a) and
librum in (2b); the Past Passive Participle is not part of the main verb (habeō ‘I have, hold’
here).
Stage II: In Old Spanish, haber (spelled aver in Old Spanish, from Latin habēre ‘to have,
hold’) in such constructions began to lose its possessive meaning and to consolidate the
auxiliary function, resulting in compound tenses, but still with agreement in gender and number
between the participle and the direct object until the mid-sixteenth century, as illustrated in (3)
(where the -o-s ‘masculine plural’ of hechos ‘made’ agrees with the -o-s ‘masculine plural’ of
enemigos ‘enemies’):
(3) Los había ... he-ch-o-s enemig-o-s de estotros

Them had make-Past.Part-Masc-Pl enemy-Masc-Pl of these.others
‘He had made enemies of these others’ (from Hernán Cortés)
Stage III: Gradually, the haber + PPP construction changed, eliminating the requirement
that ‘past passive participle’ must agree in number and gender with the noun which it modified,
losing its passive sense, with the verb haber becoming the ‘perfect auxiliary’, and Modern
Spanish no longer permits agreement between the participle and the object, as in (4):
(4) Hemos escri-to cart-a-s

have.we write-Past.Part letter-Fem-Pl
‘We have written letters’
The adjectival participle source with number and gender agreement still survives in other
contexts (but not in the perfect construction with forms of the verb haber), for example:
(5) Tenemos cart-a-s escri-t-a-s en tint-a roj-a

have.we letter-Fem-Pl write-Past.Part-Fem-Pl in ink-Fem.Sg red-Fem.Sg
‘We have letters written in red ink’.
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In the series of changes described here, the meaning is no longer ‘X possesses that which has
been done’, but ‘X has done’, and is accompanied by the structural change of haber from main
verb to an auxiliary.
Stage IV: Additional changes in connection with the new ‘perfect’ construction also came
about. First, the verb ser ‘to be’ had formerly also been an auxiliary used with certain
intransitive verbs (especially verbs of motion) (as in (6a) and (7a)), but this was replaced by the
auxiliary haber, as seen in the Modern Spanish equivalents in (6b) and (7b):
(6a) Old Spanish ella es naci-d-a

she is born-Past.Part-Fem
(6b) Modern Spanish ella ha naci-d-o
she has born-Past.Part
‘she has been born’
(7a) Old Spanish ellos son i-d-o-s
they are go-Past.Part-Masc-Pl
(7b) Modern Spanish ellos han i-d-o
they have go-Past.Part
‘they have gone’ (Lapesa 1981: 212)
Second, the word order changed, placing the participle closer to the auxiliary, for example from the
equivalent of ‘I have a letter written’ (as in (2)) to ‘I have written a letter’ (as in (4)).
Identify the kinds of changes or the mechanisms involved.

In Stage I there are no changes, though some changes had taken place earlier to get to Stage I: Latin
came to use expressions with ‘past passive participle’ (PPP) in combination with the verbs tenēre ‘hold’,
habēre ‘keep, hold’, and other verbs meaning ‘hold, possess, own’, to represent something as ready or
kept in a completed condition.
The verb habēre developed to become an auxiliary, a grammaticalization of habēre ‘keep, hold, have’
(main verb) to auxiliary.
Changes:
In Stage II, there was (1) reanalysis (grammaticalization) of haber as an auxiliary verb (with the
subject of inflected haber as also the subject of the Participle, and (2) bleaching of haver of its
possessive meaning. The new construction co-existed for a while with original one as in Stage I.
In Stage III: reanalysis. In the series of changes described in this stage, the meaning is no longer
‘X possesses that which has been done’, but ‘X has done’, and is accompanied by the completed
structural change of haber from main verb to an auxiliary. There was extension in that Modern Spanish
no longer permits the agreement between the participle and the object that was required earlier, and after
the change the former object of the participle is treated as just an ordinary object of the verb phrase.
In Stage IV: there was extension of haber to all intransitive verbs where previously intransitives
of verbs of motion took only ser ‘to be’ as their auxiliary.
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Exercise 11.4 Finding examples of grammaticalization
The following are some of the most common pathways of grammaticalization (that is, lexical sources
which often become grammatical morphemes as a result of grammaticalization changes). Attempt to
find examples from English (or from other languages you may be familiar with) which might illustrate
these processes. (A few which are extremely common around the world are also included even though
English alone may not offer examples.) As an example, for ‘go to’ > FUTURE, you might list English
‘going to’ > FUTURE as in ‘Hermione is going to marry Ron.’
(1) Allative (‘to’) > complementizer (for example, marker of infinitives)

(2) ‘come’ > future
(3) Copula (‘to be’) > obligation (such as ‘must’, ‘should’)
(4) Demonstrative pronoun (such as ‘this’, ‘that’) > definite article (such as ‘the’)
(5) ‘get’ > passive
(6) ‘have’ (possession) > obligation
(7) ‘have’ (possession) > perfect or completive aspect
(8) ‘keep’ (‘hold’, ‘grasp’) > continuous
(9) ‘keep’ > possession (‘have’)
(10) ‘man’ > indefinite pronoun
(11) ‘need’ > obligation
(12) ‘one’ > indefinite pronoun, indefinite article
(13) ‘owe’ > obligation
(14) ‘say’ > quotative
(15) ‘say’ > conditional
(16) ‘want’ > future
(17) Wh-question word (such as ‘what?’, ‘which?’, ‘who’) > relative pronoun, relative clause
marker.
There are no set answers to the request to find examples that match the common pathways of
grammaticalization listed here. You will need to think of examples on your own. You can check various
publications and websites, if you are unable to find appropriate cases on your own. There are numerous
books and articles on grammaticalization with abundant examples which should give you ideas of how
to find your own examples.
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EXERCISES FOR CHAPTER 14 DISTANT GENETIC RELATIONSHIP
Exercise 14.1 The Xinka-Lenca hypothesis
Handbooks and encyclopedias continue to report that Xinca (Xinka) and Lenca are related to one
another and belong in a single family group. Essentially all the evidence ever published for this
hypothesis is presented below. Evaluate this proposed evidence based on the criteria and considerations
discussed in this chapter. What do you conclude about the strength of the supporting evidence?
Background. Xinka is actually a family, now called Xinkan, of four languages in southeastern
Guatemala, two extinct and the two with only a couple of semi-speakers surviving. Lenca is also a small
family, Lencan, of two languages, Chilanga (Salvadoran Lenca) and Honduran Lenca, both recently
extinct. Walter Lehmann (1920:767) suggested the hypothesis that links the two families, though he also
included other languages in his comparison, a fact now long forgotten. Lehmann’s evidence for the
proposed relationship is reproduced here (with the form from Guazacapán Xinka in parentheses).
Observations that may be relevant in your deliberations are also included as notes below the forms.
Xinka Lenca
1 ‘one’ ical (ik’aɬ) etta, ita
2 ‘two’ bi-al, pi-ar, pi (piʔ) pe
3 ‘three’ vuaal-al, hual-ar (waɬ, waɬa) laagua, lagua
4 ‘four’ iri-ar ((h)irha) heria, erio (also sa, aria, eslea)
NOTE: words for numbers higher that ‘two’ are widely borrowed in languages of this
part of Central America; these include forms similar to those for ‘two’, ‘three’, and ‘four’
in these languages.
5 ‘water’ uÿ (u:y) cuy (invierno [‘winter’])
6 ‘night’ suma (sa-sɨ’ma ‘in the dark’) ts’ub (Nacht [‘night’])
7 ‘dark, black’ ts’ama (sɨ’ma) ts’ana-uamba (Morgen
(grauen) ‘morning (to
dawn)’)
8 ‘shade’ ti-tzuma (ti-sɨ’ma ‘in the dark’) saba
NOTE: The Xinkan forms in 5, 6, and 7 all involve the same root, /sɨ’ma/ ‘dark, black’.
9 ‘dog’ xusu (<x> = [š] (IPA [ʃ]) shushu
NOTE: these languages in effect have no alveopalatal affricate č; note also that the most
common word for ‘dog’ in colloquial Spanish of the area is chucho.
10 ‘cough’ ojo [<j> = [x] ] (oho) hoo, oiguin
11 ‘maize’ au, aima (ayma) ama, aima
NOTE: forms similar to aima, ama, aima for ‘maize’ are found widely in other
languages of this region; they involve borrowings.
12 ‘bean’ xinak (ṣ̌i’nak) shinag
NOTE: Mayan languages border Xinkan territory and are close to Lencan territory. Cf.
Cholan-Tzeltalan (Mayan) *čenek’ ‘bean’, from Proto-Mayan *kinaq’ ‘bean’. Terms for
‘bean’ are borrowed from Mayan in some other languages of this part of Central
America.
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Evaluate this proposed evidence:
Xinca Lenca
1 ‘one’ ical (ik’aɬ) etta, ita
These are not phonetically very similar; the sounds do not correspond systematically (neither k’ : t nor
lh : Ø is a recurring sound correspondence).
2 ‘two’ bi-al, pi-ar, pi (piʔ) pe

