Re: "l" and "n" suffixes in some IE ethnonyms?

From: Aigius
Message: 52055
Date: 2008-01-29

Hello,
Suffixes -on and -ul are common in Lithuanian language:

Burba > Burbonys,
Gaila > Gailioniai,
Gelia > Gelionys,
Gudas > Gudonys,
Kairys > Kairionys,
Kikys > Kikonys,
Mechius > Mechionys,
Niaura > Niauronis,
Sabas > Sabonis,
Eiga > Eigulys,
Geras > Gerulis,
Grazhus > Grazhuliai,
Zhygis > Zhyguliai,...



--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Carl Edlund Anderson" <cea@...>
wrote:
>
> I've been trying to figure out the PIE forms and developments of
some suffixes that seem
> to crop up in numerous IE ethnonyms. There are various names with
endings reflected in
> (mostly) Latin sources as -ones or -oni (perhaps depending on
whether they are treated as
> n-stems or o-stems? or whether they were adapted from Greek
sources?), as well as some
> appearing as -ani. Names with -ones and -oni seems to crop up in
Italic, Celtic, and
> Germanic contexts; I'm less sure about the distribution of -ani?
>
> What's the origin here? Is this from the Hoffman suffix -h3o:n?
(That would give a long
> /o:/ in Latin, I think, a short /o/ in Celtic by analogical
leveling, an /a/ in Germanic
> reinterpreted as an /o:/ by Latin writers by analogy?).
>
> Meanwhile in Italic contexts, there's this -uli suffix that keeps
cropping up. I'm thinking
> this might be a PIE or Proto-Italic -elo:s > -olo:s > -uloi > -
uli:? Might this be related to
> other Latin derivational suffixes in -ilus, with the same original -
el- becoming Latin -il-
> under different phonological conditions?
>
> I'm guessing around at this based on eyeballing names in classical
sources and a very
> limited knowledge of the linguistics. (Are them, BTW, any good
resources online or in
> print that discuss PIE derivational suffixes?)
>
> Cheers,
> Carl
>