Historical aspects of Yakut (Saxa) phonology

Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, Turkic Languages Vol 2 (2, 1998): 1-32.ISSN: 9091-9082The present study focuses on historical developments in the phonology of Yakut - the language of the Saxa people of central and northeastern Siberia. Various aspects of Yakut phonology reflect archaisms, while others naturally constitute innovations. For example, in addition to preserving some of the so-called 'primary' long vowels, Yakut has innovated a series of diphthongs and secondary long vowels. The progressive and regressive assimilation of consonantal features ('consonant harmony') seen in virtually all modern Turkic languages is most pronounced in Yakut. Also, vowel harmony is more extensively developed than in any other Turkic language except Kyrgyz.