Metaphony (Romance languages)
In the
Italo-Romance languages
Unaffected | Mutated |
---|---|
/ˈmetto/ "I put" | /ˈmitti/ "you put" |
/ˈkwesto/ "this (neut.)" | /ˈkwistu/ "this (masc.)" |
/moˈdɛsta/ "modest (fem.)" | /moˈdestu/ "modest (masc.)" |
/ˈprɛdoko/ "I preach" | /ˈprediki/ "you preach" |
/ˈfjore/ "flower" | /ˈfjuri/ "flowers" |
/ˈsposa/ "wife" | /ˈspusu/ "husband" |
/ˈmɔre/ "he dies" | /ˈmori/ "you die" |
/ˈmɔʃa/ "depressed (fem.)" | /ˈmoʃu/ "depressed (masc.)" |
Unaffected | Mutated |
---|---|
/ˈpɛre/ "foot" | /ˈpjeri/ "feet" |
/ˈlɛddʒe/ "light (fem.)" | /ˈljeddʒi/ "light (masc.)" |
/ˈpɛnʒo/ "I think" | /ˈpjenʒi/ "you think" |
/ˈmese/ "month" | /ˈmisi/ "months" |
/ˈmette/ "he puts" | /ˈmitti/ "you put" |
/ˈvɔsko/ "woods" | /ˈvwoski/ "woods (pl.)" |
/ˈɣrɔssa/ "big (fem.)" | /ˈɣrwossu/ "big (masc.)" |
/ˈmɔvo/ "I move" | /ˈmwovi/ "you move" |
/kaˈvrone/ "coal" | /kaˈvruni/ "coals" |
/ˈsola/ "alone (fem.)" | /ˈsulu/ "alone (masc.)" |
/ˈkorre/ "he runs" | /ˈkurri/ "you run" |
Metaphony in central and southern Italo-Romance (i.e. excluding Tuscan) affects stressed mid-vowels if the following syllable contains /i/ or /u/. As a general rule, the high-mids /e o/ are raised to /i u/, and the low-mids /ɛ ɔ/ are raised to /e o/ or diphthongized to /je wo/.[1] Metaphony is not triggered by final /o/. The main occurrences of final /i/ are as follows:
- The plural of nouns in -o (< nominative plural -ī).
- The plural of nouns in -e (either a regular development of alternative third-declension accusative plural -īs, or analogical to plural -ī).
- The second-person singular present tense (a regular development of -īs in verbs in -īre and analogical in verbs in -ere, -ēre, -āre; in Old Italian, the ending -e is still found in -are verbs).
- The first-person singular past indicative (< -ī).
The main occurrences of final /o/ are as follows:
- The first-person singular present indicative (< -ō).
- Masculine "mass" nouns, and "neuter" (mass-noun) demonstratives (disputed origin).
The main occurrence of final /u/ is in masculine "count" nouns (< -um).
Metaphony in the northern Italian languages (those to the north of Tuscany) is triggered only by final /i/. In these languages, as in Tuscan, final /u/ was lowered to /o/; it evidently happened prior to the action of metaphony. In these languages, metaphony also tends to apply to final /a/, raising it to /ɛ/ or /e/.
In most Italian languages, most final vowels have become
Western Romance languages
In all of the
- vīgintī "twenty" > *vigintī > PIR /veˈenti/ > Italian venti; but > pre-PWR /veˈinti/ > PWR /veˈinte/ > Old Portuguese veínte (> viínte > modern vinte), Old Frenchvint (> modern vingt /vɛ̃/).
- fēcī, fēcit "I did, he did" (preterite) > Italian feci, fece; but > pre-PWR /ˈfedzi, ˈfedzet/ > /ˈfidzi, ˈfedzet/ > PWR /ˈfidze, ˈfedzet/ > Old Spanish fize, fezo[3](> fize, fizo > modern hice, hizo), Portuguese fiz, fez, Old French fis, fist (< *fis, feist).
