Murmur
/ɦ/ serves as a source for murmur, of which there are three rules:
| Rule | Formal1 | Casual | English | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Word-initial ɦV → V̤2 | now | ||
| bone | ||||
| 2 | əɦVnon-high → V̤non-high, more open |
easy | ||
| large | ||||
| 3 | day | |||
| 3 | ə/aɦVhigh → ə̤/ɑ̤ (glide) | stayed | ||
| very | ||||
- 1 Gujarati spelling reflects this mode. The script has no direct notation for murmur.
- 2 Rule 1 creates allomorphs for nouns. For example, /ɦəd̪/ ('limit') by itself can be, but can only be in /beɦəd̪/ ('limitless').
- 3 More open.
The table below compares declensions of the verbs ('to do') and ('to say'). The former follows the regular pattern of the stable root /kəɾ/ serving as a point for characteristic suffixations. The latter, on the other hand, is deviant and irregular in this respect.
| Infinitive | Perfective | Imperative | 1sg. Future |
|---|---|---|---|
Fortunately the situation can be explained through murmur. If to a formal or historical root of /kəɦe/ these rules are considered then predicted, explained, and made regular is the irregularity that is (romanized as kahevũ).
Thus below are the declensions of /ɦ/-possessing, murmur-eliciting root /kəɦe/, this time with the application of the murmur rules on the root shown, also to which a preceding rule must be taken into account:
- 0. A final root vowel gets deleted before a suffix starting with a non-consonant.
| Rule | Infinitive | Perfective | Imperative | 1sg. Future |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | ||||
| 2 | ||||
| 3 | ||||
| → |
However in the end not all instances of /ɦ/ become murmured and not all murmur comes from instances of /ɦ/.
One other predictable source for murmur is voiced aspirated stops. A clear vowel followed by a voiced aspirated stop can vary with a pair gaining murmur and losing aspiration: #VCʱ ←→ #V̤C.
Read more about this topic: Gujarati Phonology
Famous quotes containing the word murmur:
“When, said Mr. Phillips, he communicated to a New Bedford audience, the other day, his purpose of writing his life, and telling his name, and the name of his master, and the place he ran from, the murmur ran round the room, and was anxiously whispered by the sons of the Pilgrims, “He had better not!” and it was echoed under the shadow of the Concord monument, “He had better not!””
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Never literary attempt was more unfortunate than my Treatise of Human Nature. It fell dead-born from the press, without reaching such distinction, as even to excite a murmur among the zealots.”
—David Hume (1711–1776)
“Gradually the village murmur subsided, and we seemed to be embarked on the placid current of our dreams, floating from past to future as silently as one awakes to fresh morning or evening thoughts.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)