Rule Precursor and Phonological Change in Direction: An analysis of syneresis and metathesis of h in Greek, Sanskrit and Germanic

In this paper phonological problems associated with the transfer of h are considered in relation to traditional laws in Indo-European languages: Grassmann’s Law, Bartholomae’s Law, and Grimm’s Law. It is shown that when properly interpreted in relation to a phonological process such as syneresis, the various examples of h-metathesis in Greek, Sanskrit, and Germanic reveal a change in direction of a phonological rule. It is argued that syneresis, which applies both in Sanskrit and Germanic albeit in different direction, serves as the precursor to the later rule of h-metathesis, which also exhibits the same phonological change in direction.