Re: [tied] Laryngeal theory as an unnatural

----- Original Message -----
From: "Miguel Carrasquer" <mcv@...>
To: <cybalist@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, January 28, 2003 3:53 PM
Subject: Re: [tied] Laryngeal theory as an unnatural


>> ... the alleged alternation *h1don- ~ *h1dent- does not seem to me to be supported by any real data.

> I believe it is supported by Latin dens. Within a static paradigm like *h1dónts, G. *h1dénts, Latin had a strong tendency to confuse the genitive in *-s with the nominative, and to create the paradigm anew based on the oblique stem: e.g. hiems, dens, pe:s, all nominatives
from original G. *ghyéms, *h1dénts, *péds.

OK, but is *h1dénts attested anywhere as the genitive? <dent-> might equally well represent generalised *h1dn.t- (cf. Skt. dán, dántam but datás), thus resembling <cor, cordis>.

> The word for "tree" had at least two different shapes: **dá:r-un (n.), G. **da:r-ún-âs, and a variant with short root vowel **dár-ûn (n.), G. **dar-ún-âs. These regularly develop into:

>*dór-ur, *dér-w-os
>*dér-wor, *dr-éw-os (without labialization of /n/: *dr-ún-os).

One problem here is the purely conjectural character of your final *-r. What we actually see is just *doru plus a whole constellation of oblique roots.

> We have: Skt. da:ru, G. drún.as or dró:s, Loc. da:runi, Ins. drúna: Grk. doru, douros < *dorwos, Att. G. dóratos < *dorn.tos

*dorwn.tos, I think (cf. <douratos> etc.). It seems to me that *-n- is an analogical stem extension borrowed from heteroclitic paradigms. Derivatives like *derwo- do not need it.

> Slav. *derwo-, Gmc. triu (*drew-), etc.

The Slavic isolated collective *drUva looks more archaic. *dervo- may be an instance of Kurylowicz vriddhi (secondary full grade), like *deiwos. Germanic did the same, but selected a different slot for vowel insertion.

Piotr