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/r/-deletion in simplex words

quickinfo

It is generally assumed that in simplex words postvocalic /r/ has been deleted when preceding a coronal consonant (see Visser (2014) for an overview of the literature). This then implies that /r/ is only part of the orthographic, but no longer of the underlying (phonological) representation of such words. An example is the word kers candle; cherry which, though spelled with r, is realized as [kɛs], without [r]. There seems to be evidence, however, that /r/ is still part of the underlying representation of words like these, hence that kers is to be represented as /kɛrs/. This topic deals with the status of postvocalic, precoronal /r/ in simplex words.

It is generally assumed that in simplex words postvocalic /r/ has been deleted when preceding a coronal consonant (see Visser (2014) for an overview of the literature). This implies that /r/ is only part of the orthographic, but no longer of the phonological representation of such words, hence that /r/-deletion only holds in a historical sense here. Examples of the latter are given in (1):

Examples of simplex words which have lost their postvocalic /r/ when it preceded a coronal consonant

Preceding /s/

hars

/has/

resin; rosin

foars

/fwas/

sturdy

dwars

/dwas/

transverse; crossgrained

farsk

/fask/

fresh

fers

/fɛs/

verse

kers

/kɛs/

candle; cherry

hoars

/hoəz/

horse (obsolete)

boarstel

/bwasəl/

brush

goarsel(je)

/ɡwasəl/

qto drill, to urge (on) (obsolete)

Preceding /z/

lears

/lɪəz/

boot

gers

/ɡɛ:z/

grass

beurs

/bøəz/

purse; scholarship; fair

oars

/oəz/

different

floers

/fluəz/

crape, crepe; veil

Preceding /d/

aard

/a:d/

nature

swaard

/swa:d/

rind

weard

/vɪəd/

landlord

board

/boəd/

collar; freeboard; (medium) hardboard

board

/buad/

plate

akkoard

/akoəd/

chord

moard

/moəd/

murder

boerd

/buəd/

shelf; board

burd

/bød/

beard

hurd

/hød/

hard; stove; hearth

murd

/mød/

polecat

swurd

/swød/

sword

wurd

/vød/

word

ierde

/iədə/

earth

keardel

/kɪədəl/

fellow, guy

oarder

/vwadər/

order

Preceding /t/

kaart

/ka:t/

card

taart

/ta:t/

cake; tart, pie

feart

/fɪət/

canal

hart

/hat/

heart

koart

/kwat/

short

akkoart

/akoət/

agreement; agreed!

swart

/swat/

black

wart

/vat/

wart, verruca

ploert

/pluət/

cad, scab

beurt

/bøət/

turn

fuort

/fwot/

gone, away; immediately

sturt

/støt/

tail

berte

/bɛtə/

birth

soarte

/soətə/

sort, kind

derten

/dɛtən/

playful, wanton

Preceding /n/

earn

/ɪən/

eagle

fearn

/fɪən/

quarter

kearn

/kɪən/

core

(dún)doarn

/doən/

sea buckthorn

(reid)foarn

/foən/

rudd

hoarn

/hoən/

horn

koarn

/koən/

barley

moarn

/moən/

morning; tomorrow

bern

/bɛ(:)n/

child

jern

/jɛn/

thread, yarn

earne

/ɪənə/

somewhere

lantearne

/lɔntɪənə/

lantern; streetlamp

boarne

/bwanə/

well, spring; source

herne

/hɛnə/

corner

skerne

/skɛnə/

dunghill

extra

Also the nominalizing suffix -ert is never realized with [r], see the examples in (2):

leffert	[lɛfət]	coward	(next to	lef	[lɛf]	cowardly	)
rikert	[rikət]	rich man	(next to	ryk	[rik]	rich, wealthy	)
liepert	[liəpət]	slyboots	(next to	liep	[liəp]	cunning, sly	)
swietert	[swiətət]	darling	(next to	swiet	[swiət]	sweet	)

The same holds for the ending -wert in placenames, see the examples in (3):

Boarnwert	[bwã:vət]
Ferwert	[fɛrvət]
Holwert	[holvət]
Wânswert	[vɔ̃:zvət]

extra

The liquid /l/ is also a coronal consonant. This means that /r/ should have been deleted in words ending in -rl. See word-final sequences of a liquid and a liquid for an approach in which the word-final sequence -rl − as in kjirl (big) fellow, (big) guy and guorl(je) to gargle− is analyzed as /-rəl/ in underlying representation, so that -rldoes not have reality beyond the purely orthographic.

