09-12-03 20:52, alex wrote:
> there is one, absolutely no one example of Latin /e:/ becoming in Rom.
> "ei". The only one where you want to find it is the 3 "trei".
No-one said Lat. /e:/ gave Rom. /ei/. It's just an artifact of your
blank incomprehension. But comprehension problems are curable: just sit
back, relax and try to concentrate. When the mist disperses for a minute
and your inner eye begins to see clearly, read on and follow the light:
Lat. tre:s > *tres > trei, where the palatal glide represents the
_regular_ weakening and vocalisation of _final /-s/_ in monosyllabic words:
VLat. t r e s >
Rom. t r e i
The fact that the vowel is /e/ is of little importance. The same happens
after any other vowel:
VLat. n o s >
Rom. n o i
Also when *-s comes from a reduced final cluster: post > *pos > It. poi,
Rom. (a)poi; cf. also the other examples given so far.
> It seems
> it is enough to make a rule out of it. Do it, I have nothing against it
> since the poor Thracians are all dead and cannot come here to say: Pani
> Piotr, co ti tam delas^i?
If it's to be Polish rather than Thracian, it should read "Piotrze, co
tam robisz?" or (more formally) "Panie Piotrze, co pan tam robi?"
Piotr