Short forms.
3 ‘three’ vuaal-al, hual-ar (waɬ, waɬa) laagua, lagua

4 ‘four’ iri-ar ((h)irha) heria, erio (also sa, aria, eslea)
NOTE: words for numbers higher that ‘two’ are widely borrowed in languages of this
part of Central America; these include forms similar to those for ‘two’, ‘three’, and ‘four’
in these languages.
The forms in 3 and 4 involve borrowing.
5 ‘water’ uÿ (u:y) cuy (invierno [‘winter’])

Semantic latitude: water / winter
Short forms.
No explanation for why Ø : <c->, for why nothing matches the <c>.
6 ‘night’ suma (sa-sɨ’ma ‘in the dark’) ts’ub (Nacht [‘night’])

7 ‘dark, black’ ts’ama (sɨ’ma) ts’ana-uamba (Morgen
(grauen) ‘morning (to
dawn)’)
8 ‘shade’ ti-tzuma (ti-sɨ’ma ‘in the dark’) saba
NOTE: The Xinka forms in 5, 6, and 7 all involve a single root, sɨ’ma ‘dark, black’.
Since the Xinka forms in 6, 7, and 8 are all based on a single root, sɨ’ma ‘dark’, there are not three
separate and independent cognate sets as evidence for the hypothesis, but at best only one. This single
Xinkan root cannot be cognate with three different words in Lenca (unless they, too, are derived from a
single root).
9 ‘dog’ xusu (<x> = [š] (IPA [ʃ]) shushu

NOTE: these languages in effect have no native alveopalatal affricate /č/; note also that
the most common word for ‘dog’ in colloquial Spanish of the area is chucho.
A loanword in both languages from Spanish chucho. Probably the original small, hairless, barkless
Mesoamerican dog that was eaten was so different from the sorts of dogs introduced by the Spanish that
they merited a new term.
10 ‘cough’ ojo [<j> = [x] ] (oho) hoo, oiguin

Omomatopoeic. Phonetically similar words for ‘cough’ are found in languages around the world.
11 ‘maize’ au, aima (ayma) ama, aima

NOTE: forms similar to aima, ama, eima for ‘maize’ are found widely in other
languages of this region; they involve borrowings.
Borrowing.
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12 ‘bean’ xinak (ṣ̌i’nak) shinag
NOTE: Mayan languages border both Xinkan and Lencan territory. Cf. Cholan-Tzeltalan
(Mayan) *čenek’ ‘bean’, from Proto-Mayan *kinaq’ ‘bean’. Terms for ‘bean’ are
borrowed from Mayan also in some other languages of this part of Central America.
Borrowings.
What do you conclude about the strength of the supporting evidence?

With only 12 comparisons to start with, this is an extremely small amount of evidence upon which to
build a hypothesis of genetic relationship, but since nearly all 12 of the comparisons that were offered
are seriously challenged for various reasons, the Xinca-Lenca hypothesis should be abandoned.
Exercise 14.2 An “Amerind” putative “etymology.”
Greenberg and Ruhlen (1992) presented the forms given here as one of the strongest examples
of a putative cognate set to support the “Amerind” hypothesis. Evaluate these data on the basis
of the criteria and considerations discussed in this chapter.
Background: Greenberg’s (1987) “Amerind” hypothesis would group all the language
families and isolates of the Americas except Eskimo-Aleut and Na-Dene. Most specialists in
American Indian linguistics believe there are about 180 independent language families and
isolates, not just one big one – that is, they believe the evidence available today is insufficient to
reduce this number of families by much, though it may be possible that in the remote past they
were related, just so long ago we can no longer demonstrate it.
Nootka t’an’a ‘child’

