Causative-iterative

From: tgpedersen
Message: 38701
Date: 2005-06-17

I placed this in Nostratic-L by mistake:




Patrick proposed on Nostratic-L that the optative formant -ye- was a
verb "speak".

Perhaps the causative-iterative format -eye/o is composed of the
strange "infinitive" ending (cf 'cale facere') + the verb *jeh1-
"throw". In other words Lat. 'monet' is *'mon-e: je-ti', in _two_
words, like 'cale facere'. The fact that it's two, not one, words
explains why the root has o-grade, not zero-grade (or rather, it
conflates the problem with that of why the corresponding nominal
constructions have o-grade, not zero-grade). One problem down, several
to go.


Torsten