DOCSLIB.ORG

26. Grimm's Law and Loan-Words**

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
26. Grimm's Law and Loan-Words** 26. Grimm's Law and loan-words** Abstract This article addresses the controversy about the reconstruction of the Proto-Indo­ European consonant inventory, namely the question of whether the traditional, Neo-Grammarian reconstruction or one of the more recent alternatives such as the Glottalic Theory is correct. This question is directly related to that of the proper formulation of Grimm's Law. In the traditional framework the Proto-Germanic voiceless plosives derive from an Indo-European series of plain voiced plosives, whereas in the alternative account they derive from some kind of voiceless plo­ sives, e.g. voiceless glottalics. The article brings to bear on the problem a new kind of evidence: the integration of prehistoric Semitic loan-words. This evidence unambiguously supports the traditional framework, in particular a shift of voiced to voiceless plosives under Grimm's Law. f130 26.1. Introduction The question of how to reconstruct the Proto-Indo-European plosive inventory has received much attention in recent decades. The traditional reconstruction with four series (DOh T Th, Brugmann 1904: § 261)1 was abandoned by many because several occurrences of Th could be reconstructed as arising from T plus laryngeal. The resulting inventory with three series (0 Dh T, see especially Lehmann 1955: § 13.1) was shown to be typologically problematical (Pedersen 1951, Jakobson 1958). Alternative inventories were proposed replacing the traditional mediae by a different series, often glottalic, and adjusting the remaining series to this move. 2 Thus, Hopper (1973, 1977a, b, 1982) proposed T' D T, Le. (I) voiceless glottalic plosives, (II) voiced plosives, (III) voice­ less plosives; Gamkrelidze and Ivanov (1973, 1995 [1984]), the same with allophonic aspiration in the second and third series; Kortlandt (1978: 107, 1985: 184, 197f.), (I) glottalic lenis p\osives, (II) aspirated lenis plosives, (III) fortis plosives, "all ... usually voiceless"; and Ven­ nemann (1984c), T' Q Th, i.e. (1) voiceless plosives with some fortis fea­ ture, possibly g\ottalicness, (II) voiceless lenis plosives, (III) aspirated voiceless plosives. The traditional and the alternative reconstructions mentioned are displayed in Table 1.3 498 Grimm's Law and loan-words Series I II m IV Traditional Brugmann D T Lehmann D T Alternative Hopper T' D T Gamkrelidze/lvanov T' D(h) T(h) Kortlandt gl. Lenis Fortis asp. Lenis Vennemann T I Th Do Table 1. Reconstructions of the Proto-Indo-European plosive series f 131 But the traditional reconstruction has also been defended; cf. the sum­ maries in Salmons 1993: 18-24. A compromise approach accepts both lines of argumentation that supporting the typologically based re­ vision as well as that in favor of the traditionally accepted inventory - by assigning the new type of inventory to a pre-Proto-Indo-European stage of the language and leaving the traditional inventory for Proto-Indo­ European itself intact (e.g. Rasmussen 1989: 156f., 167f., Matasovic 1994, and Salmons 1993: 59-61 with further references). The two types of reconstruction - the traditional ones with a first series of plain voiced plosives (mediae) and the alternatives with a first series of voiceless plosives plus some special feature such as glottalic­ ness have their well-studied effects on the way the language-specific inventories are derived from them, in the case of Germanic: the formu­ lation of Grimm's Law. If the traditional reconstruction, e.g. the D Dh T Th inventory of most handbooks, is posited for the final stage of Proto­ Indo-European, Grimm's Law takes the traditional form D Dh TlTh > T D p.4 If one of the alternative reconstructions is accepted, then Grimm's Law changes accordingly, e.g. into T' D Th > T' D P (Vennemann 1984c).5 fl32 0 0 Grimm's Law and loan-words 499 26.2. Traditional or alternative reconstruction? The traditional reconstruction of the Indo-European plosive inventory (with three or four series) was based on the inner-Indo-European com­ parative work of many generations and was thus very well founded; it was the standard wisdom of all the handbooks. The alternative re­ constructions were motivated by the typological near-impossibility of the traditional inventories, especially the total or nearly total absence of a phoneme fbi from the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European vocabulary, the root