1.6. I’lzandõkši / Exercises

If you know some of the sound changes that have occurred in Livonian, it can sometimes be easier to recognize Livonian words. In the following, in addition to Estonian, Finnish is sometimes also included in the comparison, which has often preserved the original form and thus helps to better identify the changes that have occurred.

• Before i or j – s > š (ž), e.g., kakš ’two’ (cf. Finnish kaksi).
• h has been lost in all positions, including at the boundary between the first and second syllables, where it is replaced by the broken tone, e.g., rǭ’ ’money’, cf. Estonian raha. h does appear in foreign and loanwords as well as in certain interjections.
• The first-syllable vowel is lengthened if it is followed by l r n or m, e.g., jālga ’leg, foot’, nǟlga ’hunger’, ǟrma ’hoarfrost’, cf. Est. jalg, nälg, härma(tis).
• Word-initially o > vȯ and e > je, e.g., vȯtšõ ’to search’, jemā ’mother’, cf. Est. otsida, ema.
• The change a > o occurs before v or u, e.g., lovā ’bed, sauna seat’, cf. Est. lava.
• Historical mid-high vowels (marked with an asterisk), incl. short vowels, have diphthongized: *e > ie, *ö > üö, *o > uo, *ē > īe, *ȫ > ǖö, *ō > ūo, e.g., *seppä > siepā ’blacksmith’, *solmi > suoļm ’knot’, cf. Est. sepp, sõlm; ö and ü have been replaced by e and i.
• a o u > ä ö ü in the first syllable due to influence of i or j in the second syllable, e.g., täm ’oak’ (cf. Finnish tammi).

Taking these sound changes into account, solve the exercises on the following pages.