Nyelvtudományi Közlemények 96. kötet (1998-1999)
Tanulmányok - Dezső László: Typological Comparison of Root Structuring in Uralic and Early Indo-European. [Az uráli és korai indoeurópai tőstruktúrák tipológiai összevetése] 3
12 LASZLO DEZSŐ stop system of Indo-European, the problem seems to be académie for the reconstruction. However, it is not for typology and for the comparison of early Indo-European, early Uralic and Altaic lexicons. In Altaic proto-languages there is a system of stops based on the lack or présence of voicing: p, t, k and b, d, g (Poppe 1960: 9-25) without systemic aspirated allophones. In Uralic the voiced stops are hypothesized allophones in intervocalic position (UEW IX), but the opposition based on voicing was not relevant phonologically; the same is true for aspiration which is not evén considered in the phonological or phonetical system. Thus, voicing is a common feature of these proto-languages, aspiration is not (cf. Décsy 1988: 58-59 for voicing and the relative rarity of aspiration). The décomposition of Indo-European system of stops in the dialects shows somé regularities. The glottalized stops became voiced in Indo-Aryan, Greek, early Italic, Celtic, Balto-Slavic; they are voiceless in Germanie, and there is no voicing in Armenian. The voiceless stops do not undergo voicing in these dialects. The voiced stops préserve voicing in these languages, except Greek and early Italic. Aspiration becomes phonologically relevant in Indo-Aryan with four séries of phonèmes based on voice and aspiration; aspiration is relevant for the two séries of voiceless phonèmes in Greek and early Italic. One can consider voicing a tendency which spreads over voiceless stops: in Uralic and Dravidian dialects it effects the stops in intervocalic position, in Altaic proto-languages voiced phonèmes can occur in initial and middle positions. In Proto-Indo-European voicing has reached its maximum, only the glottalized stops were unvoiced, they, however, became voiced in most dialects; the voiced stops could lose their voicing. The opposition between stops and fricatives is characteristic of Uralic. Fricativization was basic in the change from Indo-European to Germanie, somé characteristics of which should be mentioned here for comparison (Gamkrelidze - Ivanov 1984: 35-41). In Germanie the glottalized stops have lost their glottal feature, and remain voiceless: p, t, k. The voiced with aspirated allophones changed according to the lack or présence of aspiration: non-aspirated became normal voiced b —> b, d —> d, g —> g or gw, aspirated allophones were fricativized: bh —> ß, dh —> 8, gh —> y or yw. Similar changes occurred with voiceless stops: unaspirated gave normal voiceless stops, aspirated became fricativized: ph —>f, th —> 6, kh —> h, hw. However, a voiceless aspirated stop after an unaccented vowel gives a voiced fricative according to Verner's law: th > 6 > Ö. Such changes of aspirated stops intő fricatives correspond to a tendency in generál phonology and is based on the phonetic properties of these consonants. The authors evén make the cautious hypothesis that the distribution of non-aspirated voiced stops in initial position and the aspirated in internai, typical of Germanie, can reflect their positions in Indo-European, but the hypothesis requires further study (Gamkrelidze - Ivanov 1984: 36-37).
