Consonants[]
| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m /m/ |
n /n/ |
ŋ /ŋ/ | ||
| Stop | p b /p/ /b/ |
t d /t/ /d/ |
k z /k/ /ɡ/ | ||
| Fricative | v g /f/ /v/ |
c ð /θ/ /ð/ |
s j /s/ /z/ |
ʃ ʒ /ʃ/ /ʒ/ |
x ɣ /x/ /ɣ/ |
| Affricate | ts dj /ts/ /dz/ |
tʃ dʒ /tʃ/ /dʒ/ |
|||
| Approximant | w /w/ |
l /l/ |
f /j/ |
q /ɰ/ | |
| Trill | ʋ /ʙ/ |
r /r/ |
It has long been claimed that Phrygian exhibits a sound change of stop consonants, similar to Grimm's Law in Germanic and, more to the point, sound laws found in Proto-Armenian,[1] i. e. voicing of PIE aspirates, devoicing of PIE voiced stops and aspiration of voiceless stops. This hypothesis has been rejected by Lejeune (1979) and Brixhe (1984).[2] However, the hypothesis has been revived by Lubotsky (2004) and Woodhouse (2006), who have argued that there is evidence of a partial shift of obstruent series, i.e. voicing of PIE aspirates (*bh > b) and devoicing of PIE voiced stops (*d > t).[3]
The affricates ts and dz developed from velars before front vowels.
Vowels[]
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i /ɪ, i/ | y /u, ʊ/ | |
| Mid | e /ɛ, e/ | ə /ə, ɜ/ | u /ʌ, ɔ/ |
| Open | a /æ, a/ | o /ɑ, ɒ/ |
References[]
- ↑ Bonfante, G. "Phrygians and Armenians", Armenian Quarterly, 1 (1946), 82- 100 (p. 88).
- ↑ Woodard, Roger D. The Ancient Languages of Asia Minor, Cambridge University Press, 2008, p. 74.
- ↑ Lubotsky, A. "The Phrygian Zeus and the problem of „Lautverschiebung". Historische Sprachforschung, 117. 2. (2004), 229-237.