Yuchi tane ‘brother’
Totonac t’ána-t ‘grandchild’
Coahuilteco t’an-pam ‘child’
Proto-Uto-Aztecan *tana ‘daughter, son’
Miskito tuk-tan ‘child, boy’
Warrau [Warao] dani- ‘mother’s sister’
Aymara tayna ‘firstborn child’
Masaca tani-mai ‘younger sister’
Urubu-Kaapor ta’ïn ‘child’
Pavishana tane ‘my son’
Lengua tawin ‘grandchild’
Tibagi tog-tan ‘girl’
Yurok tsin ‘young man’
Mohawk -’tsin ‘male, boy’
Molale pēn-t’in ‘my elder brother’
Yana t’inī-si ‘child, son, daughter’
Cuicatec ’díínó ‘brother’
Changuenga sin ‘brother’
Millcayac tzhœng ‘son’
Tehuelche den ‘brother’
Tiquie ten ‘son’
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Mocochi tin-gwa ‘son, boy’
Yagua dēnu ‘male child’
Tacana u-tse-kwa ‘grandchild’
Guato china ‘older brother’
Coeur d’Alene tune ‘niece’
Yuchi ts’one ‘daughter, son’
Central Sierra Miwok tūne- ‘daughter’
Salinan a-t’on ‘younger sister’
Taos -t’út’ina ‘older sister’
Cayapa tsuh-ki ‘sister’
Tehuelche thaun ‘sister’
Tiquie ton ‘daughter’
Morotoko a-tune-sas ‘girl’
Nonuya -tona ‘sister’
Tacana -tóna ‘younger sister’
Pikobyé a-ton-kä ‘younger sister’
Problems:
Semantics: almost any kin term involving the same or younger generation or any term
for a younger male or female would fit. It is far too easy to find phonetically similar forms in
languages around the world that fit this broad semantic range.
Phonology: apparently the target is roughly some alveolar-like sound, followed by any
vowel, followed by an n-like sound (which is not always present), so, something like:
t’/t/d/ts/s/tzh/ch/th-V(-n/ng/h/Ø). It is far too easy to find forms that fit this range of meanings
and phonetic variation across languages by accident – a few that come to mind are:
English: son, tot, teen
German: Tante ‘aunt’
Spanish: china ‘girl, young women’
Maori: tāina ‘younger brothers (of a male), younger sisters (of a female)’, tēina ‘younger
brothers (of a male), younger sisters (of a female)’.
Exercise 14.3 Macro-Panoan distant genetic relationship
All of the evidence presented by Joseph H. Greenberg (1987:74-78) for his proposed Macro-
Panoan hypothesis (part of his larger Amerind proposal) is repeated here. Evaluate it based on
the criteria and considerations in this chapter. What other possible explanations (other than that
of cognates inherited from some common ancestor) do you see for some of the similarities
among the lexical items compared from the different languages? What kinds of problems do
you notice? List the problems involved in each lexical set. (Pay attention also to the number of
languages from which potential evidence is cited in comparison to the total number of
languages hypothesized to belong to this group.) After you have set aside forms that potentially
have other, non-genetic explanations, what evidence (if any) do you find that might support a
possible genetic relationship among the languages compared here?
Greenberg’s Macro-Panoan hypothesis would group several South American language
families and isolates: Panoan, Tacanan (recognized as Pano-Tacanan), Moseten [Mosetenan],
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Mataco[an]], Guaicuru[an], Charruan, Lule, Vilela (recognized as Lule-Vilela), and
Mascoy[an]. Note that though separated by Greenberg, Panoan and Tacanan belong to the Pano-
Tacanan family. Clarification of some of the names and some of the forms not included in
Greenberg’s data are given in square brackets ([ ]).
1 BE ABLE [Mascoyan:] Lengua wan(-či), wan(-kje). Mataco[an]: Chulupi [Nivaclé] ha-

wanaia [no such form exists; xa- ‘1st person’].
Problems: Only 2 languages are compared from many in the set of languages involved.
Spurious form.
2 ANIMAL Guaicuru[an]: Toba-Guazu sigiak. [Mascoyan:] Lengua askok. Mataco[an]:

Vejoz [Wichí] ɬokue [no such word exists in Wichi; ɬokwe is ‘jug’; lo is the classifier for
possessed domestic animals and may be involved here].
Problems: spurious form.
3 ANSWER (v.) Mataco[an]: Choroti kamtini ‘speak’. Panoan: Cazinaua køma. Cavineña
kiema.
Problems: semantics: answer / speak.
Only two languages compared.
4 ANUS Guaicuru[an]: Caduveo -auio ‘buttocks’. Mataco[an]: Choroti i-we, Vejoz

[Wichí] wex [‘tail, backside’]. Moseten jive ‘buttocks, anus.’ Panoan [Pano-Tacanan]:
Caripuna wahaa ‘open’. Tacanan [Pano-Tacanan]: Huarayo wexa ‘opening,’ Chama wexa
‘hole’.
Problems: semantics: buttocks, anus / tail / opening / opening / hole.
Short: perhaps only w/v match across the proposed cognates.
5 AWAKE Charruan: Chana inambi. Guaicuru[an]: Toba-Guazu tom ‘awake, dawn.’

Mataco[an]: Vejoz [Wichí]: nom (intransitive) [n-om ‘come, arrive’, n- ‘directional’].
Panoan: Proto-Panoan (S) *nama ‘to dream.’
Problems: semantics: awake, dawn / come, arrive / dream.
Morphological analysis (n-om).
6 BACK [Mascoyan:] Lengua ak-puk, (eja-)puk ‘behind.’ Panoan: Shipibo puika.

Tacanan: Cavineña ebekakwa, Chama kiibaaxaxe ‘behind.’
Semantics?: back / behind.
7 BAD Guaicuru[an]: Guachi [Guachi is not a Guaicuruan language, though there is a

hypothesis that it may be related] <oetcho> ‘devil.’ Mataco[an]: Nocten [Wichí], Vejoz
[Wichí] tsoi ‘devil.’ Moseten ači-tui ‘make dirty’. Tacanan: Tacan ači. Cf. Lule ičelo
‘devil.’
Problems: semantics: devil / make dirty.
Phonology: only ts / č are matched?
Classification problem of the languages compared (Guachi).
8 BAT Guaicuru [?]: kahit (h < s). Panoan: Proto-Panoan (S) *kaši.
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Problems: Only two languages are compared from many in the set of languages involved.
9 BE Lengua [Mascoyan]: Mascoy h-. [Matacoan:] Mataco [Wichí] ihi, hi [i- ‘to be’, i-
hi ‘be-LOCATOVE’].
Problems: short forms.
Phonology: perhaps nothing matches (h : i)?
Only two languages are compared from many in the set of languages involved.
10 BEAR (v.) Guaicuru[an]: Mocovi koo, Toba-Guazu koe. Lule kaa ‘born.’ [Matacoan:]
Mataco [Wichí] ko, Vejoz [Wichí] ko. Panoan: Proto-Panona (S) *kai ‘to bear, mother,’
Chacobo ko ‘born.’ Tacanan: Chama kwaja ‘be born.’
Problems: short forms.
11 BEFORE Lengua [Mascoyan]: Lengua, Mascoy nanič, Lengua nahno, nahtu ‘mucho
anteo’ [anteo is unclear in Spanish]. Mataco[an]: Chulupi [Nivaclé] naxeš ‘forward’ [no
such form exists, possibly from nɑx- ‘to end, terminate’; probably a mixture of nɑyiš ‘road’
and the verb derived from it, nɑyi-n ‘to anticipate, prepare, be first, go on ahead’, where one
translation in Spanish is adelantarse ‘to go ahead, to go forward’, which is similar to
adelante ‘ahead, forward, in front of, before’], Payagua [not Matacoan, sometimes
hypothesized as belonging to Guaicuruan or to proposed Macro-Guaicuruan with
Guaicuruan, Matacoan, Payaga, Guachi, but not demonstrated] inahi. Moseten <yno>,
xinoje.
Problems: semantics: forward / end / before / unclear Spanish gloss.
Spurious form.
12 BLOOD Guaicuruan: Toba t-auo, Lule ewe. Mataco[an]: Chunupi [Nivaclé] woi [woʔy].
Tacanan: Chama woʔo ‘red.’
Problems: semantics: blood / red.
Phonology: only w matches.
13 BODY Lule toip [-p ‘3rd Pers Possessive Pronoun’]. Mataco[an:] Mataco [Wichí]: tape
[t- ‘3rd Pers Possessive Pronoun’]. Tacanan: Cavineña etibo ‘trunk’ [e-tibu: e- ‘Pronoun’,
tibu ‘base’]. (Lule toip, however, may contain a suffix -p.)
Problems: semantics: body / base (mistaken gloss of ‘trunk’ instead of ‘base’).
Morphological analysis: it is slightly fudged: Lule toi ‘body’ + -p ‘3rd Pers Possessive
Pronoun’. Notice that the -p is segmented in all the other Lule forms cited which end in p.
Phonology: with -p segmented off the Lule form, only t matches in these compared forms.
14 BREAK Lengua [Mascoyan]: Mascoy pok- (intransitive). Mataco[an:] Mataco [Wichí]

