Labiovelar loss and the rounding of syllabic liquids in Indo-Iranian

Abstract

This paper analyzes and supports the claim that Vedic Sanskrit preserves traces of the contrast between the Indo-European labiovelars and plain velars—a striking archaism in the Indo-Iranian family, which otherwise collapsed the two velar series. These labiovelar vestiges emerge because of the pervasive labialization of syllabic and consonantal rhotics at all attested stages of the Indo-Iranian family. Two rhotic labialization environments are examined in Indo-Aryan and Iranian: after labial(ized) consonants or before syllables containing u or w. Furthermore, this paper explains the unexpected development of bimoraic Proto-Indo-European *ḶμHμ.C to trimoraic Vedic Ūμμrμ.C by examining the phonetic characteristics of the labializable Indo-Iranian rhotics.