constraint *D-D- forbidding two plain mediae at the beginning and end of a root, and the near-complete lack of suffixes containing a plain media. Many linguistically minded philologists were naturally in­ clined to accept the new doctrine, and the fact that the only major syn­ thesis of the results of Indo-European studies published in recent years (Gamkrelidze and Ivanov 1984 [in Russian], ] 995 [in English]) presen­ ted one of the alternative inventories and its consequences and con­ sistently used it in the notation of reconstructed Proto-Indo-European forms did a lot to further this movement. The most comprehensive defense of the traditional reconstruction, viz. of the Brugmannian system, was proffered by Rasmussen (1989). Yet one cannot say that it was very successful. Perhaps it could not be because all the evidence he mustered had been available before, at least in principle. Almost all the arguments he proposed in favor of the tradi­ tional D Dh T Th inventory for the final stage of Proto-Indo-European have to do with the inner workings of the Indo-European languages or with the adaptation of loan-words from one Indo-European language into another.6 He could also have mentioned loan-words from unknown languages, such as Gmc. +paid- (Goth. paida, OE pad, OS piMa, OHG pfeit, Bavarian pfoacjY, Gk. {3atrfJ. He does give an argument - a single one, as far as I can see - transgressing the bounds of Indo-European, 1133 so to speak, namely one based on a comparison with a non-Indo­ 8 European language : Ftir die Lehnworter [im FinnischenJ beachte man vor aHem das von Koivulehto (1981: 176-179) (neben anderen) gegebene Beispiel der doppelten Entlehnung des ahd. ruohha 'cura' entsprechenden Worts, einmal als ruoka 'Kost, Verpfle­ gung' aus vorgerm. *roga, das andere Mal als ruokko 'PfIege, Ftitterung (von Haustieren)' aus urgerm. *rok6 mit Widerspiegelung der etwa gieichzeitig mit dem Ubergang a > 0 erfolgten Fortisierung der indogermanischen mediae (s. auch Rasmussen 1983: 215-6 tiber die Chronologie).9 500 Grimm's Law and loan-words But again Germanic-Finnish loan contacts were a well cultivated field, so that even this splendid argument seems to have left other Indo-Europea­ nists unimpressed. In any event, Salmons, whose book has a chapter specifically devoted to "Critical responses to the Glottalic Theory" (1993: 18-24) and mentions Rasmussen 1989 in the bibliography, could characterize the state of affairs in the following words, four years after the appearance of Rasmussen's defense (and nine years after its presen­ tation at the conference in the proceedings of which it was published): While there is some evidence to support the claim that the Glottalic Theory is becoming the standard view of PIE obstruents, it is somewhat clearer that the old system is dead. The attempts to counter the Glottalic Theory without excep­ tion propose other alternatives rather than defending the system canonized in the great works from Schleicher to Lehmann. This speaks for the devastating power of the critiques of Hopper, Gamkrelidze and Ivanov and others, even if none of their particular systems has yet established itself. (Salmons 1993: 72) It seems that about this time scholars gained the impression that all evi­ dence and arguments had become known, and that nothing more r134 could be said about the matter given the state of the art. At least my im­ pression is that in the years since 1993 it has become rather quiet around this issue. Neither side had the strength to persuade the other to their position. The controversy was simply abandoned, waiting to be revived as new data or new methods emerged. 1O 26.3. Towards a solution As for myself, I spent these years working on the linguistic prehistory of Europe north of the Alps, initially hoping I would find new evidence supporting my reconstruction of the Indo-European and Germanic con­ sonant inventories and the Germanic consonant shifts but gradually lo­ sing sight of the controversy. Yet problems do not go away just because they are left alone. Without realizing at first what was happening, I did uncover new evidence; but it was the opposite of what I had, a decade earlier, been hoping for. What I believe to have found is a new and unexpected transgressing­ the-bounds argument and the evidence to support it: borrowing from a non-Indo-European language into Germanic, i.e. the reverse of Rasmus­ sen's borrowing into a non-Indo-European language from Germanic. As will be seen, this evidence relates crucially