puhwoje [pux-u ‘break, explode’], Suhin [Nivaclé] poktoče (intransitive) [pɑkxet-ši: pɑkxet
‘break’ + -ši ‘indefinite direction or location’]. Moseten fok.
Problems: Onomatopoeic.
15 BREAST Lengua [Mascoyan]: Lengua namakuk, Kaskiha neme ‘nipple’. Lule ineme
‘milk’.
Problems: semantics: breast / milk / nipple.
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Onomatopoeic (cf. nursing, suckling noises).
Only two families are compared (two languages from one, one language from the other).
16 BROTHER Charruan: Charrua inčala. Lule kani ‘younger brother.’ Mataco[an:]

Mataco [Wichí] čila ‘older brother’ [kyila], činix ‘younger brother’ [kyinix], Choroti kiili
‘older brother,’ kiini ‘younger brother.’ Vilela ikelebepe. (Perhaps two related roots for older
and younger brother [definitely two different lexical items in the Matacoan languages
cited].)
Problems: two separate Matacoan cognate sets are conflated into one here.
17 CLOSE (v.) Mataco[an:] Choroti pone, pione ‘close, cover,’ Vejoz [Wichí] ponhi
‘imprison,’ Towothli [Maká] aponik ‘cover.’ Tacanan: Cavineña pene [‘cover, protect’].
Problems: Forms from only Matacoan languages and one Tacanan language are compared.
Semantics: close, cover / imprison / cover, protect.
18 COLD1 [Mascoyan]: Lengua math(-kaiyi) ‘be cold.’ Panoan: Proto-Panona (S) *matsi ‘be
cold.’
Problems: only two languages are compared.
19 COLD2 Lule kei. Mataco[an:] Enimaga [Maká] koija, Chunupi [Nivaclé] kui [k’uy].
Problems: only Forms from two groups are compared, Lule and two Matacoan languages.
20 CUT Lengua [Mascoyan]: Guana čečet ‘cut up.’ Mataco[an]: Suhin [Nivaclé] siči
[note Nivaclé has 10 distinct verbs which translate ‘to cut’; the one intended is probably
seʔx ‘to cut up’, perhaps seʔx-ši ‘cut up-indefinite location or direction’], Choroti esita,
ešita. Panoan: Proto-Panona (S) *ṣ̌aʔtɨ.
Problems: Phonology: only sounds representing one consonant in the compared forms (č / s
/ ṣ̌ ) match across the set. The mistaken form of Suhin makes it appear more similar than it
is.
Spurious (?) or at least erroneous Suhin [Nivaclé] example.
21 DARK Guaicuru[an]: Toba, Mocovi epe, pe ‘night.’ Mataco[an]: Choroti pe ‘shadow.’

Tacanan: Chama kea-apo ‘night,’ Tacana apu- ‘dark.’
Problems: Short forms (only p matches).
Semantics: night / shadow /dark.
22 DIG Mataco[an]: Vejoz [Wichí] tih, Mataco [Wichí] tiho [tix-i ‘dig’]. Tacanan:
Chama teo.
Problems: Only two languages – Wichí and Chama – are compared.
Phonology: apparently only t is intended to match.
23 DOG Mataco[an]: Suhin [Nivaclé] nuu, Choropi [Nivaclé] nuux. Panoan: Proto-
Panoan (S) *ʔino, *ʔinaka.
Problems: Only two “languages” are compared, Nivaclé and Proto-Panoan.
Phonology: Only n matches; perhaps u / o are intended to match, also.
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24 DOOR Lule atsiki- <aciqui-p> ‘hole’. Panoan: Proto-Panoan (S) *ṣ̌ikwɨ ‘doorway.’
Tacanan: Proto-Tacanan *ṭsekwe ‘door, doorway.’ [Note Panoan and Tacanan belong to
Pano-Tacanan.]
Problems: Semantics: hole / doorway, door.
Only two entities are compared (Lule and Pano-Tacanan).
25 DRESS (v.) Lule tala ‘clothing,’ talaks. Mataco[an:] Mataco [Wichí] tula ‘clothing’
[form unknown].
Problems: Only two languages are compared.
Unidentifiable form (spurious?).
26 DRY [Mascoyan:] Lengua jima(-gjaji) ‘be dry.’ Mataco[an:] Mataco [Wichí] jɨm ‘dry
up’ [Wichí has no ɨ], Suhin, Chuluipi [Nivaclé] jim, Macca [Maká] iim. Moseten jiñ ‘bone.’
Problems: semantics: dry / bone.
27 EMPTY Lule em-p. Mataco[an:] Mataco [Wichí] jim, Chulupi [Nivaclé] jimši [yim-ši ‘to
dry up, to end’, yim ‘dry’ -ši ‘indefinite direction or location’. Same root as in 26].
Problems: The same root is compared to different forms in 26 and 27 as though they
involved two cognate sets instead of one.
Only two groups compared, Lule and Matacoan (two languages).
Phonology: short forms; perhaps only m is intended to match (or perhaps also e / i).
28 FEAR1 (v.) Guaicuru[an]: Toba-Guazu nahi. Mataco[an]: Vejoz [Wichí] nowai [the
root is oway, n- ‘Middle Voice marker’]. Moseten nojii ‘frighten.’ Panoan: Cashibo noo
‘frighten,’ Nocaman no ‘enemy,’ Panobo, Shipibo nawa ‘enemy.’
Problems: semantics: fear / frighten / enemy.
Morphological analysis: with n- of Wichí segmented off, the root is no longer similar.
Short form (e.g. no).
29 FEAR2 (v.) Lule lako ‘be ashamed.’ Panoan: Proto-Panoan (S) *rakwɨ.
Problems: semantics: be ashamed / fear.
Only two “languages” are compared.
30 FINISH Lule tum-p ‘be finished.’ Mataco[an]: Choroti temi, Suhin [Nivaclé] timš [im ‘to
end, run out’; perhaps based on xa-t-im-ši ‘1stPers-VERB.CLASS-end-
INDEFINITE.DIRECTION/LOCATION]. Cf. Tacanan: Cavineña tupu ‘enough.’
Problems: semantics: be finished / end, run out / enough.
Morphological analysis: with -t- segmented from the Nivaclé root im, little similarity is left.
31 FLY (v.) Moseten naj. Panoan: Proto-Panoan (S) *noja.

