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Phonology

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Summary

Prosody; Vowels; De-nasalisation; Development of the Semi-Vowels; The Yat’; Consonants; Palatalizations; Reductions; Metatheses

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Printout of this page

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Homework

All four homework assignments with the following lexical list. You will use this and this Indo-European databases. as well as Vasmer's dictionary. HW #4 (due end of week 4): Establish PIE sources for all vowels on the list; HW #5 (due end of week 5): Find as many present-day Slavic equivalents of the lexemes from the list and explain the development of all vowels; HW #6 (due end of week 6): Establish PIE sources for all consonants on the list; HW #7 (due end of week 7): Explain the consonantal and distribution changes from CSL to the present-day Slavic languages.

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Quiz - in class

Multiple choice on phonological development (first half hour of week 8)

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PIE Vocalism

a) Full monophtongs

	Front		Back
High	ǐ		ǔ	< reduced diphtongs
Medium	ĕ		ǒ	primary vowels
Low		ǎ		primary vowel

	Front		Back
High	ī		ū	< reduced diphtongs
Medium	ē		ō	primary vowels
Low		ā		primary vowels

b) Semivowels (schwas)

ə₁ – schwa primum/schwa Indo-Germanicum < reduced long primary vowels

ə₂ – schwa secundum < reduced short primary vowels

c) Diphtongs

c1) Vocalic

	Front 2^nd part	Back 2^nd Part
Long 1^st part	ē^i̯, ō^i̯, ā^i̯	ē^u̯, ō^u̯, ā^u̯
Short 1^st part	ĕ^i̯, ǒ^i̯, ǎ^i̯	ĕ^u̯, ǒ^u̯, ǎ^u̯

c2) Mixed

	Nasal 2^nd Part	Liquid 2^nd Part
Long 1^st part	ē^m, ō^m, ā^m,ē^n, ō^n, ā^n	ē^r, ō^r, ā^r,ē^l, ō^l, ā^l
Short 1^st part	ĕ^m, ǒ^m, ǎ^m, ĕ^n, ǒ^n, ǎ^n	ĕ^r, ǒ^r, ǎ^r, ĕ^l, ǒ^l, ǎ^l

d) Vocalic Resonants (only in non-vocalic environments)

	Short	Long
Nasal	m̥̆, n̥̆	m̥̄, n̥̄	< reduced mixed diphtongs
Liquid	r̥̆, l̥̆	r̥̄, l̥̄	< reduced diphtongs

27 inherent units

54 with suprasegmental features

PIE Consonantism

	lab	den	vel	pal	lab-vel	nas-lab	nas-lin	liq-lat	liq-vibr	gli-lab	gli-lin
voiceless stops	p	t	k	ḱ	k^u̯	m	n	l	r	u̯	i̯
voiced stops	b	d	g	ǵ	g^u̯
voiceless aspirated stops	ph	th	kh	ḱh	k^u̯h
voiced aspirated stops	bh	dh	gh	ǵh	g^u̯h
voiceless fricative		s
voiced fricative		(z)

28 units

27/28 vowel/consonat ratio = .96

Common Slavic Vocalism

a) Full Vowels

		Front		Back
High	+nas	i	y	u	+nas
Mid	ę	e		o	ǫ
Low			a

e,o – short, all others long

b) Semivowels

Front	Back
ь	ъ

c) The jat’

ѣ (ĕ)

d) Vocaic r and l

	Front	Back
Vibrant	ь̯r̥	ъ̯r̥
Lateral	ь̯l̥	ъ̯l̥

14 units

Common Slavic Consonantism

Labial

Dental

Palatal

Velar

Voiceless

Voiced

Voiceless

Voiced

Voiceless

Voiced

Voiceless

Voiced

Stop

p

b

t

d

t’

d’

k

g

Spirant

s

z

š (s’)

ž

x

Affricate

c

Ʒ

č (c’)

(Ʒ’)

Nasal

m

n

ń

Liquid

vibrant lateral

r  l

r’ l’

26 (23) units

10/26 – vowel/cons ratio = .54

The Development of Phonology

Proto Indo-European (PIE) > Early Proto-Slavic (EPS) > Late Common Slavic (LCS) > Slavic languages and dialects.

