Retroflex sounds

[Michael Witzel]

The Australian example has been mentioned. Well, unfortunately, their
retroflexes are not that old either:

A. Capell, The history of Australian languages: A first approach,  in:
S.A. Wurm, Australian linguistic studies, Australian National University
1979,  p. 435, 437 regards them as secondary, derived from  *r+ cons.

(just as some presuppose for parallel developments in IA and Dravidian).


NB could the Drav. scholars on the list please provide some recent
information on this problem?


Bh.Krishnamurti wrote (june 21):

.>>>.. Dravidian had both *_t and *.t basically in
a large no of morphmes. It is true that in sandhi also _t and .t develop
from l+t, and .l+t. <<<

You you please elaborate on this and the preceding question? What do Drav.
specialists think, these days, about the age of this sandhi effect and
about the age of Drav. retroflexes in general?



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Michael Witzel                       witzel at fas.harvard.edu