Consonant changes in Sanskrit: towards an explanatory account for the diversity

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25370450
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Linguistics
• Research Institution: Kansai Gaidai University
• Principal Investigator: Suzuki Yasuo 関西外国語大学, 外国語学部, 准教授 (00330225)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: サンスクリット語 / 子音変化 / 子音結合 / 半母音 / 重子音化 / RUKI / 中期インド・アーリア語 / 同化

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Among various phonological phenomena involving consonants in Sanskrit, the current project concerns the class of semivowels, gemination, and sibilant retroflexion. From the synchronic aspect, the interpretation and analysis are based on the articulatory and perceptual properties of consonants, especially oral gestures, rather than the abstract prosodic structure. From the diachronic perspective, diversity and idiosyncrasy as observed in gemination and sibilant retroflexion result from the interaction of several independent factors, each of which is commonly observed, and the merger of a series of processes with the identical outcomes. The conclusions obtained through the current project, which support the hypotheses of the research proposal at the time of grant application, contribute to the interpretation of the phenomena that have been considered problematical.

Free Research Field

歴史言語学