Here: PIE > LCS > Slavic languages and dialects

PIE, Major Characteristics:

a) Rich and diversified vocalism (full, reduced vowels, diphtongs)

b) Quantity independent from quality (e.g., a can be both long and short)

c) High Vowel vs. Consonant Ratio

d) Rich back consonants op`positions

e) Labialization

f) Aspiration

g) Both closed and open syllables

PIE > LCS, Major Lines of Development

a) Quantitatively and qualitatively reduced vocalism (esp. monophtogization)

b) Quality linked with quantity

c) Nasalization of the vowels

d) Deaspiration

e) Depalatalization of the velars

f) New palatalizations and jotations

g) Oppositions shift toward the front consonants

h) Open syllables only (e.g., PIE sūnǔs vs. LCS synъ)

PIE > Slavic languages, Major Lines of Development

a) Further simplification of the vocalism (reductions of the semivowels, jat’, nasals in most languages)

b) Mostly quantitative consonantal changes

c) Open and closed syllables (e.g., LCS synъ vs. Pol. syn)

Development of the Vocalism

LCS e

1)

PIE		LCS	Example	Proof
ĕ	>	e	bherō > berǫ	Lat. fero, lit. beriù

2)

LCS		SL	Language; Condition	Example
e	>	e	All languages; Default	S-Cr berem, Rus. берю
e	>	’o	Rus,Bel; _/+stress/[hard consonant]	Rus. сёла
e	>	’o	Pol; _{t,d,n,s,z,ł,r}	Pol. żona, czoło
e	>	(’)o	Sor; _[hard consonant]	U.Sor. čoło, L.Sor. coło

Logic of the exceptions – regressive assimilation (the first element adjusts to the second):

[soft vowel][hard consonant] > [palatalization][hard vowel][hard consonant]

LCS o

1)

PIE		LCS	Example	Proof
ǒ	>	o	ok^u̯- > oko	Lat. okulis
ǎ	>	o	ar- > or’ǫ	Lat. aro, Lit ariù

2)  

LCS		SL	Language; Condition	Example
o	>	o	All languages; Default	S-Cr oko, Pol. oko
o	>	u	WSL; [cons]_[cons][end of syllable]	Cze. vůl, vola, Pol. gród, grodu

Logic of the exception – influence of the closed syllable

LCS a

1)

PIE		LCS	Example	Proof
ā	>	a	mātēr > mati	Lat. māter, Ltv. māte
ō	>	a	dō- > dati	Lat. dōnum

2)

LCS		SL	Language; Condition	Example
a	>	a	All languages; Default	S-Cr mati, Rus. мать

Linking quality to quantity

	short >	o	< short
a				o
	long >	a	< long

LCS u

1)

PIE		LCS	Example	Proof
a^u̯, o^u^̯[cons/end of the word]	>	u	a^u̯s- > ucho	Lat. auris, Lit. ausìs

2)  

LCS		SL	Language; Condition	Example
u	>	u	All languages; Default	S-Cr oko, Pol. oko
u	>	ou	Cze; _/+long/	Cze. soud

LCS i

1)

PIE		LCS	Example	Proof
ī	>	i	g^u̯īu̯s > živъ	Lat. vīvus
e^i̯	>	i	u̯e^i^̯dos > vidъ	Lit. véidas
o^i̯, a^i̯[end of the word]	>	i	stolo^i^̯> stoli	Lit. stalaĩ

2)

LCS		SL	Language; Condition	Example
i	>	i	All languages; Default	S-Cr piti, Pol. pić
i	>	y	East Slavic and Lechitic; [hard consonant]_	Pol. stoły, Rus. столы

