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This work is a comprehensive corpus-based description of the synchronic segmental phonology of Classical Latin.
* Provides a full description of the phonology of a dead language and also highlights how the patterns and processes described contribute to phonological theory
* Research results include novel analyses of segmental phenomena, phonotactics, phonological processes, inflectional morphology, and certain diachronic questions
* Informed by specific hypotheses about how phonological representations are structured and how phonological rules work, and in turn how the findings corroborate these hypotheses
* Theoretically grounded and provides raw material for researchers of phonology, morphology and historical linguistics
List of contents
List of figures
List of tables
Abbreviations and symbols
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
1.1. Aims and scope
1.2. Previous research
1.3. The language, the data and the form of writing
1.4. The framework
1.5. The structure of the book
2. The segmental inventory
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Consonants
2.2.1. General distributional regularities in simplex forms
2.2.2. The question of the labiovelar(s)
2.2.2.1. The issue of frequency
2.2.2.2. Phonetic issues
2.2.2.3. Geminates
2.2.2.4. Positional restrictions and stop + glide sequences
2.2.2.5. The question of [sw]
2.2.2.6. Verb root structure
2.2.2.7. Voicing contrast in clusters
2.2.2.8. Alternations
2.2.2.9. Ad-assimilation
2.2.2.10. Diachronic considerations
2.2.2.11. Poetic licence
2.2.2.12. Further remarks on the voiced labiovelar
2.2.2.13. Summary of the labiovelar question
2.2.3. The placeless nasal
2.3. Vowels
2.3.1. The nasal vowels
2.3.2. The question of diphthongs
2.3.3. Hiatus
2.4. The phonological representations
2.5. Conclusion
3. The phonotactics of simplex forms and resyllabification
3.1. Introduction
3.1.1. Excursus on metrical evidence
3.2. The presentation of the consonant clusters
3.3. The analysis of the consonant clusters
3.4. Syllable contact and the interaction between place of articulation and sonority
3.5. Resyllabification and extrasyllabic [s]
3.6. A note on words written with initial (gn)
3.7. Conclusion
4. Processes affecting consonants
4.1. Introduction
4.2. Contact voice assimilation
4.2.1. Excursus: loss of [s] before voiced consonants
4.3. Total assimilation of [t] to [s]
4.4. Rhotacism
4.5. Degemination
4.5.1. General degemination
4.5.2. Degemination of [s]
4.6. Nasal place loss before fricatives
4.7. Epenthesis after [m]
4.8. Place assimilation
4.9. Dark and clear [l]
4.10. Final stop deletion
4.11. Liquid dissimilation
4.12. Conclusion
5. Processes affecting vowels
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Alternations in vowel quality
5.2.1. The Old Latin weakening
5.2.2. Synchronic alternations between the short vowels
5.2.2.1. Alternation in closed vs. open syllables
5.2.2.2. Lowering before [r]
5.2.2.3. Word-final lowering
5.3. Vowel-zero alternations
5.3.1. Before stem-final [r]
5.3.2. Prevocalic deletion of back vowels
5.3.3. Vowel-zero alternation in suffixes
5.4. Length alternations
5.4.1. Shortenings
5.4.2. Lengthening before voiced stops
5.4.3. Coalescence with empty vowel
5.4.4. Coalescence with placeless nasal
5.4.5. The abi_es-pattern
5.5. Conclusion
6. The inflectional morphology of Classical Latin
6.1. Introduction
6.2. Allomorphy in the verbal inflection
6.2.1. The general structure of verbal inflection
6.2.2. Affixes immediately following the infectum stem
6.2.3. Affixes immediately following the perfectum stem
6.2.3.1. Classification of affixes
6.2.3.2. The general pattern of affix alternations
6.2.3.3. Vowel deletion after [s]
About the author
András Cser teaches linguistics at Pázmány Péter Catholic University. Besides Latin phonology, he has published on phonological theory, morphology, diachronic linguistics and the history of linguistics (Hungarian as well as European). His works include
The Typology and Modelling of Obstruent Lenition and Fortition Processes (2003). He is the editor of
Acta Linguistica Academica.
Summary
This work is a comprehensive corpus-based description of the synchronic segmental phonology of Classical Latin.
* Provides a full description of the phonology of a dead language and also highlights how the patterns and processes described contribute to phonological theory
* Research results include novel analyses of segmental phenomena, phonotactics, phonological processes, inflectional morphology, and certain diachronic questions
* Informed by specific hypotheses about how phonological representations are structured and how phonological rules work, and in turn how the findings corroborate these hypotheses
* Theoretically grounded and provides raw material for researchers of phonology, morphology and historical linguistics