Re: [tied] Lith. Acc.pl.

-----Original Message-----
From: Miguel Carrasquer [mailto:mcv@...]
Sent: 2002 m. rugsėjo 30 d. 16:37
To: cybalist@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [tied] Lith. Acc.pl.

>> Well, I don't know.  As far as I'm concerned, this is where any comparison
between the Greek acute an the Lithuanian acute falls flat on its face.  Greek
has its default acute accent here: ákmo:n, ákmonos (the 2nd syllable is
unaccented, but judging by  parallel hysterodynamic poimé:n, poiménos there is
no reason to assume underlying circumflex), while Lith. has its default
circumflex: acc. ãkmeniN, gen. akmen~s, and nom., with ictus shift, akmuõ. 

 

No historical circumflex in ãkmeniN (< *a`k-), of course. A syllable with a short nucleus doesn't bear any pitch accent in Baltic. The prolongation (not in all positions) is a late Lithuanian innovation (some dialects still don't have it), and since the circuflex is "neutral" (unmarked) in Lithuanian, it was chosen as a new pitch accent.

 

Sergei