The Phonology of Classical Latin

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

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.

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]

6.2.3.4. Hiatus and i-final perfectum stems

6.2.3.5. The non-alternating suffixes

6.2.4. Affixes following the extended stems

6.3. Allomorphy in the nominal inflection

6.3.1. Introductory remarks

6.3.2. Case endings and allomorphy: nominative and accusative singular

6.3.2.1. Phonological alternations in the nominative singular

6.3.2.2. Gender marking

6.3.3. Case endings and allomorphy: the remaining cases

6.4. Morphophonological analysis: inflectional allomorphy and the vocalic scale

6.5. The vocalic scale and sonority

6.6. Conclusion

7. The phonology of prefixed forms

7.1. Introduction

7.2. The prefixes of Latin

7.2.1. Vowel-final prefixes + prae

7.2.1.1. d_e-

7.2.1.2. pr_o-

7.2.1.3. s_e-

7.2.1.4. ne-

7.2.1.5. re-

7.2.1.6. ambi-

7.2.1.7. ante-

7.2.1.8. v_e-

7.2.1.9. prae-

7.2.2. Prefixes ending in [r]

7.2.2.1. per-

7.2.2.2. super-

7.2.2.3. subter-

7.2.2.4. inter-

7.2.2.5. por-

7.2.3. Nasal-final prefixes

7.2.3.1. in-

7.2.3.2. con-

7.2.3.3. an-

7.2.3.4. circum-

7.2.4. Coronal obstruent-final prefixes

7.2.4.1. post-

7.2.4.2. ex-

7.2.4.3. dis-

7.2.4.4. trans-

7.2.4.5. ad-

7.2.5. Prefixes ending in [b]

7.2.5.1. ob-

7.2.5.2. ab-

7.2.5.3. sub-

7.3. Generalisations

7.3.1. Assimilations

7.3.1.1. Voice assimilation

7.3.1.2. Place assimilation

7.3.1.3. Total assimilation

7.3.2. Non-assimilatory allomorphy

7.3.2.1. [s]-allomorphy

7.3.2.2. Vowel-triggered allomorphy

7.3.2.3. [b]-allomorphy

7.3.3. On the nature of prefix-variation

7.4. Conclusion

8. Conclusion and conspectus of the phonological rules

Appendix 1: The textual frequency of consonants in Classical Latin

Appendix 2: Authors and works mentioned in the text

References

Index of Latin words

Subject index

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