Abstract
Grassmann’s Law (=GL) is generally regarded as a quintessential example of regular sound change, though dissimilation processes are generally said to be quite rare and sporadic. In the present paper, evidence is presented aiming to show “the phonetic prehistory” of Grassmann’s Law in Greek, namely a diachronic stage during which GL acts in all but regular fashion. In particular, especially in some dialectal areas, some forms retain the original diaspirate stem up until Classical epoque (V–IV c. BC). Moreover, the presence of an opposite process, that is the assimilation (generally regressive) between aspirated segments, is also documented. Both of these aspects seem to show a lexically constrained spread of such a change. Its relatively late regularity can be explained as a process implemented by phonological constraints, which intervene at some point in the linguistic change.
Acknowledgements
A first version of the present work was written in collaboration with Valentina Gasbarra and Marianna Pozza, who very generously allowed me as the only author in this new draft. I am very grateful to Luca Bettarini, Giulia Bucci, Sara Kaczko, Paolo Milizia and two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions. I take full responsibility for my own work.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- The position of the genitive in Old English prose: Intertextual differences and the role of Latin
- Reduced forms in the nominal morphology of the Lindisfarne Gospel Gloss. A case of accusative/dative syncretism?
- The “phonetic prehistory” of Grassmann’s law in Greek
- Conservation or change? Exploring trends in Modern Hebrew in light of new spoken corpora of the first two generations of speakers
- Reciprocal constructions in Homeric Greek: A typological and corpus-based approach
- Tangut as a West Gyalrongic language
- Univerbation
- Recontextualization and language change
- Book Review
- The determinants of diachronic stability
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- The position of the genitive in Old English prose: Intertextual differences and the role of Latin
- Reduced forms in the nominal morphology of the Lindisfarne Gospel Gloss. A case of accusative/dative syncretism?
- The “phonetic prehistory” of Grassmann’s law in Greek
- Conservation or change? Exploring trends in Modern Hebrew in light of new spoken corpora of the first two generations of speakers
- Reciprocal constructions in Homeric Greek: A typological and corpus-based approach
- Tangut as a West Gyalrongic language
- Univerbation
- Recontextualization and language change
- Book Review
- The determinants of diachronic stability