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In:Historical Linguistics 2022: Selected papers from the 25th International Conference on Historical Linguistics, Oxford, 1–5 August 2022
Edited by Holly Kennard, Emily Lindsay-Smith, Aditi Lahiri and Martin Maiden
[Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 369] 2025
► pp. 50–61

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The diachronic typology of retroflex vowels

 | University of Würzburg
Published online: 7 April 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.369.04hal
Abstract
This paper presents the results of a study on the possible diachronic pathways that lead to so-called rhotic or retroflex vowels. Based on a historical-comparative examination of several unrelated areal clusters and individual languages which contain retroflex vowels, in particular in the Hindu Kush area, China and California, a variety of possible sources for retroflex vowels could be identified. Ultimately these can be reduced to three separate in-paths with two different underlying mechanisms.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Pathway 1: Lenition of apical or retroflex consonants
  • Pathway 2: Persistence of retroflexion from onset
  • Pathway 3: Retroflex vowels from front rounded vowels
  • Conclusion
  • Note
  • References
References (34)
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