A History of the Romance Vowel Systems through Paradigmatic Reconstruction [Reprint 2017 ed.] 9783110806960, 9789027933546

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JANUA LINGUARUM S T U D I A MEMORIAE N I C O L A I VAN W I J K DEDICATA edenda curai C. H. V A N S C H O O N E V E L D Indiana University

Series Practica,

176

TO MY M O T H E R

A HISTORY OF THE ROMANCE VOWEL SYSTEMS THROUGH PARADIGMATIC RECONSTRUCTION

by

THADDEUS FERGUSON Columbia

University

1976

MOUTON THE H A G U E • P A R I S

© Copyright 1976 Mouton & Co. B.V., Publishers, The Hague No part of this book may be translated or reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any other means, without written permission from the publishers.

ISBN 90 279 3354 5

Printed in Hungary

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Since this study was originally undertaken as a Columbia University doctoral dissertation, I can do no less than to extend due recognition to those scholars who supervised it from its inception to its present form: to Professor Robert Austerlitz, who, as director of the dissertation, insisted on the highest standards at all times and whose constructive criticism has brought a measure of improvement to virtually every page of this work; to Professor Fredrick H. Jungemann, whose generous expenditure of time and effort far exceeded the call of duty; and to Professor Mario A. Pei, who graciously shared with me his unrivaled knowledge of the entire field of Romance philology. These three men deserve much of the credit for whatever there may be of value in this study; indeed, they are largely responsible for the training without which I could not have undertaken the project atall. I should also like to take this opportunity to thank Professor Lawton P. G. Peckham and Professor Joseph L. Malone,. both of whom read the entire text and made a number of perceptive observations, some of which are reflected in the final version. In addition, congratulations are due to Mr. Ronald Stark for his expert typing of a difficult manuscript. The major portion of Chapter 10 first appeared in Studies in Honor of Mario A. Pei (Chapel Hill, 1972). I wish to thank North Carolina Studies in the Romance Languages and Literatures for permission to reprint this material.

5

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

5

Apparatus

9

Introduction 0.1. Aim 0.2. Latin and Proto-Romance 0.3. Structural Linguistics and Romance Historical Phonology: Some Previous Studies 0.4. Methodology

11 13 14 18

PART I: THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE PROTO-ROMANCE VOWEL PARADIGM

1. Preliminary Survey of Modern Romance Vowel Patterning

25

2. The Proto-Romance System of Stressed Vowels

37

3. The Proto-Romance System of Unstressed Vowels

70

4. The Proto-Romance Diphthong */aw/

79

5. The Philological Evidence

85

PART II: RISING DIPHTHO NGIZ ATION AND METAPHONY IN ROMANCE

6. The Two Prototypes of Stressed Vowel Development

95

7. A Theory on the Diachronic Relationship between Rising Diphthongization and Metaphony

123

8. Sample Reconstruction: The Parallel Evolution of Spanish and Portuguese Stressed Mid Vowels

131

7

8

CONTENTS

PART III: PATTERNED FALLING DIPHTHONGIZATION AND THE FRONT ROUNDED VOWEL SERIES

9. The Two Zones of Patterned Falling Diphthongization 10. Sample Reconstruction : The Evolution of the Stressed Vowel System of Vegliote

139 149

11. Conclusion 11.1. The Structure and Evolution of the Pro to-Romance Vowel Paradigm: Summary 11.2. The Question of Regional Isoglosses in Pro to-Romance Bibliography

164 172 175

APPARATUS

(1 j. Stress is indicated by /'/ before the stressed syllable; e.g., Central Italian /'par lo/ "I speak", /par '1