Problems: Only two “languages” are compared.
32 GREEN Lule <za>. Moseten <za>. Panoan: Proto-Panoan (S) *ṣ̌oo ‘green, not ripe.’
Tacanan: Proto-Tacanan *zawa. [Note that Panoan and Tacanan are members of the Pano-
Tacanan family.]
Problems: Short forms.
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Only two entities are compared, Mosetén and Pano-Tacanan.
33 HANG Moseten pina ‘hammock.’ Panoan: Conibo panea ‘be hung,’ pani ‘hang up,’
Shipibo panni ‘hang up.’
Problems: semantics: hammock / be hung / hang up.
Only two entities are compared, Mosetén and Panoan.
‘Hammock’ is a culture item, subject to possible borrowing.
34 HATE Guaicuru[an]: Abipone n-paak ‘hated.’ Moseten fakoj, fakin ‘be angry.’
Problems: semanatics: hated / be angry.
Only two languages are compared.
35 HORN Lengua [Mascoyan]: Guana taša. Mosten daš <dasc>.

36 KNEAD [Matacoan:] Mataco [Wichí] pʔon. Moseten puñe ‘knead, mud.’

37 KNOW Mataco[an]: Vejoz [Wichí] hanex [han- ‘to know’, -ex ‘Applicative’], Choroti
hane ‘know, be able’. Moseten (am)-xeñ ‘(no se puede’ [it is not possible]). Panoan: Proto-
Panoan (S) *onã ‘know, be able’, Shipibo huna.
Problems: Semantics?: ‘to know (be able)’ / ‘it is not possible’
38 LEAF Guaicuru[an]: Toba: l-awe. [Mascoyan:] Lengua wa.

Only two languages are compared.
39 LEAVE (ABANDON) Guaicuru[an]: Toba-Guazu jane. Lengua [Mascoyan]: Mascoy

jiño. Panoan: Proto-Panoan (S) *ɨnɨ. Vilela jane.
Problems: Phonological match?, just n / ñ (or also j / j /Ø / j ?).
40 LOOK Charruan: Chana sola. Guaicuru[an]: Pilaga čelage, Toba-Guazu silaha.

Problems: only two entities are compared (Chana and two Guaicuruan languages).
41 LOSE Moseten moñi ‘perish, lose, err.’ Panoan: Cashibo mano ‘forget,’ Cashinahua
manu ‘miss.’ Tacanan: Protoo-Tacanan *manu ‘die.’
Problems: semantics: perish, lose, err / forget / miss / die.
42 MAKE Guaicuru[an]: Toba-Guazu uo. Panoan: Proto-Panoan (S) *wa, *ʔa. Tacanan:
Proto-Tacanan *a ‘make, say.’
Only two entities are compared, Toba-Guazu and Pano-Tacanan.
43 MANY Guaicuru[an]: Toba-Guazu lamai. [Mascoyan:] Lengua ɬamo. Mataco[an]:

Payagua [not a Matacoan language] lehmi ‘all.’
Problems: semantics? many / all.
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Classification problem: Payagua.
44 MEAT Guaicuru[an]: Pilaga niiak ‘fish.’ [Mascoyan:] Lengua nohak ‘wild animal’.
Tacanan: Chama noe, Tiatinagua, Huarayo noči. Vilela nuhu ‘fish.’
Problems: semantics: fish / wild animal.
Phonology: perhaps only n matches?
45 MOSQUITO Lengua [Mascoyan]: Mascoy p-aija. Mataco[an]: Choroti eji, Suhin

[Nivaclé] iya [(y)iyaʔ].
Problems: Onomatopoeic.
Only two entities are compared (Mascoy and two Matacoan languages).
Short forms.
46 MOTHER Mataco[an]: Macca [Maká] nana. Tacanan: Proto-Tacanan nene ‘aunt’. Vilela
nane.
Problems: Nursery forms.
47 MOUSE Guaicuru[an]: Toba-Guazu mekahi ‘bat.’ Moseten meče ‘rat.’ Panoan: Proto-
Panoan (S) *maka ‘rat, mouse.’ Cf. Mataco[an]: Mataco [Wichí], Suhin [Nivaclé], Chulupi
[Nivaclé] ama, Vejoz [Wichí] ma.
Problems: semantics: bat / rat / mouse.
(Cf. Short forms?)
48 NECK1 Moseten tets <tez>. Panoan: Proto-Panoan (S) *tɨṣ̌o.

49 NECK2 Lule u(-p). Mataco[an]: Mataco [Wichí], Choroti, etc. wo. Moseten <huh>
‘throat.’
Phonology: perhaps no clear matches?
50 OLD Guaicuru[an]: Guachi [Guachi is not a Guaicuruan language] seera. Mataco[an]:

Payagua [Payagua is not a Matacoan language] aheri ‘old woman’. Panoan: Proto-Panoan
(S) *ṣ̌ɨnɨ. Tacanan: Proto-Tacanan *ziri.
Problems: semantics?: old / old woman.
Classification problem: Guachi and Payagua are language isolates, meaning that few
comparisons from these two are made with other languages in the set.
51 RED Guaicuru[an]: Toba, Mocovi tok. [Mascoyan:] Lengua eteig-ma. Mataco[an]:

Macca [Maká] tek ‘blood’ [not such form exists in Maká; see -athits ‘blood’, -atxuʔ ‘to
bleed’, siyixiʔ ‘red’]. Tacanan: Proto-Tacanan *čiaka.
Problems: semantics: red / blood.
52 RIB Guaicuru[an]: Mocovi <emeneh>. Moseten mana.

