Part II. The journal system
Lesson 12. Sibilants
Here the journal system parts from the manuscripts. Old Spanish had six sibilants; modern Spanish has two or three.
What the Moriscos did [attested]
| Old sound | Letter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| s (apical) | ش | casa · كَشَ |
| x /ʃ/ | شّ, often just ش | dixo · دِشُّ |
| ç, ce, ci /ts/ | س | caça · كَسَ |
| z /dz/ | ز | fazer · فَزَارْ |
| j, ge, gi /ʒ/ | ج | fijo · فِجُ |
Why s was ش: Arabic had no sound like Castilian apical s, and shīn was the nearest (Galmés, as cited in Vázquez Macías 2023). That left x without its own letter, so x got shīn plus shadda. The shadda was used unevenly, so s and x often look the same.
What the journal does
| Modern sound | Letter | Example | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| s | س | casa · كَسَ | [course rule] |
| c, z /θ/ | ث | cerveza · ثَارْبَاثَ | [modern choice] |
| j, ge, gi /x/ | خ | gente · خَانْتَا | [modern choice] |
| Galician x /ʃ/ | ش | xente · شَانْتَا | [attested] value |
Why s is س: ش only made sense for how Old Castilian s struck Arabic ears. Modern s is closest to sīn. It also frees ش for Galician x.
Why ث and خ: the old letters (س for ç, ج for j) stood for sounds that no longer exist. ث is the Arabic θ, and خ the Arabic x, so you read what you say.
Exercises 12
- sopa
- zapato
- cielo
- hijo
- gente
- xente
- Old system: dixo
- Why did the Moriscos write s with ش?
Answers
- sopa · سُبَّ
- zapato · ثَبَّتُ
- cielo · ثِيَالُ
- hijo · إِخُ
- gente · خَانْتَا
- xente · شَانْتَا
- dixo · دِشُّ
- Arabic had no sound like Castilian apical s; shīn was the nearest.