THE PHONETIC ISOGLOSS OF ARMENIAN AND CELTIC LANGUAGES – 2019-4

(Levels of vowels, sonorants and “diphthongs”)

Summary 

Vazgen. G. Hambardzumyan
The Armenian and the Celtic languages present not only generalizations of phonetic (vowel, sonorant, and “diphthong”) isoglosses but also differences that so far have not been the subject of a separate study; our work is such an experience. These isoglosses are systemic and subsystemic in nature.

In this article, we bring together the Armenian-Celtic phonetic parallels, mostly based on the material so far accumulated, but also make partial adjustments and additions.

In traditional comparisons, their obvious patterns have been the focus of much attention. Our study reveals that there are a significant number of common rules (parallels) besides the traditionally cited, with exceptions and deviations from these rules that are, in their turn, definable, simply illustrative and justified by the full characterization of the phenomenon. This article has given some attention to this aspect of the problem.

The facts show that the subsystem of simple (“short”) vowels is not only broader in the given vowel but also substantially more substantive than the subsystem of compound (“long”) vowels, and it is well known that is justified in communication.

The subsystem of sonorants is characterized not only by the quantitative (“formal”) but also by the functional variety, which is generally a feature of the major part of Indo-European languages (three-way sonorant usage). In the Armenian-Celtic phonetic relation, the subsystem of diphthongs has little quantitative and functional expression.

The article is notable for its detailed analysis of the facts.

A detailed examination of the historical (and not just the phonetic) overlap between the Armenian and other Indo-European languages seems to us to be quite appropriate in terms of the totality of linguistic and social perceptions of individual societies.

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