LCS y

1)

PIE		LCS	Example	Proof
ū	>	y	tū - > ty	Lat. tū

2)

LCS		SL	Language; Condition	Example
y	>	i	South Slavic	S-Cr biti
y	>	y	East Slavic, Lechitic, Sorbian	Pol. być, Rus. быть

y

>

/- pal/ i

Standard Czech; Slovak

Cze. syn [sin]

LCS ъ and ь

1)

PIE		LCS	Example	Proof
ǔ	>	ъ	snǔsos -> snъxa	Lat. nurus
a,o > ə2	>	ъ	ə2ǵ- -> vъz-	Ltv. uz < az
ǐ	>	ь	mǐgla -> mьgla	Lit. miglà
e > ə2	>	ь	k^u̯ə2tur- > čьtyre	Lit. keturì

2)

Strong vs. Weak Semivowels

A Semivowel is strong in the syllable preceeding a weak semivowel. In all other positions a semivowel is weak, e

	1		2
s	ъ	н	ъ	- >  Rus. сон
	3
s	ъ	n	a	- >  Rus. сна

1 – strong (before 2)

2,3 – weak (all other positions, e.g., before a full vowel, end of the world, etc.)

Weak ъ,ь > 0 (cca 11^th century)

Strong ъ,ь have the following lines of development:

a. Semivowels retained or they yield full vowels (Bulgarian, Slovene)

b. Semivowels yield full vowels, and so:

b1. They merge before turning into full vowels (Serbo-Croatian),

b2. They keep separate inherent features (East Slavic, Macedonian),

b3. They keep separate contextual values (West Slavic)

Examples:

a. Bul. сън < сънъ, ден < dьnь

b1. S-Cr. san < сънъ, dan < dьnь

b2. Rus. сoн < сънъ, день < dьnь

b3. Pol. sen < сънъ, dzień < dьnь

Present-day alternations (a:0, e:0, o:0, d:dz’) as a result of the development of the semivowels

	Nom.	Gen.
Rus.	сон, день	с0на, д0ня
Pol.	sen, dzień	s0na, d0nia
S-Cr.	san, dan	s0na, dana (hist. d0ne)

LCS ѣ

1)

PIE		LCS	Example	Proof
ē	>	ѣ	sēmn̥t > sѣmę	Lat. sēmen
o^i^̯, a^i^̯	>	ѣ	lai̯u̯os > lѣvъ	Lat. laevus

2)

Numerous isoglosses dividing both Slavic languages and their dialects

East Slavic:

Rus, Bel.  ѣ > e (ё) звезда звёзды; Not all Russian dialects follow this development

Ukr. ѣ > ’i хлiб

West Slavic:

Pol. ѣ [t,d,n,s,z,ł,r] > ‘a, ѣ[!t,d,n,s,z,ł,r] > ‘e biały: bielić, las:w lesie

Slov. ѣ̄ /long/ > ie biely, ѣ̆ /short/ > e pena

Cze. ѣ > e (default) seno, [t,d,n]ѣ > ‘e tělo, [p,b,v,m] ѣ > ie běh, [!t,d,n,p,b,v,m] ѣ̄ /long/ > í vím

Sor. ѣ > ie USor. běh, LSor. běg

South Slavic

Bul. ѣ > ‘a (default), ѣ[syllable with a soft vowel] > e бял:бели, голям:големи; Not all Bulgarian dialects follow

Mac. ѣ > e seno, mleko

Slov. ѣ > ė (narrow e) mesto

S-Cr. ѣ > e hleb, lep or ѣ̄ /long/ > ije bijeli, [l,n]ѣ̆ /short/ > ‘e ljepota, [!l,n]ѣ̆ /short/ > je pjena; Not all S-Cr dialects follow

OCS. retains ѣ

LCS ę and ǫ

1)