to the question of the pre-Germanic pJosive inventory and thus of Grimm's Law. It does not, Grimm's Law and loan-words 501 however, support any of the alternative reconstructions (and thus not my own) but the traditional one. More precisely, it requires a voiced rather than voiceless first series, and it is compatible with a breathy-voiced se­ cond series and with a plain voiceless and/or voiceless aspirated third series. The evidence consists of Semitic loan-words in Germanic, espe­ cially such recently identified Semitic loan-words as occur only in Ger­ manic. This argument is provided in the present paper. Even though only the first series (that of the traditional mediae) is crucial to a comparison of the theories for Germanic, I will illustrate all three series, D Dh TlTh, in order to show that the entire traditional reconstruction is supported by the new evidence.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Typology of Consonant Agreement As Correspondence
    A TYPOLOGY OF CONSONANT AGREEMENT AS CORRESPONDENCE SHARON ROSE RACHEL WALKER University of California, San Diego University of Southern California This article presents a typology of consonant harmony or LONG DISTANCE CONSONANT AGREEMENT that is analyzed as arisingthroughcorrespondence relations between consonants rather than feature spreading. The model covers a range of agreement patterns (nasal, laryngeal, liquid, coronal, dorsal) and offers several advantages. Similarity of agreeing consonants is central to the typology and is incorporated directly into the constraints drivingcorrespondence. Agreementby correspon- dence without feature spreadingcaptures the neutrality of interveningsegments,which neither block nor undergo. Case studies of laryngeal agreement and nasal agreement are presented, demon- stratingthe model’s capacity to capture varyingdegreesof similarity crosslinguistically.* 1. INTRODUCTION. The action at a distance that is characteristic of CONSONANT HAR- MONIES stands as a pivotal problem to be addressed by phonological theory. Consider the nasal alternations in the Bantu language, Kikongo (Meinhof 1932, Dereau 1955, Webb 1965, Ao 1991, Odden 1994, Piggott 1996). In this language, the voiced stop in the suffix [-idi] in la is realized as [ini] in 1b when preceded by a nasal consonant at any distance in the stem constituent, consistingof root and suffixes. (1) a. m-[bud-idi]stem ‘I hit’ b. tu-[kun-ini]stem ‘we planted’ n-[suk-idi]stem ‘I washed’ tu-[nik-ini]stem ‘we ground’ In addition to the alternation in 1, there are no Kikongo roots containing a nasal followed by a voiced stop, confirmingthat nasal harmony or AGREEMENT, as we term it, also holds at the root level as a MORPHEME STRUCTURE CONSTRAINT (MSC).
    [Show full text]
  • Indo-European Linguistics: an Introduction Indo-European Linguistics an Introduction
    This page intentionally left blank Indo-European Linguistics The Indo-European language family comprises several hun- dred languages and dialects, including most of those spoken in Europe, and south, south-west and central Asia. Spoken by an estimated 3 billion people, it has the largest number of native speakers in the world today. This textbook provides an accessible introduction to the study of the Indo-European proto-language. It clearly sets out the methods for relating the languages to one another, presents an engaging discussion of the current debates and controversies concerning their clas- sification, and offers sample problems and suggestions for how to solve them. Complete with a comprehensive glossary, almost 100 tables in which language data and examples are clearly laid out, suggestions for further reading, discussion points and a range of exercises, this text will be an essential toolkit for all those studying historical linguistics, language typology and the Indo-European proto-language for the first time. james clackson is Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge, and is Fellow and Direc- tor of Studies, Jesus College, University of Cambridge. His previous books include The Linguistic Relationship between Armenian and Greek (1994) and Indo-European Word For- mation (co-edited with Birgit Anette Olson, 2004). CAMBRIDGE TEXTBOOKS IN LINGUISTICS General editors: p. austin, j. bresnan, b. comrie, s. crain, w. dressler, c. ewen, r. lass, d. lightfoot, k. rice, i. roberts, s. romaine, n. v. smith Indo-European Linguistics An Introduction In this series: j. allwood, l.-g. anderson and o.¨ dahl Logic in Linguistics d.
