The Even Yearbook 13 (2018)

volume: 13 (2018)
pages: 56–80
author: Attila Starčević
title: The ‘gamma’ of Old English
keywords: Old English, palatalization, gamma, velar voiced fricative, velar approximant, breaking, i-umlaut
abstract: The data on Old English are well-known. As the chances of new manuscripts being discovered in the hope of further data extraction are almost non-existent, one must turn to analysing the old data with a new set of assumptions. One of these issues concerns the palatalization of *ɣ (gamma) in pre-historic Old English, a Germanic phoneme with several reflexes in Old English: ɡ, x, ɣ, j, dʒ, ddʒ. Historically, palatalization intersects and interacts with breaking and i-umlaut, which gives a convenient point of reference for any analysis.
      The gamma is analysed here to have been a velar approximant in pre-Old English. The account of palatalization that follows cannot, under any account, claim to have the same scope of coverage, or account for every anomaly recorded in the last century. It relies on well-rehearsed data with a wish for reconsideration along a new set of assumptions. No new theoretical background is introduced either.
PDF:   full text
raw text: 18st-raw
refs: ⟨BibTeX⟩
@article{even18st,
  author  = {Attila Starčević},
  title   = {The ‘gamma’ of {O}ld {E}nglish},
  year    = 2018,
  journal = {The Even Yearbook},
  volume  = 13,
  pages   = {56–80},
  url     = {http://seas.elte.hu/w/!even/18st}
}
⟨RIS⟩
TY  - JOUR
AU  - Starčević,Attila
PY  - 2018/​/​/
TI  - The ‘gamma’ of Old English
T2  - The Even Yearbook
VL  - 13
SP  - 56
EP  - 80
UR  - http://seas.elte.hu/w/!even/18st
ER  -
⟨txt⟩
Starčević, Attila. 2018. The ‘gamma’ of Old English. The Even Yearbook 13: 56–80. http://seas.elte.hu/w/!even/18st