PIE		LCS	Example	Proof
en,em[cons]	>	ę	penk^u̯tos > pętь	Lit. peñktas
en[0]	>	ę	men > mę	Pind. mām
m̥, n̥ > im, in > ьm, ьn	>	ę	neu̯n̥to > devętь	Lit. deviñtas
on,an,om,an[cons]	>	ǫ	ronka > rǫka	Lit. rankà
ōn, ān[0]	>	ǫ	ronkān > rǫkǫ	Opr. ronkān
m̥, n̥ > um, un > ъm, ъn	>	ǫ	dm̥ti > dǫti	Lit. dùmti

2)

East Slavic

ǫ > u, ę > ‘a Rus. рука, пять

West Slavic

Cze, Slo: ǫ > u (>ou in Cze) Slo, Cze ruka, Slo súd, Cze soud

Cze. ę > e (default) deset, [t,d,n]ę > ‘e jehně, [p,b,v,m]ę > ie pět, [!t,d,n,p,b,v,m] ę̄ /long/ > a/í maso/vzíti

Slo. ę > a (default) desat’, [b,p,v,m]ę > ä/ia mäso/piaty, [t,d,l,n] ę > ‘a t’ah

Sor. follow the Cze/Slo pattern (ǫ > u, varied reflexes of the ę)

Pol. Retains both phonemic values but in different contexts. The neural network model of the change.

bottom layer		ǫ			ę
	/		\	/		\
hidden layer	ǭ		ǫ̆	‘ǭ		‘ǫ̆
	\		\	/		/
top layer		ǫ	<-	->	ę

e.g. dǫbъ > dąb, rǫka > ręka, pamętь > pamięć, mѣsęcь > miesiąc

South Slavic

Slov. ǫ > o, ę > e roka, pet (the only language with direct denasalization)

S-Cr. ǫ > u, ę > e ruka, pet

Mac. ǫ > a, ę > e рака, пет

Bul. ǫ > ъ, ę > e ръка, пет

LCS ь̯r̥, ъ̯r̥, ь̯l̥, ъ̯l̥

1)

Unclear, probably from PIE r̥, l̥ via BSL [front semivowel]{r,l}, [back semivowel]{r,l}

Secondary groups in South and West Slavic with the semivocalic element after the liquid 

2)

East Slavic
ь̯r̥ > er, ъ̯r̥ >or, ь̯l̥ > ol, ъ̯l̥ > ol Rus. горло, смерт, волк, долгий

South Slavic

S-Cr. ь̯r̥ > r̥, ъ̯r̥ >r, ь̯l̥ > u, ъ̯l̥ > u grlo, smrt, vuk, dug

Slov. ь̯r̥ > r̥, ъ̯r̥ >r̥, ь̯l̥ > ou̯, ъ̯l̥ > ou̯ grlo, smrt, volk, dolg

Mac. ь̯r̥ > r̥, ъ̯r̥ >r̥, ь̯l̥ > ol, ъ̯l̥ > ol drvo, smrt, volna, dolg

Bul. ь̯r̥, ъ̯r̥ > ъr/rъ, ь̯l̥, ъ̯l̥ > ъl/lъ връх, върба, жлъч, мълча

West Slavic

Cze., Slo. Retain both r̥, and l̥ (e.g., Cze. smrt, vlk) with some decomposing as exceptions in Czech (esp. in the case of the l̥, e.g. žlutý)

Pol., Sor. Decompositions and methateses dependend on both inherent features and the context

Pol.