    [Show full text]
  • Europaio: a Brief Grammar of the European Language Reconstruct Than the Individual Groupings
    1. Introduction 1.1. The Indo-European 1. The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred languages and dialects, including most of the major languages of Europe, as well as many in South Asia. Contemporary languages in this family include English, German, French, Spanish, Countries with IE languages majority in orange. In Portuguese, Hindustani (i.e., mainly yellow, countries in which have official status. [© gfdl] Hindi and Urdu) and Russian. It is the largest family of languages in the world today, being spoken by approximately half the world's population as their mother tongue, while most of the other half speak at least one of them. 2. The classification of modern IE dialects into languages and dialects is controversial, as it depends on many factors, such as the pure linguistic ones (most of the times being the least important of them), the social, economic, political and historical ones. However, there are certain common ancestors, some of them old, well-attested languages (or language systems), as Classic Latin for Romance languages (such as French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Rumanian or Catalan), Classic Sanskrit for the Indo-Aryan languages or Classic Greek for present-day Greek. Furthermore, there are other, still older -some of them well known- dialects from which these old language systems were derived and later systematized, which are, following the above examples, Archaic Latin, Archaic Sanskrit and Archaic Greek, also attested in older compositions and inscriptions. And there are, finally, old related dialects which help develop a Proto-Language, as the Faliscan (and Osco-Umbrian for many scholars) for Latino-Faliscan (Italic for many), the Avestan for Indo-Iranian or the Mycenaean for Proto-Greek.
    [Show full text]
  • On Historical Phonology, Typology, and Reconstruction Lectures at Charles University, Prague, 19-20 November 2012
    1 On historical phonology, typology, and reconstruction Lectures at Charles University, Prague, 19-20 November 2012 1. Stops, the glottis, and laryngeals: the reconstruction of Proto-Indo-European 1. Introduction Traditional reconstruction of PIE consonant system labial dental “palatal” “velar” “labiovelar” ”laryngeal” stops: voiceless = tenues *p *t *k *k *kʷ voiced = mediae (*b ) *d *g̑ *g *gʷ voiced aspirated = asperae *b ʱ *dʱ *g̑ʱ *gʱ *gʷʱ fricatives *s *h ₁, *h ₂, *h ₃ glides *i̯ = j *u̯ = w liquids *l, *r nasals *m *n *h₁, *h₂, *h₃ = h, χ, ʁ (see later) 2. The IE stop system A. Reconstruction models of PIE stops The main reflexes of stop series in IE branches, exemplified by dentals Continuation in IE branches T Anatolian Tocharian Indic Iranian Greek Italic Celtic Germanic Balto -Slavic Albanian t t· t t,tʰ t, θ t t t/tʰ θ t t dʱ d̥ t,ts <* dʱ dʱ/d d (θ) tʰ f/ ð d d/ð d d d d̥ ts <* d d d (θ) d d d t(tʰ/ts ) :d d Balto-Slavic :d = voiced with lengthening/acute effect (Winter’s Law) Models of the PIE stop system, exemplified by dentals Traditional Hopper Gamkrelidze Vennemann/ Normier Kortlandt Haider/Kümmel/Weiss t t tʰ~t tʰ t t dʱ dʱ/d dʱ~d d̥ d̥ʰ ~d̥ d>dʱ d t’/ t̰ t’ t’ d̰ [ˀ ɗ̥] ɗ>d (T = “neo-traditional/mainstream”; H = Hopper 1973/1977; G = Gamkrelidze 1973; N = Normier 1977, V = Vennemann 1984; K = Andreev 1957; Kortlandt 1978a, 1985; Haider 1983; Kümmel 2009/2012; Weiss 2009) Kortlandt’s “preglottalized lenis” = “voiceless/glottalized implosive“ (cf.
