Analogical extension of vowel length in Vend Romani

Abstract

Distinctive vowel length has been only recently re-introduced into the Romani varieties that have been in intimate contact with the various languages of Europe exhibiting vowel quantity. This article describes the process of analogical extension that accounts for certain intra-dialectal variation of vowel length found within the South Central Romani dialect group. The emergence of vowel length by means of this process is demonstrated by the example of the possessive pronouns and the remoteness suffix of Vend Romani, a variety spoken in Western Hungary. This analysis also discusses the phonological and semantic constraints of the examined instances of analogical change.