Re: Orthography supporting sound changes?

Aidan Kehoe wrote:
>
> Ar an seachtú lá de mí Eanair, scríobh Peter T. Daniels:
>
> > > In article <dpl987$gin$01$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Joachim Pense wrote:
> > >
> > > > In principle, It appears not to be impossible to me that reversals of
> > > > lossy sound changes could happen if the old pronounciation is
> > > > preserved by writing. I'm thinking of a reversal of a sound merger,
> > > > or re-appearance of a lost sound.
> > > >
> > > > Are there any reported examples of such sound change reversals having
> > > > happened, where it can be demonstrated (or at least is strongly
> > > > believed by many) that the orthography was the only preserver of the
> > > > old situation (so it was not also preserved by maybe regional or
> > > > social variants of spoken language)?
> >
> > [...]
> >
> > You left out the most relevant point: children would have to learn to
> > spell before they learned to talk.
>
> Because children are the only vectors of sound change?

Pretty much.
--
Peter T. Daniels grammatim@xxxxxxx
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Hmmm, verrrry interesting
    ... it would only appear that way to those without reading comprehension snit. ... =D i'll spell it out for you- the links may be useful for those doing ... research down the road if tinyurl goes down, even if they don't wish to ... Prev by Date: ...
    (comp.sys.mac.advocacy)
  • Re: The monumental stupidity of PIE theorists further illustrated
    ... that it "reduces" the number of letters ... you spell it with? ... reductive tendency in sound change, in that changes which reduce the ... the number of segments (deletion) ...
    (sci.lang)
  • Re: The monumental stupidity of PIE theorists further illustrated
    ... you spell it with? ... reductive tendency in sound change, in that changes which reduce the ... the number of segments (deletion) ... their opposites (fortition, insertion, dissimilation). ...
    (sci.lang)
  • Re: The Dr. K Book
    ... I may have issues with the topic, but if not for spell check, many of my ... hastily written posts would be totally ... I am willing to cut some slack on such issues. ... Prev by Date: ...
    (sci.med.dentistry)
  • Back to front weather?
    ... at least average) weather after a cool spell, ... associated with cooling. ... Nick ... Prev by Date: ...
    (uk.sci.weather)