Caída de s en griego antiguo y fenómenos concomitantes

Abstract

In old Greek the sound s is lost as a consequence of the pressure of the system on the sequence of the apicals. It follows a chain of phenomena, analysed in this paper, which could be summarized like this: 1. A general assibilation occurs in some dialects; as a result of it ti becomes si, the place of the sound s in the system being empty on account of its former disappearance. In other dialects the assibilation does not occur. 2. In the dialects which have undergone the general assibilation, ts becomes ss, on the analogy of the assibilation of ti into si; while in those dialects in which the assibilation has not occurred, ts changes into ti. 3. Further changes occur due to the extensive working of analogy: in the dialects in which ts has become ss, zd changes into zz, by analogy to ss. On the other hand, in those dialects which have undergone the change of ts into tt, zd becomes dd, on the analogy of tt. 4. Later on, the place of ti in the paradigm being empty in the former dialects because of its having become si, it is replaced by the labial velar k^u̯i, which finally becomes ti, however anomalous this change may seem. While in the dialects in which te is preserved, not having become se, the labial-velar k^u̯i usually results in pe, not te. The logic underlying this theory and its formulation will be found in the whole paper.