Sound Synthesis in Indo European Indo Iranian and Sanskrit

Author(s): Satya Swarup Mishra
Publisher: Ashutosh Prakashan Sansthan

Page 27

INDO-EUROPEAN VOWEL SYNTHESIS
5. Combination of IE Primary Vowels with Secondary
Vowels
Combination of IE primary vowels with secondary vowels may be classified under three categories : (a) IE short primary vowels +-11ă, (b) le long primary vowels to #fă; and (c) IE short/long primary vowels +/b/mA.
When the secondary vowel was t/ŭ the resultant was a diphthong and accordingly IE shows twelve diphthongs. Thus alelo tř>ai, ei, oi; ajelo+å> au, eu, ou, and alējö +ř> õi, ēi, õi, alējo +å>āu, ēu, õu. But when the second element of a diphthong was followed by a vowel it became consonantal. Thus it IE ai +(a vowel. say) e>aye and so on. Otherwise (i.e. when followed by a consonant or finally, the second element of an IE diphthong was a vowel and not a consonants. Some scholars
The second element of a diphthong is as a rule vocalic before consonants. But it is observed in several examples that before consonanral secondary vowels (viz y, w, r, l, m, n) the second element of diphthongs (which are also secondary vowels : i, u) often become consonantal. This type of double treatment of a secondary vowel before another (consonantal) secondary vowel was mostly possible when the combibination was : primary vowel + secondary vowel +secondary vowel -+-primary vowel; Thus e-titite could be on the basis of the general rule of diphthongization eiye and on the basis of the special rule for combination before secondary vowels eyye. Similarly also eiye : eywe, euye : ewye etc. The following forms illustrate the double treatment of IE diphthongs before consoaantal secondary vowels. (Contd. iw p, 10)