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DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20261119T114500Z
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20261119T111500Z
DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20261113T133101Z
UID:88850de4-bc0d-47d1-9367-365acd900660@talks.stuts.de
DESCRIPTION:The Yeniseian languages are the only known tonal languages in
  Siberia. In this contribution\, we \ninvestigate the diachrony of one o
 f the four monosyllabic tones in the closely related Ket and Yugh\, \nan
 d in particular Werner’s (1996) hypothesis that it resulted from the los
 s of intervocalic consonants \nin disyllabic words and the consequent co
 ntraction of the vowels. We find that certain obstruents are \nsystemati
 cally lost independently in Ket and Yugh\, making the so-called 3rd tone
  a recent phenomenon \nexclusive to the North-Yeniseian branch. Other co
 nsonants in Werner's (2002a\,b) reference \ncomparative dictionary give 
 the impression of a random distribution of loss vs. retention. Such an \
 napparently unconditioned variation is incompatible with Neogrammarian r
 egular sound change\, which \nmay be phonetically gradual but lexically 
 abrupt\, meaning that the realisation across tokens is expected \nto be 
 consistent within the same environment at the same time or else the allo
 phones to be \nphonologically conditioned (Osthoff & Brugmann 1878). Tha
 nks to additional written and audio \nsources (Kazakevich 2026)\, howeve
 r\, we offer a better solution to the apparent conundrum by showing \nth
 at the apparent variation is gradient realisation\, up to the acoustic i
 mpression of absence\, rather \nthan an innate categorical distinction b
 etween loss and retention. Similar phenomena have been \ndescribed in ot
 her diachronic studies (e.g.\, Dalcher 2008\; Jatteau & Hejná 2018)\, wi
 th the conclusions \nthat synchronic gradient processes can be precursor
  to regular Neogrammarian phonological change\, \neven if arguably not a
  sound change in themselves\, which is in line with the Neogrammarian Re
 gularity \nPrinciple. 
URL:https://talks.stuts.de/en/stuts80/public/events/1603
SUMMARY:The Yeniseian rising/falling tone: Gradient lenition as a window 
 on the evolution of obstruents 
ORGANIZER:stuts80
LOCATION:stuts80 - R2.006 
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