extra

Deletion of /r/ preceding coronal consonants affected loanwords as well. The older loanwords in (4) testify to this (as with native words, r is still written):

apart	[apat]	separate; special; unusual
biljert	[bɪljɛt]	billiard table
foarsje	[fwasjə]	energy, drive
kefert	[kəfɛt]	envelope
lúsjefers	[lysjəfɛs]	match
oarder	[vwadr̩]	order
party	[pati]	many; some

More recent loanwords no longer drop their /r/, which is exemplified in (5):

arts	[arts]	doctor
eksport	[ɛkspɔrt]	export
ekstern	[ɛkstɛrn]	external
erts	[ɛrts]	ore
fjord	[fjɔrt]	fjord
fort	[fɔrt]	fort, fortress
katern	[katɛrn]	quire
kazerne	[kasɛrnə]	barracks
konsert	[kõsɛrt]	concert
luzerne	[lysɛrnə]	lucerne
mars	[mars]	march
miljard	[mɪljart]	billion
modern	[mo:dɛrn]	modern
nokturne	[nɔktørnə]	nocturne
port	[pɔrt]	port(-wine)
rapport	[rapɔrt]	report; school report
sport	[spɔrt]	sports
start	[start]	start
urn	[ørn]	urn
ymport	[impɔrt]	import, importation
yntern	[intɛrn]	internal

Words like rekord record, dessert dessert and ekspert expert, though written with final -r{d/t, are realized with a long vowel + [r]: [rəkɔ:r], [dɛsɛ:r], [ɛkspɛ:r]. This equals the Dutch pronunciation.

extra

The deletion of /r/ before coronal consonants could evoke the insertion of /r/ in that position, a case of rule inversion. This occurred with the place name Ternaard (from older Tunnawerth), the suffix -ernôch (from older -ānoch), the word sinters costing a cent (< sintes //sɪnt+əs//), and the loanwords obsternaat obstinate, stubborn (< obstinaat) and otterdoks orthodox (< ottedoks, < ortedoks, < ortodoks), to give a few examples.

There is a good deal of evidence that in earlier stages of Frisian /r/ was part of words like those in (1) (see Visser (2014)). But it is also clear that a postvocalic /r/ has been deleted when preceding a coronal consonant with which it is tautomorphemic. Several pieces of evidence testify to this.

Firstly, words with r before a coronal consonant rhyme with words which lack r, as exemplified in (6):

Examples of rhyming words with and without <r> before coronal consonants

fers

[fɛs]

les

[lɛs]

verse~lesson

lears

[lɪəs]

kreas

[krɪəs]

boot~good-looking

hurd

[høt]

nut

[nøt]

hard~usefulness

feart

[fɪət]

neat

[nɪət]

canal~naught, nothing

moarn

[moən]

soan

[soən]

morning~son

woartel

[vwatl̩]

skoattel

[skwatl̩]

root~bolt

Secondly, the sequence of an oral vowel + the coronal nasal /n/ is turned into a nasal vowel when preceding one of the consonants /f,v,s,z,r,l,j,w/ (see the vowel nasalization scheme). Now, r before /n/ does not prevent vowel nasalization from applying, which means that the condition that the vowel and /n/ should be adjacent is met. Some examples are given in (7):

Examples of vowel nasalization with words having <r> before /n/ in their orthography

moarn sill'

[mõə̃ sɪ]

wy de hjouwer slaan

tomorrow will we reap the oaths (first line of a popular folk song)

sok jern rekket

[jɛ̃ rɛkət]

samar yn 'e tiis

such thread easily ends up in a tangle

bern wolle

[bɛ̃: volə]

altyd wat oars

children always want something else

de Boarn rint

[bõə̃ rɪnt]

hjir lykop mei de dyk

the road follows the course of the river de Boarn here

fearnsjier

[fɪ̃ə̃ziər]

quarter (of a year)

bernsk

[bɛ̃:sk]

senile

With respect to vowel nasalization then words ending in -rn behave like words ending in /-n/, like soan /soən/ son, sjen /sjɛn/ to see, and lean /lɪən/ pay, wages.