ъ̯r̥ > ar

ь̯r̥ > ‘ež (default) wierzba, [t,d,n,s,z,ł]ь̯r̥ > ar martwy

[!t,d,s,č,ž]ъ̯l̥ > eł pełny, [t,d,s]ъ̯l̥ > ło /short/ łu /long/ słońce, długi, [č,ž]ъ̯l̥ > oł /short/ ół /long/ czołn, żółty,

ь̯l̥ > il wilk

Shift from quantitative to qualitative oppositions in the vocalism

	short >	o
a
	long >	a
	short >	o
o
	long >	a
	short >	e
e
	long >	ѣ
	long >	i
i
	short >	ь
	long >	y
u
	short >	ъ

Phonotactical changes

· Open syllable principle:
Every syllable has to end in a vowel

This common Slavic principle has been retained only in OCS. This principle triggers metatheses (with resulting vowel at the end of the syllable) and the monophtongization of the diphtongs (i.e., diphtongs, which end in a non-vowel component are replaced with vocalic monophtongs, see examples above)

Metatheses of the liquids (groups ort, olt, tort, tolt, tert, telt)

Groups [0/cons]{o,e}{r,l}[cons]

PIE	South Slavic	Czecho-Slovak	Lechitic-Sorbian	East Slavic
or	ra	ra	ro (ar)	oro
er	rѣ	rѣ	re	ere
ol	la (al)	la	lo	olo
el	lѣ	lѣ	le (lo)	olo

Examples:

*gord (Lit. gar͂das) >

S-Cr. grad, Cze. hrad, Pol. gród, Rus. город

*berg (Germ. Berg) >

S-Cr. br(ij)eg, Cze. břeh, Pol. brzeg, Rus. берег

*golv (Lit. galvà)

S-Cr. glava, Cze. hlava, Pol. głowa, Rus. голова

*melk (Lat. melca) >

S-Cr. ml(ij)eko, Cze. mléko, Pol. mleko, Rus. молоко

Patterns:

a. pure metathesis (Lechitic and Sorbian),

b. metathesis with lengthening (South and Czecho-Slovac)

c. development of an additional vocalic element (East)

Development of the Consonantism

Principal tendencies:

· deaspiration

· delabialization

· palatalization

· shift toward the front of the mouth cavity

. See this [page about Grimm’s law] to compare it with the situation in Germanic languages (hence in English)

LCS p,b,d,t (contination and simple deaspiration)

PIE		LCS	Examples
p, ph	>	p	pol- > polvъ; sphǒ^i^̯nā> pѣna
b,bh	>	b	būk- > bykъ; bherō > berǫ
d,dh	>	d	ḱrd- > sь̯r̥dьce; dhūm > dymъ
t,th	>	t	tū > ty; ponth > pǫtь

LCS s,z (continuation, shifted depalatalization)

PIE		LCS	Examples
s, ḱ, ḱh	>	s	stol- > stolъ; ḱolm- > solma;
(z), ǵ, ǵh	>	z	nizdo (zd < sd <sə2d) > gnѣzdo; ǵnō- > znati, ǵhe^i̯m- > zima

LCS k,g (contination, simple deaspiration, simple delabialization)

PIE		LCS	Examples
k, k^u̯, kh, k^u̯h	>	k	būk- > bykъ; u̯l̥k^u̯os> vь̯l̥kъ
g, g^u̯, gh, g^u̯h	>	g	bhog- > bogъ; ghostis > gostь; g^u̯ōus > go-vędo; sno^i̯g^u̯h- > snѣgъ

LCS x (qualitatively new element, context-dependentshift toward the back of the mouth cavity)

PIE		LCS	Examples
{i/u/r/k}s{!p/t/k}	>	{i/u/r/k}x{!p/t/k}	mus- > mъxъ; aus- > uxo;

Slavic g > h shift

Regional (Czecho-Slovak, Upper Sorbian, Ukrainian, Belorussian; Russian, S-Cr, Slovene dialects), e.g.

Cze: hlas, hovado, noha,

Slov. hlas, hovädo, noha

Usor. hłos, hłova, noha

Ukr. голова [h…], голос [h…], нога [..h..]