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53 ROTTEN [Mascoyan:] Lengua abik. Lule poko ‘to rot.’ Moseten fokoi.
54 SHOUT Lule se ‘cry.’ Panoan: Shipibo sei, Conibo sije, Cashinahua sa. Tacanan: Proto-
Tacanan *ṭsea.
Problems: Only two entities are compared, Lule and Pano-Tacanan.
Short forms.
Semantics(?): cry / shout.
55 SIDE Guaicuru[an]: Toba-Guazu ai, aji, Mocovi ai ‘side,’ Abipone uii. Lule je.
Problems: Only two entities are compared, Guaicuruan and Lule.
Short forms.
56 SMALL Lengua [Mascoyan]: Mascoy etkok. Mataco[an]: Churupi [Nivaclé] tikin [tik’in],
Suhin [Nivaclé] tika [no such form exists, perhaps a mistake for tik’in]. Towothli [Maká[
taake ‘short.’ Panoan Culino tukuča ‘short.’
Problems: symbolic?
Semantics?: small / short.
57 SON Charruan: Chana, Guenoa ineu. Guaicuru[an]: Guachi [Guachi is not a

Guaicuruan language] inna. Vilela ina-hmi (Pelleschi [source]), ina-ke ‘son, daughter’ (Gilij
[source]), hina-kis (Fontana [source]).
Problems: Classfication of Guachi.
58 SOUR Mataco[an]: Choroti paši <paxhi>. Moseten pase. Panoan: Proto-Panoan (S)
*paṣ̌a ‘sour, raw, uncooked,’ Tacanan: Proto-Tacanan *paṭse.
59 SWIM Guaicuru[an]: Pilaga ubogai. Moseten <vigi>. Tacanan: Proto-Tacanan *betsa.
60 THIN Lule kam. Moseten kum. Cf. Mataco[an]: Vejoz [Wichí] čemsa- ‘small.’
Problems: semantics: thin / small.
61 URINE [Mascoyan:] Lengua jis(-weji) ‘urinate.’ Lule <ys> ‘urinate. Mataco[an]: Suhn
[Nivaclé] yuɬ, Churupi [Nivaclé] <yius, yiusl> ‘urinate’ (sl probably represents the voiceless
lateral fricative ɬ) [both are from the root -uɬ ‘urine, to urinate, y-uɬ ‘he/she/it urinates’, y-
‘3rd Person Pronoun’] Panoan: Proto-Panoan (S) *isõ, *istõ.
Problems: onomatopoeic/symbolic.
Short forms.
Morphological analysis: failure to segment off Nivaclé y- made the forms appear similar
when there is little similarity.
62 WEAK Lengua [Mascoyan]: Mascoy jil, jel-k. Mataco[an]: Mataco [Wichí] jel ‘weak,
tired’ [y- ‘3rd Person Pronoun’, root -eɬ ‘to tire’].
Problems: morphological analysis: failure to segment off Nivaclé y- makes the forms appear
similar when there is little similarity.
Short forms.
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What evidence (if any) do you find that might support a possible genetic relationship
among the languages compared here?
There are problems with some forms in nearly all of the proposed cognate sets. In many
cases so many forms in the languages compared have problems that in effect the entire set must
be eliminated. When one tries to establish sound correspondences across the languages that are
proposed as belonging to the grouping, there are insufficient remaining forms to be able to
establish any reliably recurring sound correspondences among Panoan, Tacanan (Pano-
Tacanan), Mosetén, Matacoan, Guaicuruan, Charruan, Lule, Vilela (Lule-Vilela), and Mascoyan
(with the isolates Payagua and Guachi slipped in). For example, Charruan forms (not even all of
whihc are from the same Charruan language) appear in only four lexical sets (5, 16, 40, 57), far
to few to establish sound correspondences for Charrua. The same story holds for Vilela,
represented in only five lexical sets (16, 39, 44, 46, 57), and some of these are questionable. For
the other languages, too few forms remain that are not seriously challenged so it is not possible
to build a case for genetic relationship based on them.
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EXERCISES FOR CHAPTER 16 LINGUISTICS PREHISTORY
Exercise 16.1 Proto-Chibchan cultural inventory
Chibchan is a language family of more than twenty languages spoken in southern Central
America and northern South America. What do the following reconstructed Proto-Chibchan
vocabulary items reveal about the culture of Proto-Chibchan speakers?
1. *dihke ‘to sow’

2. *ta1 ‘cultivated clearing’
3. *ike ‘manioc’
4. *tuʔ ‘tuber, yam’
5. *apì ‘pumpkin, squash’
6. *e, *ebe ‘maize’
7. *du, *dua1 ‘tobacco’
8. *tã1 ‘gourd rattle’
9. *toka ‘gourd cup’
(Data from Constenla Umaña 2012.)
Proto-Chibchan speakers were agriculturalists, apparently cultivating several plants, including

maize, squash, gourds, and manioc.
Exercise 16.2 Proto-Tupían cultural inventory
Tupían is a large language family of South America with c.70 languages, spoken in Argentina,
Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela. (Tupí-Guaranían is a
large subgroup of this family.) Examine the following reconstructed Proto-Tupían vocabulary
items; what are you able to say about the culture of the speakers of Proto-Tupían based on
these?
1. *awai ‘yam (Dioscorea sp.)’

2. *čekw ‘to pound’
3. *čɨt ‘to bake’
4. *čʔam ‘rope’
5. *čét ‘digging stick’
6. *ekw ‘house’
7. *ekwat ‘village patio’.
8. *ekwen ‘door’
9. *ekwʔɨp ‘arrow’
10. *ẽɾi ‘hammock’
11. *eʔe ‘to grate’
12. *ɨɾju ‘basket’
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13. *ɨʔa ‘calabash (gourd)’.
14. *kuɾua ‘pumpkin’
15. *mani ‘manioc’
16. *mõj ‘to cook’
17. *ŋo/ŋe ‘cultivated field’
18. *pe ‘tobacco’
19. *ɾjuku ‘achiote (Bixa orellana)’
20. *t’ap ‘thatch’
21. *upap ‘bed, lying place’
22. *wamu/wamuã ‘shaman’
23. *waʔẽ ‘ceramic pot’
24. *wekẽʔa ‘fish trap’
25. *wetjɨ́k ‘sweet potato’
26. *wɨ ‘ax’
27. *wɨp ‘to cook, bake’
Proto-Tupían speaker’s cultural inventory appears to have included: agriculture (yam, gourd,
pumpkin, manioc, sweet potato, cultivated field, digging stick), ceramics (ceramic pot), fishing
(fish trap), an assortment of implements (rope, arrow, hammock, basket, thatch, bed), and
shamanism (shaman).
Exercise 16.3 Proto-Muskogean environment
Languages of the Muskogean family include Choctaw, Chicasaw, Creek, Mikasuki, and others,
once spoken widely in the southeastern US. What can you say about the Proto-Muskogean
speakers’ knowledge of their environment and possibly about the Proto-Muskogean homeland
based on the fact that terms for the following can be reconstructed to Proto-Muskogean? (Only
the glosses of the reconstructed items are given.
1. apple (crab-apple or persimmon)