The pattern is different for (recent) loanwords ending in the sequence /-rn/, see (8):

Examples of loanwords in -/rn/, which do not undergo vowel nasalization

de urn fan

[ørn fɔn]

[*ø̃r fɔn]

ús pake sil hjoed ynmitsele wurde

today my grandfather's urn (ashes) wille be placed in the urn wall

in modern stik

[mo:dɛrn stɪk]

[*mo:dɛ̃r stɪk]

a modern piece (of art, music)

In the above examples, the vowel and /n/ are not adjacent. They are separated by /r/, as a result of which vowel nasalization is prevented from applying, so urn and modern are realized with an oral vowel.

Thirdly, the voiced alveolar plosive /d/ may alternate with /r/, provided a) it is in intervocalic position and b) it is the onset of an unstressed syllable (see intervocalic /d/ and /r/). Some examples are given in (9):

Examples of the alternation between /d/ and /r/

Fedde

Fêde

/fɛ(:)də/

men's name

[fɛ(:)rə]

noadich

/noədəɣ/

necessary

[noərəx]

pudding

/pødɪŋ/

pudding

[pørɪŋ]

hâlde

/hɔ:də/

hold

[hɔ:rə]

This /d/-rhotacism has also affected words with <rd>, see (10):

Words with <rd> affected by /d/-rhotacism

aardich

/a:dəɣ/

nice

[a:rəx]

oardel

/o.ədəl/

one and a half

[o.ərəl]

wurde

/vødə/

to become

[vørə]

For the words in (10) to meet the conditions on /d/-rhotacism, /r/ had to delete first.

All in all then there seems to be strong evidence that /r/ is no longer part of the words in (1), (6), (7), and (10) or, put differently, that it is no more than an orthographic reality.

extra

Those who are not used to writing Frisian often misspell the quantifier (in) soad [soət] a lot, lots, heaps as (in) soart, so with -rt. This is a strong indication that (in) soad and soart sort, kind are homophonous.

However, there also seems to be evidence to the contrary, viz. that r preceding coronal consonants, though not realized, has phonological reality and that /r/ is part of the underlying representation of the morphemes in question (see Visser (2014)). This evidence pertains to generalizations concerning phonotactic restrictions and sound patterns.

Firstly, /r/ may not be preceded by a (short or long) close or a long half-close vowel. In effect, the sequences /{i(:),y(:),u(:),e:,ø:,o:}r/ are out. It appears to be the case that these vowels do not occur before coronal consonants if the latter are preceded by a written r, whereas most of them can precede coronals, as exemplified in (11):

Examples of close vowels and long half-close vowels preceding a coronal consonant

bliid

/bli:d/

glad

rizel

/ri:zəl/

lard

ridel(je)

/ridəl/

to shiver, to tremble

húd

/hy:d/

skin (of a living creature)

húl

/hyl/

skin (of berries and dried vegetables)

hûd

/hu:d/

skin (of a living creature)

hûs

/hu:z/

house

poes

/puz/

(pussy)cat

skeel

/ske:l/

dispute, disagreement

freze

/fre:zə/

fear, fright

reus

/rø:z/

giant

heul

/hø:l/

whole; very (much)

soon

/so:n/

healthy; sound

extra

húd, heul, and soon are dialectal forms, the Standard Frisian counterparts of which are hûd, hiel, and sûn, respectively.

So, whereas bliid and hûd are fine, *bliird and *hûrd are out. A general distributional statement is only possible here if /r/ is assumed to be part of the underlying representation of the morphemes concerned.

Secondly, the distribution of the long half-close monophthong /e:/ and the 'corresponding' centring diphthong /ɪə/ is such that both can precede /d/ and /t/, as the minimal pairs in (12a) show. When followed by /r/, only /ɪə/ is allowed, a pattern which also holds before rt and rd, as shown in (12b) and (12c), respectively.

The distribution of /e:/ (<ee>) and /ɪə/ (<ea>) preceding /{t/d}, /r/, and <r{t/d}>

Minimal pairs preceding /t/ and /d/

sleat

ditch

sleet

sale

keat

pastern, link

keet

hut, shed

lead

leed

sorrow; grief

read

red

reed

skate; dirt road

No minimal pairs preceding /r/

fear

feather

*feer

wear

wether, doctored ram

*weer

No minimal pairs preceding <rt> and <rd>

feart

canal

*feert

Geart

man's name

*Geert

weard

landlord

*weerd

sweard

lee board

*sweerd

extra

sweard is a dialectal form, the Standard Frisian counterpart of which is swurd.

Assuming /r/ to be part of the underlying representation of morphemes like those in (12c) enables us to arrive at a uniform explanation of the distributional differences between /e:/ en /ɪə/. Without underlying /r/ such an explanation is hardly possible, if at all. In any case will it be much more complex.

