Peust, Carsten: Egyptian phonology: an introduction to the phonology of a dead language (Göttingen, 1999)

under the same conditions under which ahigh develops into O'S". But it seems that
examples of the development %igh > H are also found in other environments, cf. Osing
(1976a: 19-26).

The regular outcome of i%igh is H which is also found after nasals.283 It seems that «high
could develop into either H or (6)1 when preceding p, 03* § 5.6.4.2.

Since the development of high vowels by the Coptic period is not completely predictable,
a few scholars have suggested that there were more than three high vowels in Paleo-
Coptic. As is explained in §6.1.7, some scholars assume that Egyptian possessed a
distinctive vowel quantity opposition at a Pre-Paleo-Coptic stage. Contrary to the
general belief, Vycichl (1957a: 216-218 and 1959a: 51-54) suggests that this Pre-Paleo-
Coptic quantity opposition was not completely neutralized by Paleo-Coptic. His theory is
expressed within the framework of the traditional interpretation of the Coptic vowel
system and the syllable structure rules. He assumes that the distinction between Pre-
Paleo-Coptic short and long vowels was preserved in open stressed syllables (which in
my view would be closed stressed syllables) because when short vowels were lengthened
(in my view: became high) they became distinct in quality from the original long vowels.
In principle it is possible to adapt Vycichl's scenario to the revised model proposed in
this book. The correspondences assumed by Vycichl are the following:

Pre-Paleo-
Coptic vowel
quantity

Paleo-Coptic vowel
type in the tradi-
tional framework

Paleo-Coptic vowel
type in the revised
framework

a-class

t-elass

u-elass

short or long

short (or shortened)
vowel

low vowel

0

&.

o,e

short

long (i.e.:
lengthened) vowel

high vowel

0)

I/i:/

H/0:/

long

long (i.e.: originally
long) vowel

high vowel

ov

H/e:/

i/y:/

It is not quite clear how Vycichl combines this theory with the conditioned sound shifts,
the reality of which is undisputed. There is no question that Vycichl accepts for instance
the conditioned sound shift ahigh > W after nasals (cf. e.g. Vycichl 1990: 73f., 23o-233).
Vycichl raises some doubt about his theory in Vycichl (1966: 505). In his later works, his
position remains somewhat unclear (cf. Vycichl 1983: x and 1990: 73-75, 91-96, 102-105,
172-174, 242-244). Independently from Vycichl, Lambdin (1958: 191) advances a very
similar theory according to which Pre-Paleo-Coptic long 1 developed into (6)1 but Pre-
Paleo-Coptic short i developed into H when lengthened.

283 Cf. the word n'.t "Thebes", attested as nu-[...] in cuneiform transcription of the New
Kingdom > Coptic NH (see Edel 1980: 15-20).

232