Re: Ukrainian words from Carpathians

In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Abdullah Konushevci" wrote:

>>> About pllaja 'grassy upland, high plateau' I don't agree with
>>> above explanation, even it's common for many authors. As first,
>>> suffix -ajë, -a is common in Alb. (cf. bisht-ajë, dushk-ajë,
>>> mërr-ajë, gërdh-ajë, lisn-ajë, grun-ajë, etc.), so the root or
>>> stem is pll-, probabely reduced form of Alb. pyll-ajë > p&ll- +
>>> -ajë > pllajë.
>>
>> Yes, in Albanian is like that. It is not like that in Romanian nor
>> Ukrainian (plai/plaj). The suffix is not a decisive argument since
>> desinences can be established by folk etimology or analogy. The
>> Greek word also suggests Albanian created an ending and did not
>> "export" the word as such: soft /g/ from Greek is usually dropped
>> out by others and not inserted at free will by Greeks.
> [...]
>>> I hope that all will agree that Alb. vatra/votra < *a:ter was
>>> borrowed in Serbo-Croatian, Rumanian, etc., for only in Alb. the
>>> initial *a: and o* is turned in vo-/va- (cf. also vaj/voj < Lat.
>>> oleum, i varfër/i vorfun < Lat. orphanus).
>>
>> Depending on the timeline of that change. If the tendency
>> reflects also an old Balkan phenomenon, the word could very
>> well be substrate Romanian (as practically all Romanian
>> linguists do agree).
>
> The aim of science is not to verify, but to falsify: to show
> falsity of the prior knowledge, like Einstein or Gordon try to do.

Well, this is not quite the aim of science as I learned in the
University, but merely one of the efficient methods science uses
in order to get a picture of something.

> I agree too that like You have thinking many before, but I expressed
> my based doubt that Alb. <pllajë> is hard to be connected, even
> through folk etymology or analogy with Greek plagia, he or Italian
> piaggia or the likes.

Italian "piaggia" cannot be taken into account since 1. it's a
late derivation from Medieval Latin "plagiam", 2. it hasn't the
right phonetism.
OTOH, "pyll" is a late development of Latin "palude(m)". If you
really want to suggest that a root "pll-" has something to do with
"pyll" and others just took the composite word from Albanian after
creation of "pllajë", then you have to propose a plausible time
schedule of changes.

> Alb. cluster -pl- should be resulted in -pj- (cf. pjatë 'dish'

What timeline are you speaking about?! "pjatë" is by all means
from Italian "piatto" (iodization of "l" in the nexus /pl/ as
well as in other ones is typical for Italian; since the meaning
is clearly the same, you cannot separate them).

> and plate 'id.').

What does exactly show this word?

> About Your last passage, I think that is big difference between
> tendency and regularity.

OK, then replace "tendency" with "regular tendency" in my phrase
and reconsider its' meaning.

Regards,
Marius Iacomi