The change of the ancient Yukaghir phoneme /ħ/ in diachrony (using the example of the Odul language)

Abstract

This work examines several previous studies that documented the different stages of the Odul language development and our own language material. The analysis revealed the natural phonetic process of the Yukaghir phoneme /M/ transformation. This process was took place in different ways in different Odul tribes. However, two directions of development can be clearly distinguished: the first—[ħ] → [ħs''] → [s''], the second—[ħʃ] → [ħʃ''] → [ʃ'']. This fact probably indicates that not only different Yukaghir tribes but also, perhaps, clan groups, had their own inherent linguistic differences. The combination of the genera for various reasons resulted in articulatory traditions being mixed, existing in parallel at the initial stage without impeding the transmission of information. Later, the new system began to be formed, with the affricate [ħç] and the slit [s''] and [ʃ''] becoming independent phonemes, but the /s''/ and /ʃ''/ remaining interdictorial variants of pronunciation. Borrowings from the Russian language with the initial “s” adapted and pronounced by the Odulas according to the articulatory norms of the recipient language, as well as with an interlingual tuning, even when the sound was not soft, produced a new phoneme /s''/ in the “sh-pronouncers,” and the expansion of the positional variation of the phoneme /s''/ in the “s-pronouncers.”