Some notes on Euskaro-Caucasian phonology

Abstract

This paper explores a few features of the proposed reconstruction of Euskaro-Caucasian, the putative ancestor of Basque and the North Caucasian languages, as put forth in a recent monograph. Here some features of the consonantal system are discussed, namely (I) the development of proto-Euskaro-Caucasian *m in Basque, (II) the non-initial Basque reflexes of Euskaro-Caucasian laryngeals, and (III) the Basque noun stem allomorphs involving an alternation between /rc/ and / t/. It is shown how these details of Euskaro-Caucasian comparative phonology illuminate important unsolved problems of historical phonology on both the Basque and North Caucasian sides.