Vocalic Alternations in the History of Irish
Krzysztof Jaskuła
John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin
Abstract
Vocalic alternations occur in many languages, both past and present, and the reason why they do is on many occasions contemporary and context-triggered, i.e. phonological. Sometimes, however, the cause of vocalic changes cannot be associated with the phonological context. In this paper we will look at the alternations of short vowels in the history of the Irish language with a view to discovering whether these changes can be perceived as synchronic and context-motivated or, rather, as belonging to morphophonology, i.e. being diachronically determined.
This work is organised as follows. First, we will become acquainted with the basic tenets of Government Phonology, a theory of representations in the spirit of which the ensuing analysis will be conducted. Second, recent approaches to the issue of short vowel alternations in two dialects of Modern Irish (Munster and Connemara) will be presented and discussed. Third, alternating short vocalic expressions of Old Irish will be examined, which will be accompanied with an excursion to prehistoric times. Finally, conclusions as regards the nature of Irish alternations will be offered.