Palatalizations

1. First Palatalization (regressive)

After s > x, after delabialization and deaspiration, before the monophtongization

{k,g,x}[front vowel = ь, e, ѣ (! <o^i̯), i (! <o^i̯), ę, ь̯r̥, ь̯l̥] > {č ́, ž ́, š ́}[front vowel = ь, e, ѣ (! <o^i̯), i (! <o^i̯), ę, ь̯r̥, ь̯l̥]

k^u̯i- > čьto (Lat. quid)

ghl̥tos > žь̯lt̥ъ (Lit. gel̃das)

myxь > myšь (Lat. mūs)

Development toward hardening in modern Slavic languages

First palatalization of the groups sk, zg (major isoglosses dividing Slavic languages and dialects)

{sk,zg} [front vowel = ь, e, ѣ (! <o^i̯), i (! <o^i̯), ę, ь̯r̥, ь̯l̥] > {š ́č ́, ž ́dž ́} [front vowel = ь, e, ѣ (! <o^i̯), i (! <o^i̯), ę, ь̯r̥, ь̯l̥]

Development in Slavic languages:

East Slavic:

š ́č ́ retained, ž ́dž ́ > various reflexes, most commonly ž ́ž ́

Rus. пищаль, дрожжи

Lechitic

Hardening š ́č ́ > šč, ž ́dž ́ > ždž

Pol. piszczel, drożdże

Czecho-Slovak, Sorbian

Softening š ́č ́ > šć, ž ́dž ́ > žđ

Cze. pišt'al, droždí

South Slavic

Major differentiation of the dialects

East South Slavic and some S-Cr dialects: št, žd

S-Cr: pištaljka, drožda

Other S-Cr dialects: šć, žj; šč, žj; št, žđ

Slovene: šč, ž

Slovene dialects: šč, ždž; š,ž

2. Second Palatalization (regressive)

After the monophtongization

{k,g,x}{ѣ ( <o^i̯), i (<o^i̯)̥} > {c ́, dz ́, s ́}{ѣ ( <o^i̯), i (<o^i̯)̥}

človѣkъ: človѣk+i > človѣci

bogъ: bog+i > bodzi

duxъ: dux+i > dusi

Second palatalization of the groups sk, zg

{sk,zg}{ѣ ( <o^i̯), i (<o^i̯)̥} > {sc ́, zdz ́}{ѣ ( <o^i̯), i (<o^i̯)̥}

Retained or simplified (st, zd) in South and East Slavic, e.g. S-Cr. daska:dasci, OCS. dręzga: dręzdѣ

Merged with the results of the first palatalization in the West and Belorussian (i.e., š ́č ́, ž ́dž)

Second palatalization of the groups kwѣ, gwѣ

Indirect palatalization – East and South Slavic only:

	kwѣ	gwѣ
Rus.	цвет	звезда
S-Cr.	cv(ij)et	zvijezda
Pol.	kwiat	gwiazda

3. Third Palatalization (progressive)

{ь,i,ę} {k,g,x}{![cons],ъ,y} > {ь,i,ę} {c ́,dz ́,s ́}{![cons],ъ,y}

ovьka > ovьca

stьga > stьdza

vьxo > vse

Alternations as results of the palatalizations:

S-Cr vojnik:vojniče:vojnici (k:č:c); lovac:lovče:lovci (c:č)

Nom. Sg.		vojni	k
Voc. Sg.		vojni	č	e	1st
Nom. Pl.		vojni	c	i	2nd
Nom. Sg.	lov	a	c		3rd
Voc. Sg.	lov	0	č	e	1st
Nom. Pl.	lov	0	c	i	2nd

Jotations

Differentiate Slavic from Baltic languages (where jotations are found only sporadically in Lithuanian).

