Preaspiration in the Nordic Languages: Synchronic and Diachronic ...
Preaspiration in the Nordic Languages: Synchronic and Diachronic ...
Preaspiration in the Nordic Languages: Synchronic and Diachronic ...
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(1997:114f), Icel<strong>and</strong>, <strong>the</strong> Faroes, Jæren <strong>and</strong> Gräsö can be argued to be<br />
“peripheral” language communities <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> sense that <strong>the</strong>y are more likely<br />
to reflect archaic l<strong>in</strong>guistic features than are, e.g., South-eastern Norway<br />
or Sou<strong>the</strong>rn Sweden. This favours a phonetic reconstruction of <strong>the</strong> ON<br />
lenes as tend<strong>in</strong>g towards voicelessness. However, Salmons <strong>and</strong> Hansson<br />
also <strong>in</strong>clude Gudbr<strong>and</strong>sdalen, Härjedalen <strong>and</strong> Kökar <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir list of peripheral<br />
language communities, <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong>se areas <strong>the</strong> word-<strong>in</strong>itial lenes<br />
seem to be voiced.<br />
The facts are thus problematic, <strong>and</strong> a def<strong>in</strong>ite answer as to <strong>the</strong> voic<strong>in</strong>g<br />
status of lenis stops <strong>in</strong> PN can not be provided. Different scenarios<br />
can be suggested, however. Possibly, <strong>the</strong> distribution of <strong>the</strong> modern lenis<br />
reflexes is <strong>in</strong>dicative of an earlier isogloss <strong>in</strong> PN, divid<strong>in</strong>g Southwestern<br />
Norway <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> rema<strong>in</strong>der of Sc<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>avia. 1 Accord<strong>in</strong>g to this view, <strong>in</strong><br />
Southwestern Norway (<strong>and</strong> hence, later, <strong>in</strong> Icel<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Faroes) <strong>the</strong><br />
word-<strong>in</strong>itial lenes tended to be produced as voiceless (much as <strong>in</strong> Icel<strong>and</strong>ic<br />
<strong>and</strong> Faroese today), whereas <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> rema<strong>in</strong>der of Sc<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>avia, <strong>the</strong>y<br />
were generally produced with voic<strong>in</strong>g, much as <strong>the</strong>y are today. The fact<br />
that <strong>the</strong> word-<strong>in</strong>itial lenes <strong>in</strong> Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Uppl<strong>and</strong> (<strong>in</strong>cl. Gräsö) tend to be<br />
voiceless has to be expla<strong>in</strong>ed as a more recent development, specific to<br />
that area. An alternative scenario is that <strong>the</strong> lenes tended to be voiceless<br />
across virtually <strong>the</strong> whole PN speak<strong>in</strong>g area. In this case, one has to<br />
assume that <strong>the</strong> strong tendency towards voic<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> lenis stops that we<br />
see <strong>in</strong> Swedish <strong>and</strong> Norwegian today is an <strong>in</strong>novation that has spread<br />
throughout most of ma<strong>in</strong>l<strong>and</strong> Sc<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>avia. A third scenario is that <strong>the</strong><br />
lenes <strong>in</strong> PN tended to be voiced across all of Sc<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>avia, <strong>and</strong> that a<br />
tendency for voicelessness developed separately <strong>in</strong> Icel<strong>and</strong>, <strong>the</strong> Faroes,<br />
Jæren <strong>and</strong> Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Uppl<strong>and</strong>. Even more complex distributions can be<br />
envisaged, <strong>in</strong>volv<strong>in</strong>g, for example, differences <strong>in</strong> voic<strong>in</strong>g depend<strong>in</strong>g on<br />
phonetic context, but <strong>the</strong>se would be even more speculative than <strong>the</strong> suggestions<br />
already offered. The first of <strong>the</strong>se alternatives, that <strong>the</strong>re developed<br />
an east–west voic<strong>in</strong>g isogloss <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> production of lenis stops,<br />
seems to be <strong>the</strong> one that best fits <strong>the</strong> current distribution. However,<br />
1 One might be tempted to see this as a part of <strong>the</strong> complex of features that separates<br />
Old West <strong>Nordic</strong> from Old East <strong>Nordic</strong> (see, e.g., Haugen 1982:63ff).<br />
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