Astur-Leonese
In some of the
In this situation, only masculine singular count nouns developed metaphony, as they were the ones marked with a /-u/, and mass nouns and plurals, marked with /-o/, did not.[6] This ending system has been preserved in only central Asturian dialects. Unlike metaphony, which is considered dialectal, it has also been included in the standard version of Asturian.
Mutated | Unaffected | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masc. sing. | Mass | Masc. plural | |||
pilu | /ˈpilu/ | pelo | /ˈpelo/ | pelos | /ˈpelos/ |
quisu | /ˈkisu/ | queso | /ˈkeso/ | quesos | /ˈkesos/ |
fiirru | /ˈfjiru/ | fierro | /ˈfjero/ | fierros | /ˈfjeros/ |
However, at later stages, Eastern Astur-Leonese dialects (Eastern Asturias and Cantabria) lost the u/o distinction in noun gender markers. Some of those dialects also lost metaphony and the noun count/mass distinction altogether, keeping it only in their pronoun systems, others, such as Pasiegu from Eastern Cantabria closed all their mid-vowels in word ending syllables, and relied on metaphony as a means for distinguishing mass/count nouns.
Mutated | Unaffected | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masc. sing. | Mass | Masc. plural | |||
pilu | /ˈpɨlʉ/ | pelu | /ˈpelu/ | pelus | /ˈpelus/ |
quisu | /ˈkɨsʉ/ | quesu | /ˈkesu/ | quesus | /ˈkesus/ |
fiirru | /ˈjɨrʉ/ | fierru | /ˈjeru/ | fierrus | /ˈjerus/ |
Some Astur-Leonese dialects also presented i-triggered metaphony. It is also considered dialectal, and it is most prevalent in imperatives (durmi < PIR dormi, sleep!), preterites (vini < PIE veni, I came) and demonstratives (isti < esti, this; isi < esi, that). Sometimes it prevents diphthongization (durmi vs duermi, sleep!; curri vs cuerri, run!) by closing the mid vowel in the verbal stem.
Portuguese
Raising of /ɔ, ɛ/ to /o, e/ by a following final /u/ occurs sporadically in Portuguese.
Metephony on present tense and imperative verbs also occurs.
Affected | Unaffected | ||
---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | ||
medo | /ˈmedu/ | medos | /ˈmedus/ (Brazil) /ˈmɛduʃ/ (Portugal) |
fogo | /ˈfogu/ | fogos | /ˈfɔgus/ (Brazil) /ˈfɔguʃ/ (Portugal) |
Affected | Unaffected | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masc. sing. | Fem. sing. | Masc. plural | Fem. plural | ||||
avesso | /aˈvesu/ (Brazil) /ɐˈvesu/ (Portugal) |
avessa | /aˈvɛsɐ/ (Brazil) /ɐˈvɛsɐ/ (Portugal) |
avessos | /aˈvɛsus/ (Brazil) /ɐˈvɛsuʃ/ (Portugal) |
avessas | /aˈvɛsɐs/ (Brazil) /ɐˈvɛsɐʃ/ (Portugal) |
novo | /ˈnovu/ | nova | /ˈnɔvɐ/ | novos | /ˈnɔvus/ (Brazil) /ˈnɔvuʃ/ (Portugal) |
novas | /ˈnɔvɐs/ (Brazil) /ˈnɔvɐʃ/ (Portugal) |
virtuoso | /viʁtuˈozu/ (Brazil) /viɾtuˈozu/ (Portugal) |
virtuosa | /viʁtuˈɔzɐ/ (Brazil) /viɾtuˈɔzɐ/ (Portugal) |
