Actually, that's basically it. There are some sounds that have a tendency to turn into each other (q.v. sk <-> sh), and those are generally sounds that are articulated in the same place. In the case of f and p, most of the action is happening in the lips. There is probably, in some cases, a consonant between these two that is pronounced with just the lips together and sounds pretty much like f. Phonological Terminology Grab-Bag Fun Time: f is a labiodental (articulated with the lips and teeth) fricative (the airflow is mostly restricted); p is a labial (articulated with the lips) stop (the airflow is halted). Both are unvoiced.
b and p turn into each other like billy-o, as do other voiced/unvoiced pairs (s <-> z, k <-> g, the really complicated t <-> d, etc), but in ways usually heavily influenced by the surrounding sounds, so you have to dig a little more than with sk <-> sh to see that it's systematic, as virtually all sound changes that catch on are.
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Date: 2005-02-10 11:02 am (UTC)Actually, that's basically it. There are some sounds that have a tendency to turn into each other (q.v. sk <-> sh), and those are generally sounds that are articulated in the same place. In the case of f and p, most of the action is happening in the lips. There is probably, in some cases, a consonant between these two that is pronounced with just the lips together and sounds pretty much like f. Phonological Terminology Grab-Bag Fun Time: f is a labiodental (articulated with the lips and teeth) fricative (the airflow is mostly restricted); p is a labial (articulated with the lips) stop (the airflow is halted). Both are unvoiced.
b and p turn into each other like billy-o, as do other voiced/unvoiced pairs (s <-> z, k <-> g, the really complicated t <-> d, etc), but in ways usually heavily influenced by the surrounding sounds, so you have to dig a little more than with sk <-> sh to see that it's systematic, as virtually all sound changes that catch on are.