Thirdly, quite some words show a (dialectal) alternation between /ɛr/ and /ar/, exemplified in (13):

Examples of the alternation between /ɛr/ (<er>) and /ar/ (<ar/)

berm

barm

verge, side of the road

ferve

farve

paint

herberge

harbarge

inn

reberber

rebarber

rhubarb

dwerrelje

dwarrelje

to whirl, to swirl

Words with <r> followed by a coronal consonant may show the same alternation, see the examples in (14):

Examples of the alternation between /ɛr/ (<er>) and /ar/ (<ar/) with words with <r> followed by a coronal consonant

hert

hart

heart

herne

harne

corner

skerne

skarne

dunghill

hers

hars

resin; rosin

fersk

farsk

fresh

kers

karse

candle; cherry

berst(e)

barst(e)

to burst

Assuming /r/ to be part of the underlying representation of the words in (14) increases the scope of the /ɛr/~ /ar/-alternation to a great extent. It enables us to arrive at a uniform, insightful analysis. Besides, in not doing so, we are forced to assume an /ɛ/~ /a/-alternation before coronal consonants, which lacks any generality.

Fourthly, when preceding a nasal consonant, the short, half open front vowel /ɛ/ has for the most part turned into the short, half close front vowel /ɪ/ (Sytstra and Hof (192:15), Hoekstra (2001b:724)). This is exemplified in (15):

Examples of the historical change from /ɛ/ (<e>) to /ɪ/ (<i>) before a nasal consonant

Words with only /ɪ/

rinne

to walk

(cf. Dutch

rennen

)

himd

vest

(cf. Dutch

hemd

)

kring

carrion

(cf. Dutch

kreng

)

Words which show an alternation between /ɛ/ and /ɪ/

st{e/i}mme

to vote

(cf. Dutch

stemmen

)

sw{e/i}mme

to swim

(cf. Dutch

zwemmen

)

bed{e/i}mje

to suppress

p{e/i}nne

pen; pin

(cf. Dutch

pen

)

[Note: Since the Dutch cognates all have /ɛ/ ( e), the forms with /ɪ/ ( i) are propagated in Standard Frisian.]

Words which systematically have /ɛ/ preceding <rn>

beskern

befallen, granted

jern

thread, yarn

ferlern

lost

jerne

gladly, with pleasure

tsjerne

milk churn

bern

child

barn

)

herne

corner

harne

)

skerne

dunghill

skarne

)

The words in (15c) are not in conformity with the generalization that the tautomorphemic sequence /ɛ/ + nasal consonant does not occur. Assuming /r/ to be part of the underlying representation of these words gives an explanation for their deviant behaviour in this respect. The final three words ‒ bern, herne, and skerne ‒ alternate with forms with /a/; this is another indication for an underlying /r/, since it enables these words to participate in the independently motivated /ɛr/~ /ar/-alternation.

extra

As to their form, beskern and ferlern are past participles. The accompanying verb of beskern is no longer in use, in the case of ferlern, it is ferlieze. Both forms stand in a relation of allomorphy at best. Therefore, it can be safely assumed that both past participles are morphemes/words in their own right.

Fifthly, the centring diphthongs /ɪə/ ( ea) and /iə/ ( ie) and /oə/ ( oa) and /uə/ ( oe) may alternate when preceding /r/ (see Sytstra and Hof (1925:37,40)). The word pairs for which this is the case are enumerated in (16):

Word pairs with the alternation /iə/ ~ /ɪə/ and /oə/ ~ /uə/ preceding /r/

With a plain centring diphthong

hier

hear

hair

(in:

yn syn hiele hear en fear

completely

)

fier

fear

far

(in:

fearrekiker

binoculars

fearskoan

beautiful at a distance

)

ier

ear

early

(in:

earder

earlier

earst

first

)

kier

kear

chink

manier

manear

manner

riere

reare

to stir

moar

moer

mother

tsjoar

tsjoer

tether

With a broken (centring) diphthong

stjir(re)

stjer(re)

star

djirre

djerre

(egg) yolk

boarrel

buorrel

drink

goarrelje

guorrelje

to gargle

hoarre!

huorre!

call to urge on pigs

toarre

tuorre

beetle

enoar

enuor

each other, one another

snoarje

snuorje

period, time

Preceding <r> + coronal consonant

ierde

earde

earth

gjirde

gearde

twig, sprig

foart

fuort

gone, away

woartel

wuortel

root, carrot

Assuming /r/ to be part of the underlying representation of the words in (16c) increases the scope of this alternation, at the same time enabling us to arrive at a uniform, insightful analysis. In not doing so, we are forced to assume an /iə/~ /ɪə/- and /oə/~ /uə/-alternation before coronal consonants, which lacks any generality.

