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On the development of soft labials...87(1984), when faced with words like those in (41), the subjects usuallyshowed slight hesitation. Moreover, the experiment disclosed a certaindegree of inconsistency among the speakers. Thus, some cases were reportedwhere the subject segmented one form with the separate glidewhile another with the palatalised labial, e.g. [p-j-a-s-e-k] and [b ® i-a-w-é]respectively. The rival approach to the phonological status of soft labials,i.e. /p ® /, resorts to the insertion case in order to account for the predominantvariant, that is, [p ® j]. It has been claimed that the glide /j/ is insertedafter soft labials in the course of derivation. The main problem withthe latter approach, however, is the need to postulate five additional underlyingsegments /p ® b ® f ® v ® m ® /. 29 Bearing in mind the unstable phonologicalstatus of soft labials let us present the last set of data coming fromthe Mazovia region, in particular from the Kurp dialect.4.2.2. The realisation of soft labialsin the north-eastern dialectsPutting aside the problem of the phonological representation of soft labials,let us look more closely at the remaining two asynchronic realisations.In the previous section it was noted that the most widespread realisationof soft labials is the asynchronic one, i.e. [p ® j]. The same realisationis also found in the north-eastern part of Poland, the area of NorthernMazovia which encompasses the Kurp region. However, in thispart of Poland the glide appendix /j/ has undergone an interesting development,which has been described by Friedrich (1955) and F u r -dal (1955) among others. In the area mentioned the predominant variantis a labial consonant plus a voiceless or voiced palatal fricative [X ® ]and [V ® ] respectively. The distribution of the two is conditioned by thevoicing of the preceding labial consonant: voiceless labials co-occur with[X ® ], while voiced labials with [V ® ]. The soft labial sonorant /m ® / is realisedas [m] plus the prepalatal nasal sonorant [­]. As has already been mentioned,the Northern Mazovia area encompasses the Kurp region wherethe glide appendix is shifted a little further forward and is realised asa voiceless or voiced prepalatal fricative [‚] and [ó] respectively after [p bf v] (especially North-Eastern Kurpie). The choice between the two isagain conditioned by the voicing of the preceding labial. Similarly, the29For a more thorough comparison of both approaches see Czaplicki (1998).