Re: [tied] Re: Balkan Serpents (was: alb. gji (breast))

On Mon, 10 Feb 2003 19:32:19 -0000, "P&G" <petegray@...>
wrote:

>> > > Miguel derives it as *SerpE >
>
>> Why is the derivation being started as serpens > serpen > sErpe? My
>> recollection is that Classical Latin Vns is a reversion, and that
>> Proto-Romance always starts from V:s,
>
>Shouldn't the starting point be the stem (or the accusative) serpent(em)
>in which the e in ent- is by nature short? We don't then need to shorten
>the long e of the nominative.

In the case of Romanian <s,arpe>, a derivation from SERPENTE is
impossible: the stress is on the first syllable in Romanian, the
development /E/ > /ie/ > /iea/ > /ia/ only happens under the stress,
stressed /é/ (/É/) would have given /í/ before /nt/, and final /-e/ is
not normally lost. SERPENTE should have given Romanian *<sãrpínte>,
not <s,árpe>.

=======================
Miguel Carrasquer Vidal
mcv@...