    [Show full text]
  • General Linguistics and Indo-European Reconstruction
    GENERAL LINGUISTICS AND INDO-EUROPEAN RECONSTRUCTION Frederik Kortlandt There is good reason to be ambivalent about the usefulness of general considerations in linguistic reconstruction. As a heuristic device, a theoretical framework can certainly be helpful, but the negative potential of aprioristic considerations must not be underestimated. E.g., there is a whole range of phenomena which receive a natural explanation when we assume that glottalization is ancient in Germanic. The methodological question is: why have scholars been reluctant to identify the vestjysk stød with the English glottalization as a historical reality which may have been inher- ited from the proto-language? The role of general linguistics is to provide an idea of what can be expected in linguistic development, not by theoretical reasoning but by inspection of what actually happens. Denmark has always been a superpower in linguistics. There is no need to list all famous scholars who worked in this country and left their imprint on the history of linguistics, but there are two names which I want to mention here, viz. Otto Jespersen and Holger Pedersen. The point is that we have a lesson to learn from these two great scholars in connection with the relation between general linguis- tics and Indo-European reconstruction. Otto Jespersen was not only a great phonetician, but is regarded by some as the founder and by others as the forerunner of modern syntax. His Philosophy of Grammar is a classic for linguists of very different theoretical persuasions. The point I want to emphasize here, is that Jespersen was very well informed about the comparative linguistics of his time, and was therefore in a very good position to hold strong views about what his colleagues were and were not doing.
    [Show full text]
  • Ling 150, Historical Linguistics Moore, Spring 2013 Indo-European
    Ling 150, Historical Linguistics Moore, Spring 2013 Indo-European Stop Reconstructions 1. The ‘classic’ Brugmann reconstruction • A fairly strict adherence to the comparative method yields 15 distinct stop phonemes. The classic Neogrammarian reconstruction, proposed by Karl Brugmannin 1886, involves three series (voiceless, voiced, voiced aspirated), four points of articulation (labial, coronal, palatal, velar), plus a series of labio-velars: (1) labial coronal palatal velar labio-velar voiceless *p *t *ḱ *k *kw voiced *b *d *ǵ *g *gw voiced aspirated *bh *bh *ǵh *gh *ghw • The centum languages merged the palatal and velar stops, while the satem languages merged the velar and labio-velar stops. Furthermore, the palatal stops are realized as some kind of palatal or palato-alveolar affricates/fricatives in the satem languages. • Sanskrit underwent a subsequent ‘secondary palatalization’ (the Law of the Palatals), which palatalized both plain and labio-velars before front vowels. Because Sanskrit mid-vowels merges with *a (yielding a single low vowel), the environment for this secondary palatalization is opaque in Sanskrit. • This is referred to as the ‘three-velar’ analysis (palatal velars, plain velars, and labio-velars) 2. Meillet’s Alternative • Antoine Meillet (1894) argued agains the three velar analysis and proposed an alternative two-velar analysis: (2) labial coronal velar labio-velar voiceless *p *t *k *kw voiced *b *d *g *gw voiced aspirated *bh *bh *gh *ghw • This analysis simplifies the Brugmann system, but requires a more speculative account of the satem/centum distinction. • According to this account, in satem languages, some plain velars palatalized, while others didn’t – the environments are complex.
