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:
“I believe that a man is converted when first he hears the low, vast murmur of life, of human life, troubling his hitherto unconscious self.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“Now entertain conjecture of a time
When creeping murmur and the poring dark
Fills the wide vessel of the universe.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“They must to keep their certainty accuse
All that are different of a base intent;
Pull down established honour; hawk for news
Whatever their loose phantasy invent
And murmur it with bated breath....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)