Slavic second palatalization
Encyclopedia
Slavic second palatalization is a Proto-Slavic sound change, that manifested as a regressive palatalization
of inherited Balto-Slavic velars and velar fricative, chronologically occurring after the first
and the third palatalization.
That anomaly has been resolved by palatalization of velar consonant, just as it was done during the preceding first palatalization. Only the results of this new palatalization were different, and not completely uniform on all Slavic territory, indicating first dialectal differences. Usually this palatalization is described as gradual, first fronting of the velars to proper palatals occurred, and then (perhaps with those that were affected with the third palatalization) they were assibilated
. Hence it's sometimes called sibilantization.
*k, }) and *g (< PIE *g, }, }, }) change before the Proto-Slavic diphthong *aj/āj (< PIE *oy, }/ay), which itself must have become *ē by the time the second palatalization started to occur:
Proto-Slavic velar fricative *x that was absent in PIE, and which arose primarily from PIE *s by means of RUKI law
, from word-initial PIE #sk- as well as from Germanic and Iranian borrowings
, changed in the same environment as:
Ultimate output of the third palatalization is thus the same as that of the preceding second palatalization. The difference of the palatalization of *x is dependent upon chronology and the Slavic dialect in question: In East
and South Slavic
it's /s/, and in West Slavic languages
it's /š/.
Compare:
The intermediary /dz/ has been preserved only in the oldest Old Church Slavonic canon monuments, Lechitic languages
, and the Ohrid dialect
s of Macedonian
. Other Slavic languages have younger /z/.
In South Slavic languages the second palatalization operates even if medial *w (> OCS v) is present between the velar and the diphthong (or its reflex), whereas in West Slavic languages the original *kvě/gvě clusters are preserved. Although words with groups cv, zv resulting from the second palatalization are found in East Slavic languages, they are likely to be a consequence of the Church Slavonic influence, since there is evidence of preservation of original groups in Ukrainian and Belarusian languages and in Russian dialects. Compare:
In natively coined and inherited Slavic words the second palatalization occurs only before the new *ě < *aj, because the first palatalization already operated before all the other front vowels, but in the loanwords it also operates before all front vowels. Compare:
Compare:
For Northwest Russian speeches (Novgorod, Pskov
), according to Zaliznyak
, the second palatalization has not taken place at all (E.g. Pskovian kev : OESl. cěvь: Old Novgorod
*kělъ : OCS cělъ). But it is in fact probably not so, because such apparent unchanged velars were actually palatalized dentals both in the older monuments and in modern speeches (so such #k- would in fact be [t']). So the only exception with these speeches would be of not carrying out the affrication with the second palatalization.
Palatalization
In linguistics, palatalization , also palatization, may refer to two different processes by which a sound, usually a consonant, comes to be produced with the tongue in a position in the mouth near the palate....
of inherited Balto-Slavic velars and velar fricative, chronologically occurring after the first
Slavic first palatalization
Slavic first palatalization is a Proto-Slavic sound change, that manifested as regressive palatalization of inherited Balto-Slavic velars and velar fricative.- Motivation :...
and the third palatalization.
Motivation
The second palatalization of velars is a direct consequence of the monophthongization of diphthongs, or more precisely, the change *aj > ē. While the clusters *kaj, *gaj and *xaj were in accordance with the principle of so-called intrasyllabic synharmony that operated during the Common Slavic period, the clusters resulting from monophthongization *kē. *gē, *xē defied the intrasyllabic synharmony because the velar consonant was preceding the front vocalic, and that defied the Proto-Slavic phonotactical constraints.That anomaly has been resolved by palatalization of velar consonant, just as it was done during the preceding first palatalization. Only the results of this new palatalization were different, and not completely uniform on all Slavic territory, indicating first dialectal differences. Usually this palatalization is described as gradual, first fronting of the velars to proper palatals occurred, and then (perhaps with those that were affected with the third palatalization) they were assibilated
Assibilation
In linguistics, assibilation is the term for a sound change resulting in a sibilant consonant. It is commonly the final phase of palatalization.-Romance languages:...
. Hence it's sometimes called sibilantization.
Formulation
Inherited velars *k (< PIEProto-Indo-European language
The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
*k, }) and *g (< PIE *g, }, }, }) change before the Proto-Slavic diphthong *aj/āj (< PIE *oy, }/ay), which itself must have become *ē by the time the second palatalization started to occur:
- *k > *t' > c
- *g > *d' > dz > z
Proto-Slavic velar fricative *x that was absent in PIE, and which arose primarily from PIE *s by means of RUKI law
Ruki sound law
Ruki refers to a sound change in Balto-Slavic, Albanian, Armenian, and Indo-Iranian, wherein an original phoneme changed into after the consonants , , and the semi-vowels , , or:...
, from word-initial PIE #sk- as well as from Germanic and Iranian borrowings
Proto-Slavic borrowings
Numerous lexemes that are reconstructible for the Proto-Slavic language have been identified as borrowings from the languages of various tribes that Proto-Slavic speakers came into contact with, either in prehistorical times or during their expansion when they first appeared in history in the 6th...