    [Show full text]
  • A GRAMMAR of MODERN INDO-EUROPEAN Original Plain Velars) but Not Others (Those from Original Labiovelars)
    Appendix II: Proto-Indo-European Phonology APPENDIX II: PROTO-INDO-EUROPEAN PHONOLOGY II.1. DORSALS: THE PALATOVELAR QUESTION 1. Direct comparison in early IE studies, informed by the Centum-Satem isogloss, yielded the reconstruction of three rows of dorsal consonants in Late Proto-Indo- European by Bezzenberger (1890), a theory which became classic after Brugmann (Grundriss, 1879) included it in its 2nd Edition. The palatovelars *kj, *gj, and *gjh were supposedly [k]- or [g]-like sounds which underwent a characteristic phonetic change in the satemized languages – three original “velar rows” had then become two in all Indo- European dialects attested. NOTE. It is disputed whether Albanian shows remains of two or three series (cf. Ölberg 1976, Kortlandt 1980, Pänzer 1982), although the fact that only the worst known (and neither isolated nor remote) IE dialect could be the only one to show some remains of the oldest phonetic system is indeed very unlikely. After that original belief, then, The centum group of languages merged the palatovelars *kj, *gj, and *gjh with the plain velars *k, *g, and *gh, while the satem group of languages merged the labiovelars *kw, *gw, and *gwh with the plain velars *k,* g, and *gh. NOTE. Such hypothesis would then support an evolution [kj] → [k] of Centum dialects before e and i, what is clearly against the general tendence of velars to move forward its articulation and palatalize in these environments. 2. The existence of the palatovelars as phonemes separate from the plain velars and labiovelars has been disputed. In most circumstances they appear to be allophones resulting from the neutralization of the other two series in particular phonetic circumstances.
    [Show full text]
  • A Markedly Different Approach: Investigating Pie Stops Using Modern Empirical Methods
    University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--Linguistics Linguistics 2018 A MARKEDLY DIFFERENT APPROACH: INVESTIGATING PIE STOPS USING MODERN EMPIRICAL METHODS Phillip Barnett University of Kentucky, [email protected] Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.13023/ETD.2018.203 Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Barnett, Phillip, "A MARKEDLY DIFFERENT APPROACH: INVESTIGATING PIE STOPS USING MODERN EMPIRICAL METHODS" (2018). Theses and Dissertations--Linguistics. 28. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/ltt_etds/28 This Master's Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Linguistics at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--Linguistics by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained needed written permission statement(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine) which will be submitted to UKnowledge as Additional File. I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I agree that the document mentioned above may be made available immediately for worldwide access unless an embargo applies.
    [Show full text]
  • «Glottalic Theory» and Greek
    saqarTvelos mecnierebaTa erovnuli akademiis moambe, t. 5, #2, 2011 BULLETIN OF THE GEORGIAN NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, vol. 5, no. 2, 2011 Linguistics «Glottalic Theory» and Greek Thomas V. Gamkrelidze Academy Member, Tbilisi, Georgian National Academy of Sciences ABSTRACT. The principle of typological plausibility, both synchronic and diachronic, of a postulated model for a proto-language provides a new approach to comparative linguistic studies and calls for a revision of traditional views on reconstructed proto-linguistic systems, in particular of those on Proto-Indo-European and its daughter dialects. The article deals with PIE stop transformations in Ancient Greek. © 2011 Bull. Georg. Natl. Acad. Sci. Key words: typological plausibility, reconstructed proto-linguistic systems. On the basis of comparative and typological evidence, to be totally different from those traditionally assumed. the “classical” threefold system of Proto-Indo-European The archaic Proto-Indo-European stop inventory appears stops must be given a phonetic reinterpretation, whereby to be closer to those of languages traditionally viewed as the traditional “plain voiced stops” should be viewed as having undergone later Consonant Shift “glottalized”. (Lautverschiebung: Grimm’s Law) – Germanic, Armenian, The stop series in the new interpretation must be Hittite... Languages traditionally considered defined as: I. glottalized; II. voiced (aspirate); III. voice- phonologically conservative (and especially Old Indian) less (aspirate), where aspiration is a phonetically relevant prove thus to have undergone complex phonemic trans- but phonemically redundant feature. This revision of the formations in their consonantism. The typological ap- consonantism is known in current Indo-European Com- proach to linguistic reconstruction necessitates, indeed, parative Studies as “Glottalic Theory” and considered a a radical reinterpretation of all the basic work in Compara- new Paradigm in Indo-European Linguistics: tive Indo-European Linguistics.
