Linguistics: Sound Changes.


Linguistics is the study of languages. It is first demonstrated by Indian Grammarians like Panini (ca 400 BCE) , Tolkappiyar and Patanjali. Later the knowledge spread from India to rest of world.

Greeks were first Europeans to study linguistics. However,modern day European linguistics is very much recent.
The Europeans started to study linguistics after the discovery of Sanskrit's, an Old Indo-Aryan language, relationship with Europe's classical languages like Latin and Greek.

Europeans tried to re-construct the lost proto-Indo European language aka PIE. PIE is single ancestor of all Indo-European languages. It is commonly accepted theory like big bang theory.
The first attempt is mostly resembled the Sanskrit. However,after the discovery of law of palatals and laryngeals in Hittite cuneiform ,
the de-Sanskritazation of PIE happened(Edwin Bryant).
Vedic Sanskrit, oldest form of attested Sanskrit, is completely losted laryngeals(PIE 
*h₂ and *h₃ word-initially) .


As per Kurgan hypothesis, the PIE is spoken in Eurasian steppes around 4500 BCE and 2500 BCE and started into disintegrate into different sub-branches.


One of those branches is Germanic branch. The proto Germanic is spoken around 500 BCE by Germanic tribes.
This people started to change the pronounce the sounds differently.
In Germanic, PIE *P -> F. This sound change is unique in Germanic group. Also the voiced /d/ becomed voice-less /t/.
For example, Spanish Decima is equivalent to English Ten. Italian Due is equivalent to English two. The Sanskrit 'pitar' is equivalent to english 'father' .

This also happens in case of Sanskrit-Avestan languages.
Sanskrit and Avestan are satem languages of proto-Indo Iranian branch of PIE.
Sanskrit /s/ becomes Avestan /h/. For example, Sanskrit 'Sapta Sindhu' becomes Avestan 'Hapta Hindhu'.
Sanskrit 'Sarasvati' becomes Avestan 'Haraxvati '. The word Sarasvati and Haraxvati is mentioned in Rg Veda and Avestan as a river. The old name of Helmand river in Afghan is 'haraxvati'
.
Romila thapper and Witzel hypothesis the mythological river mentioned in Vedas is actually the Helmand river and not Ghaggar-Hagra river of IVC.

This is phenemenon is also seen in Dravidian languages like Tamil and Kannada. Tamil and Kannada belongs to South Dravidian group. Tamil /v/ is shifted  to Kannada /b/ and Tamil /p/ is shifted to Kannad /h/.
Example, Tamil '
Vāḻka' (live) becomes 'balge'. Also  // becomes /l/.
Tamil 'Patu' (Ten) become 'Hattu'.
Good example including both is Kannada 'Halebidu' is equivalent to 
Paḻaiya vīṭu. Even in spoken Tamil, // becomes /l/ , retroflex /R/ becomes /r/. Voice-less initial /k,p,t/ becomes voiced /g,b,d/.

It is necessary to pronounce the sounds perfectly while speaking!!

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