[tied] Re: Kabardian antipassives

From: thrsnmrtn
Message: 33931
Date: 2004-08-30

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, enlil@... wrote:
>
> Morten:
> > Perhaps the first syllable "Zi-" is an onomatepoeia and means or
is
> > connected to breathe/breath?
>
> Or maybe you need to get more familiar with Etruscan and what is
known
> about it. Granted, many things are not translated to 100%
satisfaction
> but Etruscan doesn't even have prefixes nor is it related to
Sumerian.

Me to Glen: Sorry Glen, you misunderstood me. I've never proposed
that "zi-" is a prefix, neither have I meant etruscan to be related
to sumerian, english or norwegian. I just pointed out that there are
onomatepoeia related to the meaning breathe in the three languages.

> You can't just say anything you wish about the language ignorantly
like
> you can for Minoan and get away with it.

Me to Glen: I don't know if I understand you correct, but I've never
written anything about Minoan.

>
> The word /fler/ is known to mean 'offering' or something very
similar.
> It is evidently an inanimate noun because it has an inanimate plural
> /fler-cHva/. Animate plural nouns are marked with -er, for your
info,
> and normally describe living things. A counterexample might
be /spurer/
> instead of *spurcHva but then again, a 'city' is a collection of
living
> things, nej?
>
> The word /zivas/ means "living" and even has an oft-encountered
suffix
> -as. We know it to roughly correspond to English -ing... Although I
would
> like to call it a 3ps 'aorist', myself.
>
> There's some good info on Etruscan grammar as we _actually_ know it
from
> this link:
>
> http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~classics/Chap4.pdf
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------
-----
>
> That being said now, where do we find a sequence /fler zivas/?
Something
> must be missing in that phrase. The sequence would mean "The gift is
> living." Rather odd. I'd expect that "living gift" would be better
> translated as */fler zivana/.
>
>
> = gLeN