Sinhalese (Sinhala)
- Language Family
- Indo-European
- Subgroup
- Indo-Aryan
- Area
- —
Summary
The order of the consonants in some CVC sequences in Modern Sinhalese words is opposite to that found in Sanskrit.
Type(s) of metathesis
| Type | Status | Optionality | Position | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a. CC | Diachronic | Obligatory | Adjacent | Root-internal, root-final |
Case types and qualities
-
- CC
-
- C1:
- Rhotic
- C1:
- Glottal fricative
- C1:
- Alveolar stop
- C2:
- Alveolar nasal
- C2:
- Bilabial nasal
- C2:
- Lateral
- C2:
- Alveolar stop
- C2:
- Labio-dental fricative
- C2:
- Glottal fricative
Examples
Modern Sinhalese
keɳera
'she-elephant'
cf. kaɳe:ru- (in Pa., Pk.)
< kare:ɳu- (in Sk.)
vahan
'sandals'
cf. upa:hana: (in Pa.)
uva:ɳaha:, pa:ɳaha:,
pa:haɳa:, va:haɳa: (in Pk.)
uva:ɳaha:, pa:ɳaha:,
pa:haɳa:, va:haɳa: (in Pk.)
< upa:nah- (in Sk.)
Conditions
No conditions could be found
Motivations
No motivations could be found
Symbols
Comments
Bibliography
- Wijeratne, P. B. F. 1957. Phonology of the Sinhalese inscriptions up to the end of the tenth century. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 19: 479-514.