virtuosos | /viʁtuˈɔzus/ (Brazil) /viɾtuˈɔzuʃ/ (Portugal) |
virtuosas | /viʁtuˈɔzɐs/ (Brazil) /viɾtuˈɔzɐʃ/ (Portugal) |
Unaffected | Affected | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masc. sing. | Fem. sing. | Masc. plural | Fem. plural | ||||
ele | /ˈeli/ (Brazil) /ˈelɨ/ (Portugal) |
ela | /ˈɛlɐ/ | eles | /ˈelis/ (Brazil) /ˈɛlɨʃ/ (Portugal) |
elas | /ˈɛlɐs/ (Brazil) /ˈɛlɐʃ/ (Portugal) |
Unaffected (closed vowel) |
Affected (close-mid vowel) |
Affected (open-mid vowel) | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Neutral | Masc. sing. | Fem. sing. | Masc. plural | Fem. plural | |||||||
isto | /ˈistu/ (Brazil) /ˈiʃtu/ (Portugal) |
este | /ˈestʃi/ (Brazil) /ˈeʃtɨ/ (Portugal) |
esta | /ˈɛstɐ/ (Brazil) /ˈɛʃtɐ/ (Portugal) |
estes | /ˈestʃis/ (Brazil) /ˈɛʃtɨʃ/ (Portugal) |
estas | /ˈɛstɐs/ (Brazil) /ˈɛʃtɐʃ/ (Portugal) | ||
isso | /ˈisu/ | esse | /ˈesi/ (Brazil) /ˈesɨ/ (Portugal) |
essa | /ˈɛsɐ/ | esses | /ˈesis/ (Brazil) /ˈɛsɨʃ/ (Portugal) |
essas | /ˈɛsɐs/ (Brazil) /ˈɛsɐʃ/ (Portugal) | ||
aquilo | /aˈkilu/ (Brazil) /ɐˈkilu/ (Portugal) |
aquele | /aˈkeli/ (Brazil) /ɐˈkelɨ/ (Portugal) |
aquela | /aˈkɛlɐ/ (Brazil) /ɐˈkɛlɐ/ (Portugal) |
aqueles | /aˈkelis/ (Brazil) /ɐˈkɛlɨʃ/ (Portugal) |
aquelas | /aˈkɛlɐs/ (Brazil) /ɐˈkɛlɐʃ/ (Portugal) |
Unaffected | Affected | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Neutral | Masc. sing. | Fem. sing. | Masc. plural | Fem. plural | |||||||
tudo | /ˈtudu/ | todo | /ˈtodu/ | toda | /ˈtodɐ/ | todos | /ˈtodus/ (Brazil) /ˈtoduʃ/ (Portugal) |
todas | /ˈtodɐs/ (Brazil) /ˈtodɐʃ/ (Portugal) |
Romanian
Romanian shows metaphony of the opposite sort, where final /a/ (and also /e/, especially in the case of /o/) caused a diphthongization /e/ > /ea/, /je/ > /ja/, /o/ > /oa/:[5] cēram "wax" > ceară; equam "mare" > /*ɛpa/ > /*jepa/ > iapă; flōrem "flower" > floare; nostrum, nostrī, nostram, nostrās "our (masc. sg., masc. pl., fem. sg., fem. pl.)" > /*nostru, nostri, nostra, nostre/ > nostru, noștri, noastră, noastre.
Sardinian
See also
Notes
- ^ S2CID 60966393.
- ^ Calabrese, Andrea. "Metaphony" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ^ fize, fezo < *fize, feze by analogy with the preterite of -ar verbs, e.g. amé, amó "I loved, he loved". Portuguese was unaffected by analogy because the corresponding -ar preterite forms are amei, amou.
- ^ Álvaro Arias. El morfema de ‘neutro de materia’ en asturiano. Santiago de Compostela, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 1999, I Premio «Dámaso Alonso» de Investigación Filológica.
- ^ JSTOR 3735232.
- ^ Álvaro Arias. «La armonización vocálica en fonología funcional (de lo sintagmático en fonología a propósito de dos casos de metafonía hispánica)», Moenia 11 (2006): 111–139.
- S2CID 243922354.