    [Show full text]
  • An Historical Study of the Proto-Indo- European Nominal Derivational Morpheme *-Ti
    An historical study of the Proto-Indo- European nominal derivational morpheme *-ti- A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Classics By Hugh Williams Classics Department University of Canterbury 2019 1 Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................... 4 ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................................ 6 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 8 LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................................................... 10 PHONOLOGICAL DISCUSSION OF PIE ......................................................................................... 22 MORPHOPHONOLOGY ..................................................................................................................... 25 ACCENT TYPE................................................................................................................................ 25 TONOGENESIS ............................................................................................................................... 27 STRESS ............................................................................................................................................ 28 ABLAUT MODEL ..........................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • By Alexander Nash a Senior Honors Thesis Submitted to the Faculty Of
    THE PROTO-INDO-EUROPEAN URHEIMAT: THE ARMENIAN HYPOTHESIS by Alexander Nash A Senior Honors Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The University of Utah In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Honors Degree in Bachelor of Arts In Linguistics Approved: Benjamin Slade, PhD Supervisor Chair, Department of Linguistics __ Aniko Csirmaz, PhD Sylvia D. Torti, PhD Honors Faculty Advisor Dean, Honors College December 20 IS Copyright © 2015 All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT This thesis analyzes the viability of the Armenian Hypothesis, which places the Proto- Indo-European homeland in the Armenian Highland (Gamkrelidze & Ivanov 1990, Kavoukjian 1987). Arguments supporting the hypothesis are evaluated in the light of linguistic, archeological, and genetic evidence. After a thorough evaluation, I find that the Armenian Hypothesis lacks any evidence that positively differentiates it from the Pontic Steppe Hypothesis and fails to provide for several linguistic and archeological facts. It is concluded that for a revised version of the Armenian Hypothesis to be compelling, additional archeological evidence supporting it would need to be found in the Armenian Highland (a sadly under-researched region) and additional details would need to be provided concerning Indo-European fragmentation, migration, and subsequent dialectal development. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii 1.0 INTRODUCTION - QUEST FOR THE URHEIMAT 1 2.0 BACKGROUND INFORMATION 2 2.1 THE GLOTTALIC THEORY 2 2.2 EARLY HISTORY OF THE ARMENIAN HIGHLAND 9 3.0 THE ARMENIAN HYPOTHESIS 13 3.1 THE MODEL 13 3.2 ARGUMENTS SUPPORTING THE ARMENIAN HYPOTHESIS 15 3.3 PROBLEMS 17 4.0 THE PONTIC STEPPE HYPOTHESIS 24 5.0 CONCLUSION 25 FURTHER READING 27 REFERENCES 27 iii 1.0 Introduction -- Quest for the Urheimat The location of the Proto-Indo-European urheimat, or homeland, can be considered one of the original puzzles of modern linguistics.
    [Show full text]
  • Reconstructing Indo-European Syllabification Andrew M
    University of Kentucky UKnowledge Linguistics Faculty Publications Linguistics Spring 6-1-2010 Reconstructing Indo-European Syllabification Andrew M. Byrd University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits oy u. Follow this and additional works at: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/lin_facpub Part of the European Languages and Societies Commons, Indo-European Linguistics and Philology Commons, and the Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures Commons Repository Citation Byrd, Andrew M., "Reconstructing Indo-European Syllabification" (2010). Linguistics Faculty Publications. 55. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/lin_facpub/55 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Linguistics at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Linguistics Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Reconstructing Indo-European Syllabification This dissertation is available at UKnowledge: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/lin_facpub/55 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Reconstructing Indo-European Syllabification A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Indo-European Studies by Andrew Miles Byrd 2010 © Copyright by Andrew Miles Byrd 2010 To my parents, Jack and Vicky, who have always encouraged me to look for four-leaf clovers. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Symbols and Abbreviations . viii 1 Assumptions, Previous Scholarship & Goals ................. 1 1.1 Overview. 1 1.2 Assumptions of Proto-Indo-European Phonology. 2 1.2.1 Allophonic Variation. 5 1.2.2 Reconstructing Consonant Clusters. 7 1.3 Optimality Theory. 14 1.3.1 Relevance to IE Phonology.
    [Show full text]