Sixthly, Frisian has the phonotactic restriction that the open vowel /a/ is not allowed to precede a coronal consonant with which it is tautomorphemic (see gaps in the distribution of the single consonants in word-final position); this is illustrated in (17):

Examples of words with <a> preceding a coronal consonant

fan

/fɔn/

of, from

jas

/jɔs/

coat

kat

/kɔt/

cat

panne

/pɔnə/

pan; tile; plate

bal

/bɔl/

ball

kladde

/klɔdə/

(paper) bag; (rough) draft

plasse

/plɔsə/

puddle; brainpan

latte

/lɔtə/

slat

The above words are written with a, but their (full) vowel is the half open back vowel /ɔ/. There are several classes of exceptions to this restriction. The one of interest for the issue at hand is the following:

One of the classes of exceptions to the /a/ + coronal-restriction

If the coronal consonant is preceded by r, the word in question is realized with the (full) vowel [a]

The words in (18) illustrate this pattern:

Examples of wors illustrating the pattern of exceptions stated above

hart

heart

[hat]

wart

wart, verruca

[vat]

hars

resin; rosin

[has]

swart

black

[swat]

parse

press

[pasə]

flarde

shred

[fladə]

barte

loose wooden bridge without rails

[batə]

skarne

dunghill

[skanə]

Assuming /r/ to be part of the underlying representation of the words in (18) increases the scope of this class of exceptions to the /a/ + coronal-restriction to a considerable extent. If we do not assume this, these words have to be marked as exceptional on an individual basis, for the formulation of which written r must be invoked.

extra

When not assuming an underlying /r/ in wart, the word pair wat /vɔt/ what ~ wart /vat/ wart, verruca constitutes a full-fledged minimal pair. In the approach put forward here, it does not: /vɔt/ ~ /vart/.

extra

It is an inevitable consequence of the assumption that /r/ is part of the underlying representation of the words concerned that some procedure of /r/-deletion has to be assumed as well − from which loanwords must be exempted. This leads to questions concerning a) the level of abtractness in phonology, b) the learnability of phonological patterns, c) the relation between phonology and orthography (see, for instance, chapter 12 of Berent (2013)), d) the relation (and huge overlap) between the Dutch and Frisian lexicon. This will not be taken up here.

References

Berent, Iris2013The Phonological MindCambridge
Hoekstra, Jarich2001An Outline History of West FrisianMunske, Horst Haider, Århammar, Nils, Hoekstra, J.F., Vries, O., Walker, A.G.H., Wilts, O. & Faltings, V.F. (eds.)Handbuch des Friesischen/ Handbook of Frisian StudiesMax Niemeyer722-734
Sytstra, Onno H. & Hof, Jan J1925Nieuwe Friesche SpraakkunstLeeuwardenR. van der Velde
Sytstra, Onno H. & Hof, Jan J1925Nieuwe Friesche SpraakkunstLeeuwardenR. van der Velde
Visser, Willem2014Hoe stom is de stomme /r/?Philologia Frisica anno 2012. Lezingen fan it njoggentjinde Frysk Filologenkongres fan de Fryske Akademy op 13, 14 en 15 juny 2012243-268
Visser, Willem2014Hoe stom is de stomme /r/?Philologia Frisica anno 2012. Lezingen fan it njoggentjinde Frysk Filologenkongres fan de Fryske Akademy op 13, 14 en 15 juny 2012243-268
Visser, Willem2014Hoe stom is de stomme /r/?Philologia Frisica anno 2012. Lezingen fan it njoggentjinde Frysk Filologenkongres fan de Fryske Akademy op 13, 14 en 15 juny 2012243-268
Visser, Willem2014Hoe stom is de stomme /r/?Philologia Frisica anno 2012. Lezingen fan it njoggentjinde Frysk Filologenkongres fan de Fryske Akademy op 13, 14 en 15 juny 2012243-268

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About this article

Author(s): Willem Visser

Category: Frisian Phonology

Keywords: /r/-deletionsimplex words

Version: 1.0, December 2015

Version history:

version	editor(s)	date	remarks
1.0	Willem Visser	December 2015

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