, changed in the same environment as:
- *x > *ś > s/š
Ultimate output of the third palatalization is thus the same as that of the preceding second palatalization. The difference of the palatalization of *x is dependent upon chronology and the Slavic dialect in question: In East
East Slavic languages
The East Slavic languages constitute one of three regional subgroups of Slavic languages, currently spoken in Eastern Europe. It is the group with the largest numbers of speakers, far out-numbering the Western and Southern Slavic groups. Current East Slavic languages are Belarusian, Russian,...
and South Slavic
South Slavic languages
The South Slavic languages comprise one of three branches of the Slavic languages. There are approximately 30 million speakers, mainly in the Balkans. These are separated geographically from speakers of the other two Slavic branches by a belt of German, Hungarian and Romanian speakers...
it's /s/, and in West Slavic languages
West Slavic languages
The West Slavic languages are a subdivision of the Slavic language group that includes Czech, Polish, Slovak, Kashubian and Sorbian.Classification:* Indo-European** Balto-Slavic*** Slavic**** West Slavic***** Czech-Slovak languages****** Czech...
it's /š/.
Compare:
- PIE *koylo- > PSl. *kajlu 'whole, healthy' > OCS cělъ, Russ. célyj, Pol. cały
The intermediary /dz/ has been preserved only in the oldest Old Church Slavonic canon monuments, Lechitic languages
Lechitic languages
The Lechitic languages include three languages spoken in Central Europe, mainly in Poland, and historically also in the eastern and northern parts of modern Germany. This language group is a branch of the larger West Slavic language family...
, and the Ohrid dialect
Ohrid dialect
The Ohrid dialect is a member of the western and north western subgroup of the western group of dialects of the Macedonian language. The dialect is spoken in the region around the city Ohrid up to the southern point of the Ohrid Lake. Except in the city of Ohrid, the dialect is spoken in the...
s of Macedonian
Macedonian language
Macedonian is a South Slavic language spoken as a first language by approximately 2–3 million people principally in the region of Macedonia but also in the Macedonian diaspora...
. Other Slavic languages have younger /z/.
In South Slavic languages the second palatalization operates even if medial *w (> OCS v) is present between the velar and the diphthong (or its reflex), whereas in West Slavic languages the original *kvě/gvě clusters are preserved. Although words with groups cv, zv resulting from the second palatalization are found in East Slavic languages, they are likely to be a consequence of the Church Slavonic influence, since there is evidence of preservation of original groups in Ukrainian and Belarusian languages and in Russian dialects. Compare:
- PSl. *gwajzdā 'star' > OCS zvězda, but Pol. gwiazda, Cz. hvězda
- PSl. *kwajtu 'flower' > OCS cvětъ, but Pol. kwiat, Cz. květ, Ukr. kvitka, Belarus. kvetka, Russ. dial. kvet
In natively coined and inherited Slavic words the second palatalization occurs only before the new *ě < *aj, because the first palatalization already operated before all the other front vowels, but in the loanwords it also operates before all front vowels. Compare:
- Latin acētum 'vinegar' > Goth. akit- > PSl. *akitu > OCS ocьtъ
- Germanic *kirkō 'church' > PSl. *kirkū > OCS crьky
Interpretation
The second palatalization has probably spread from Slavic south; it started to operate sometimes between the end of the sixth and the middle of the seventh century CE, and the environments where it operated vary. In Russian and Slovak, results of the second palatalization later were removed at junction of morphemes (i.e. before inflectional endings) because of paradigm alignment, by analogy. In Ukrainian and Belarusian, however, the effect of second palatalization is still evident in such cases.Compare:
- Old East Slavic ruka 'hand', L.Locative caseLocative is a grammatical case which indicates a location. It corresponds vaguely to the English prepositions "in", "on", "at", and "by"...
rucě- Russ. ruká, L. ruké
- Ukr. ruká, L. rucí
- Belarus. ruká, L. rucé
For Northwest Russian speeches (Novgorod, Pskov
Pskov
Pskov is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: -Early history:...
), according to Zaliznyak
Andrey Zaliznyak
Andrey Anatolyevich Zaliznyak, is a Russian linguist who specializes in the research of linguistic monuments of Old Novgorod....
, the second palatalization has not taken place at all (E.g. Pskovian kev : OESl. cěvь: Old Novgorod
Old Novgorod dialect
Old Novgorod dialect is a term introduced by Andrey Zaliznyak to describe the astonishingly diverse linguistic features of the Old East Slavic birch bark writings from the 11th to 15th centuries excavated in Novgorod and its surroundings...
*kělъ : OCS cělъ). But it is in fact probably not so, because such apparent unchanged velars were actually palatalized dentals both in the older monuments and in modern speeches (so such #k- would in fact be [t']). So the only exception with these speeches would be of not carrying out the affrication with the second palatalization.
See also
- Slavic first palatalizationSlavic first palatalizationSlavic first palatalization is a Proto-Slavic sound change, that manifested as regressive palatalization of inherited Balto-Slavic velars and velar fricative.- Motivation :...
- Slavic third palatalization
- Proto-Slavic languageProto-Slavic languageProto-Slavic is the proto-language from which Slavic languages later emerged. It was spoken before the seventh century AD. As with most other proto-languages, no attested writings have been found; the language has been reconstructed by applying the comparative method to all the attested Slavic...