Development of r-clusters in Gandhari Interaction of Consonant Cluster Reduction and Mobile Rhotics

Abstract

Despite the extensive assimilation and simplification of consonant clusters in Middle Indo-Aryan, Gandhari is known for having retained consonant clusters, typically those involving r, which apparently indicate intermediate stages of the vast reduction. By scrutinizing r-clusters in early- and middle-stage Gandhari, this article attempts to elucidate the process through which extensive reduction took place. Further, various rhotic phenomena in Gandhari are examined, including metathesis, rhotacism, and rhoticity extension, some of which have been interpreted as a graphic device that does not reflect actual pronunciation. However, vowel retroflexion and retroflex harmony in modern Dardic and Nuristani languages, in addition to rhotic metathesis and rhotacism in general, suggest that seemingly inexplicable occurrences of r most plausibly result from sound changes.