About sound change

• Main Author: Miren Lourdes Oñederra
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: UPV/EHU Press 2018-09-01
• Series: Anuario del Seminario de Filología Vasca "Julio de Urquijo"
• Online Access: https://ojs.ehu.eus/index.php/ASJU/article/view/20218

Hugo Schuchardt's criticism of the neogrammarians in his «Über die Lautgesetze: Gegen die Junggrammatiker» is the starting point of this paper. In Schuchardt's critical arguments interesting ideas may be found that still deserve our attention. Against the exceptionlessness of sound change held by neogrammarians Schuchardt puts forth language variability and the mental aspects of sound change. The fundamentally mental status of sound change proposed by Natural Phonology is presented in relation to the exclusively phonetic explanations, thus highlighting Schuchardt's modernity (§ 3). Phonemic units that are being added to or deleted from the Basque inventory are mentioned as examples under § 3.2. Finally section 4 offers a brief reflection on the unsolved questions about sound change.