2. bat
3. bee
4. beetle
5. bluejay
6. briar
7. briar (blackberry)
8. buckeye
9. buffalo
10. chestnut
11. chicken snake
12. chickenhawk
13. chigger
14. chipmunk
15. clam /spoon
16. copperhead
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17. corn (maize)
18. cotton
19. crane (whooping crane)
20. crawfish
21. cricket
22. deer
23. dove
24. duck
25. falcon
26. flea
27. frog
28. goose
29. grape
30. grasshopper
31. hackberry
32. haw
33. heron
34. hickory
35. hoe /plough
36. honey locust
37. hoot owl
38. horned owl
39. hornet /wasp
40. horsefly
41. hummingbird
42. katydid
43. lamb's quarters (chenopodium)
44. leech
45. lightning bug
46. lizard
47. locust/cicada
48. louse
49. martin
50. milkweed
51. mole
52. moss
53. mountain lion
54. muddauber
55. mulberry
56. muscadine grape
57. mushroom
58. oak (3 kinds)
59. onion
60. opossum
61. palmetto
62. pear
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63. perch
64. pigeon
65. pokeweed
66. potato
67. prickly
68. pumpkin
69. quail
70. rabbit
71. redbud
72. redheaded woodpecker
73. screech owl
74. skunk
75. slippery elm
76. snake
77. spider
78. squirrel,
79. stinging plant (poison ivy?)
80. tadpole
81. thrush
82. trout
83. turtle
84. turtle (soft-shelled)
85. walnut
86. water lily
87. whippoorwill
88. wildcat,
89. woodpecker
90. worm
91. wren
92. yellowhammer
(From Broadwell 1992.)
The homeland of Proto-Muskogean speakers can be determined by examining the geographical

distribution of the species in this list to see where they intersect. Broadly distributed species,
such as ‘bat’, ‘bee’, ‘flea’, ‘frog’, do little to localize the homeland. The ranges of some of these
which are more helpful for localizing the homeland are:
buckeye (Aesculus glabra): ranges south to eastern Kansas, southwestern Oklahoma, central
Texas; east to western Arkansas, Tennessee, and central Alabama, one location in eastern
Mississippi.
buffalo (Bison bison): Their range was roughly a triangle between the Great Bear Lake in
Canada's far northwestern Canada, south to the Mexican states of Durango and Nuevo
León, and east along the western boundary of the Appalachian Mountains.
chestnut (Castanea dentata): ranged from Maine and southern Ontario to Mississippi, and from
the Atlantic coast to the Appalachian Mountains and the Ohio Valley.
chicken snake (Pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus): its range extends from southern North
144
Carolina west through South Carolina to northern Georgia, eastern Tennessee,
southeastern Kentucky and south into Alabama. Disjunct populations exist in southern
New Jersey, west-central Virginia, adjacent West Virginia, central Kentucky and
southwestern Tennessee. This subspecies intergrades with Pituophis melanoleucus
mugitus in South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama.
copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix): Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida,
Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Texas, Ohio, Oklahoma,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina,
Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. In Mexico it occurs
in Chihuahua and Coahuila.
crab-apple, persimmon (Diospyros virginiana): it ranges from New England to Florida, and
west to Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos): a deciduous tree native to central North America, ranging
from southeastern South Dakota to New Orleans and central Texas, and as far east as
eastern Massachusetts.
mulberry (Morus rubra): native to eastern North America, from Ontario and Vermont south to
southern Florida and west to southeast South Dakota and central Texas.
muscadine grape (Vitis rotundifolia): native to the southeastern US; its natural range was:
Alabama, Arkansas, the Carolinas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West
Virginia.
palmetto (Sabal, a genus of New World palms with many species), native to the warm
temperate to tropical regions of the Americas, from southeastern US through the
Caribbean, Mexico and Central America to Colombia and Venezuela in northern South
America.
pokeweed (Phytolacca americana): native to eastern North America, the Midwest, and the Gulf
Coast, with more scattered populations in the far West.
The ranges of these species all overlap in the southeastern US perhaps including also the Gulf
Coast.
Exercise 16.4 Proto-Uto-Aztecan cultural inventory
Uto-Aztecan is a large language family with languages stretching from Oregon to Nicaragua.
Examine the following reconstructed Proto-Uto-Aztecan terms. What can you say about the
culture of the speakers of Proto-Uto-Aztecan? What might you be able to say about the probable
homeland of Proto-Uto-Aztecan?
1. *aCta ‘bow, atlatl’

2. *amu ‘agave (yucca plant)’
3. *amu ‘hunt’
4. *ayaw ‘gourd, squash’
5. *ayo ‘turtle’
6. *hulapɨ ‘badger’
7. *huma ‘flour, meal’
145
8. *hutsa ‘arrow’
9. *kakV ‘crow’
10. *kɨmal ‘blanket’
11. *koloka ‘beads, necklace’
12. *kuma ‘tool (for poking, cutting), knife’
13. *kuna ‘sack, bag’
14. *kusa ‘bag, sack’
15. *kwika ‘sing’
16. *kwisa ‘eagle’
17. *maCta ‘grinding stone (for seeds, grains), mortar’
18. *motoʔo ‘squirrel’
19. *muCta ‘cholla cactus’
20. *naka ‘mountain sheep (meat)’
21. *osa ‘paint, draw’
22. *pakaN ‘read’
23. *paʔtsi ‘seed’
24. *piŋa ‘grind’
25. *pipa ‘tobacco’
26. *pɨtsɨN ‘duck’
27. *piʔa ‘gather, pick’
28. *pona ‘play music, play drum’
29. *pota ‘cottonwood tree’
30. *putsi ‘seed, pit’
31. *sayo ‘enemy’
32. *sikuli ‘peyote’
33. *taka ‘fruit’
34. *tapi ‘hawk’
35. *tɨkpa ‘cutting tool, obsidian, knife’
36. *tɨsoli ‘quail’
37. *topi ‘cottontail rabbit’
38. *toptu ‘dance’
39. *tsal ‘loincloth’
40. *tsik ‘basket’
41. *tsɨka ‘duck’
42. *tuʔi ‘grind, flour’
43. *tuʔtsa ‘hummingbird’
44. *wa(s)sa ‘crane’
45. *wi-talo ‘roadrunner’
46. *wika ‘digging stick’
47. *wiki ‘rope, string’
48. *wipula ‘belt, sash’
49. *wokoN ‘pine, pine tree’
50. *yawa ‘dance’
(From Brian Stubbs 2011.)
146
Proto-Uto-Aztecan culture:
Hunting-and-gathering subsistence:
‘bow, atlatl’
‘hunt’
‘arrow’
‘turtle’
‘mountain sheep (meat)’
‘seed’
‘duck’ [2 species]
‘gather, pick’
‘seed, pit’
‘fruit’
‘cottontail rabbit’
The presence of ‘grinding stone, mortor’, ‘grind’, ‘flour, meal’, ‘digging stick’, and
‘gourd, squash’ might at first seem to suggest the possibility of agriculture; however, hunter-
gatherers also collect wild seeds, grind them, grind them on grinding stones in some instances,
make meal or flour from them, and often use digging sticks, and wild gourds were known
(‘squash’ appears to be a later semantic shift from something that earlier meant ‘wild gourd’ or
something similar). So this is not good evidence that Proto-Uto-Aztecan speakers had
agriculture.
Material culture: implements and clothing:

‘bow, atlatl’
‘arrow’
‘tool (for poking, cutting), knife’
‘cutting tool, obsidian, knife’
‘grinding stone, mortar’

‘digging stick’
‘sack, bag’ [1]

‘bag, sack’ [2]
‘basket’
‘rope, string’
Clothing, adornment and ritual:

‘beads, necklace’
‘blanket’
‘loincloth’
‘belt, sash’
‘paint, draw’
‘tobacco’
‘play music, play drum’
‘dance’
Tobacco, music, and dance were all associated with ritual.
147
The cultural inventory from the reconstructed lexical items is consistent with non-
agriculturalist hunting-and-gathering culture, with no evidence of metal or ceramics (though one
cannot argue for what the culture may have had or lacked from the absence of evidence, only
from the presence of evidence).
Proto-Uto-Aztecan homeland: within the area where the ranges of the following intersect:
‘agave (yucca plant)’ (genus of monocots, family Asparagaceae, subfamily, with about 208
species: chiefly in Mexico, also native to the southern and western US, and central and
tropical South America.
‘badger’ (American badger Taxidea taxus): found in the western and central US, northern
Mexico, central Canada, and areas of southwestern British Columbia.
‘cholla cactus’ (Cylindropuntia is a genus of cacti, family Cactaceae), about 35 species: native
to the southwest and south central United States, Mexico, and the West Indies.
‘mountain sheep’ (Ovis canadensis): through western North America as far south as Baja
California and northwestern mainland Mexico. There are several subspecies. Sierra Nevada
bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis sierrae) is a genetically distinct subspecies that only
occurs in the Sierra Nevada, California. Desert Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni)
occurs throughout the southwestern desert regions of US and Mexico.
‘cottonwood tree’(probably Populus fremontii ‘Fremont cottonwood’): occurs in California east
to Utah and Arizona and south into northwest Mexico, similar to the eastern cottonwood
(Populus deltoides), which occurs throughout the eastern and in extreme southern Canada.
‘peyote’ (Lophophora williamsii): native to southwestern Texas and Mexico, primarily in the
Chihuahuan desert and in the states of Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosí.
‘roadrunner’ (probably Greater Roadrunner, Geococcyx californianus): can be found in
California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, and rarely
in Kansas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Missouri, and in the Mexican states of Baja California,
Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuahua, Durango, Jalisco, Coahuila, Zacatecas,
Aguas Calientes, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Querétaro, México, Puebla, Nuevo León,
Tamaulipas, and San Luis Potosí.
These species place the Proto-Uto-Aztecan homeland in a region where the ranges of these
species overlap – all are found in the US southwest and northern Mexico, though some have a
more northerly distribution and some more southerly ranges. Therefore the Uto-Aztecan
homeland must have been in the US southwest-northern Mexico region.

148

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INSTRUCTOR'S MANUAL

Historical Linguistics: an Introduction

© Lyle Campbell, 2013

Historical Linguistics: an Introduction

Chapter 2 Sound change, Exercise and solutions 10

Chapter 3 Borrowing, Exercise and solutions 26

Chapter 4 Analogical change, Exercise and solutions 55

Chapter 5 Comparative method, Exercise and solutions 58

Chapter 6 Language Classification, Exercise and solutions 90

Chapter 7 Models of Linguistic Change (No exercises)

Chapter 8 Internal reconstruction, Exercise and solutions 94

Chapter 9 Semantic and lexical change, Exercise and solutions 119

Chapter 10 Morphological Change (No exercises)

Chapter 11 Syntactic change, Exercise and solutions 123

Chapter 12 Language Contact (No exercises)

Chapter 13 Explanation (No exercises)

Chapter 14 Distant Genetic Relationship, Exercise and solutions 129

Chapter 15 Philology and writing, Exercise and solutions (No exercises)

Chapter 16 Linguistics prehistory, Exercise and solutions 141

Chapter 17 Quantitative Approaches to Historical Linguistics (No exercises)

This exercise is about attitudes towards language change.

1. Try to find letters to newspapers or columns in newspapers or magazines, or on blogs, which

Any examples of spellings not generally considered standard or examples of frequent

Exercise 1.4 Shakespeare

The former use of double negatives is no longer grammatical in Standard English:

Treatment of auxiliary verbs:

1. Macduff is fled to England (Macbeth IV, i) = ‘has fled’

Treatment of comparatives and superlatives:

Comparatives and superlatives:

1. The quality of mercy is not strain’d

Differences in verb agreement inflections:

Exercise 1.5 Chaucer

The Tale of Melibee, Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1380)

of which the dores wer-en faste y-shette.

and by wyndowes ben entred, and betten his wyf,

and left-en hir for deed, and went-en awey.

y-shette > shut

to sey-n > to say

laft in hath he laft > left

is went > has/had gone

Lexical or Semantic changes:

Exercise 1.6 Caxton

And the goode wyf answerede. that she coude no frenshe.

And thenne at laste a nother sayd that he wolde haue eyren/

refreseh them > refresh themselves

Lexical or semantic changes:

wolde ‘wanted’ > wanted

Exercise 2.1 Sound change – Proto-Germanic to Old English

Write out the sound changes involved:

Identify by name the kind of sound change:

Exercise 2.2 Sound change – Sanskrit to Pali

Exercise 2.4 Sound change – Proto-Slavic to Russian

Exercise 2.5 Sound change in dialects of Tulu (Dravidian)

Sapaliga Holeya Setti Jain 1 Jain 2

Holeya changes: t > c (that is, t > č)

Jain 2: t > Ø Perhaps more plausibly through the intermediate stages:

Exercise 2.6 Sound change Proto-Indo-European (PIE) to Latin

3. *bhébhrus ‘beaver’ fiber ‘beaver’

6. *tauros ‘bull’ taurus ‘bull’

8. *dl̥kus ‘sweet’ dulcis /dulkis/ ‘sweet’

10. *dheh1lus ‘nourishing’ fēlīx /fe:li:ks/ ‘fruitful’

13. *k̂m̥tóm ‘hundred’ centum /kentum/ ‘hundred’

15. *ĝénu ‘jaw’ gena ‘cheek’

17. *ĝhans- ‘goose’ hanser (later ānser) ‘goose’

(2) -k -h k k > h /__# in Chilanga

(4) -h -Ø h h > Ø /__# in Hondoruan Lenca

(5) -n -Ø n n > Ø /a__# in Chilanga

(9) s l ɫ ɫ > s in Honduran Lenca

(12) k k’ k k’ > k in Honduran Lenca