Vowels in Root Syllables

Abstract

Since, to judge from the spellings, the development of vowels and diphthongs was, in general, largely the same in stressed and half-stressed¹ roots and pre-radical elements, I propose to discuss in this part of the Phonology all root vowels, including those in the second elements of compounds and in such pre-radical elements as were not (always) weak-stressed (see 4.6.). Occasionally we shall find that, through loss of semantic force and consequent reduction of half-stress, the vowel in the second element of a compound has undergone the same change as in other weak-stressed syllables. Such cases, too, will be included here and no separate chapter will be devoted to them. If, however, what was originally a second element has become a productive suffix, it will appear more appropriate to deal with it in the chapter on “Vowels in Non-Root Syllables.” As there are several border-line cases, I cannot promise to be entirely consistent, and a certain amount of duplication may be inevitable.

The erratum of this chapter is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-3361-4_12