Dental Siprants

{s,z}j > {š ́,ž ́}

pišǫ: pisati

vęžǫ: vęzati

Hardening in most Slavic languages and dialects

Velars

{k,g,x}j > {č ́, š ́, ž ́}

plačь:plakati

duša:duxъ

lъžǫ:lъgati

Hardening in most Slavic languages and dialects (č > c in Lower Sorbian, remains soft in Russian and Upper Sorbian)

{sk,zg}j > {š ́č ́, ž ́dž ́}

iš ́čǫ:iskati

zviždǫ:zvizg-

Further development as in the case of the first palatalization described above

Alveolars

{l,n,r}j > {l’, ń, r’}

Further development:

ń retained: S-Cr konj, Pol. koń, Rus. конь

l’ l^e ł

a. Reduction to one value:

Cze. has only l

b. Reduction to two values:

S-Cr. has l’ l^e

Rus. has l’ ł

c. Reduction and extension of the scale

Pol. and Slo. have l^e u̯

r’

Retained in Рус., Ukr., Sor, OCS and partially Bul, e.g. Rus. море

Hardening in Bel., Slov, S-Cr., and Mac, e.g. S-Cr more

Decomposition in Slov (before a vowel), e.g. morje

Shift in Pol. and Cze, i.e. r’ > r^ž (Czech) > ž (Polish), e.g. Cze pekař, Pol. piekarz

Labials

{b,p,v,m}j > {b’,p’,v’,m’}

L epentheticum in East and South Slavic

Rus: куплю, грабли, земля, ловлю

S-Cr: kupljen, grablje, zemlja, ulovljen

Pol. kupiony, grabie, ziemia, łowię

Dental Stops

Major isoglosses differentiating Slavic languages and dialects

{t,d}j > {t’,d’}

svѣt'a, med'a

East Slavic:

č ́, ž Rus. свеча, межа

West Slavic:

c, dz Pol. świeca, miedza

South Slavic:

Bul., OCS:

št, žd, e.g. Bul. свещ, межда

Mac.

ќ, ģ e.g., свеќа, меѓа

Standard S-Cr

ć, đ, e.g. sv(ij)eća, međa

S-Cr ča dialect

ć, j, e.g. svića, meja

Slo and S-Cr kaj dialect

č, j, e.g. sveča, meja

{st,zd}j > {š ́č ́, ž ́dž ́}

pustjǫ > puš ́č ́ǫ

ѣzdjǫ > ѣž ́dž ́ǫ

Further development just like sk, zg above

{kt,gt,xt}i > {t’}

rekti > ret'i

mogti > mot'i

verxti > vrѣt'i

Further development as tj above

Reductions

Principle of rising sonority

Mostly regressive reductions of the sequences violating the principle

ps, bs, ts, ds > s, e.g. opsa > osa (Lat. vespa)

ks, gs > x, e.g., tēkxon > tѣxъ

tsl, dsl > sl, e.g., čistlo > čislo

tsm > sm, e.g., čistmę > čismę

kst, gst > st, e.g., rēkste > rѣste

pt, bt > t, e.g., grebti > greti

pn, bn, tn, dn > n, e.g., sъpnos > sъnъ

dm, tm > m, e.g., dadmi > damь

bv > b, e.g., ob-volko > oblako

tt > st, e.g., metti > mesti

tl, dl > l (only East and South), e.g., Rus. плела, рало, Pol. plotła, radło, S-Cr plela, ralo

[cons][cons] > [cons], e.g. oќsis > ossis > osь

Positional softness in Slavic

Retained in the East, e.g., Rus. дедушка [d’eduška]

Depalatalization in the South, e.g., S-Cr. deda [deda]

Partial preservation in the West, e.g. Pol. Pol. dziadek [đadek]

Prothetic consonants in Slavic

Prothetic v and j

je > o shift in East Slavic, Rus. озеро, олень, S-Cr jezero, jelen, Pol. jezioro, jeleń

Prosody

Quality:
CSL: intensity, length, pitch =>

West Southern - retained
East, Polish and East Southern - reduced to intensity
Other Western - intensity and length Distribution:
CSL: free => East, Slo, S-Cr, Bul, - free or relatively free Other - fixed