The Alternation ʒb- // zb- (dzban // zban ‘jug’ ) in the History of Polish and Its Dialects

Abstract

This article analyses transformations of the word-initial cluster ʒb-, which appears in the word dzban ‘jug’ (and derived forms). The study examines the chronology and geography of the phonetic changes that have taken place over the centuries. The form dzban developed from the older form czban as a result of assimilation in terms of voicing and the replacement of ǯ with ʒ. Subsequently, in some dialects, the cluster ʒb- was transformed into zb- as a result of dissimilation. The voicing of č to ǯ occurred in the fifteenth century. Towards the end of this century, the first examples of the innovative form zban appeared. Sixteenth-century sources provide a record of both variants, dzban and zban, with the older form clearly predominating. Seventeenth-century attestations are limited almost exclusively to the form dzban. In present-day dialects, the dominant form is zban; the older form dzban has only been preserved in Mazovia and northern Lesser Poland. The innovative form zban did not enter literary Polish, which may have been due to the influence of the Mazovian dialect.