Re: b/m alternation in Thacian, Illyria and Abanian

From: tgpedersen
Message: 56285
Date: 2008-03-30

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Miguel Carrasquer Vidal <miguelc@...>
wrote:
>
> On Sun, 30 Mar 2008 12:00:40 -0000, "tgpedersen"
> <tgpedersen@...> wrote:
>
> >Tada!
> >Aikio: 'An essay on substrate studies and the origins of Saami' has
> >'loahkka' "torsk", ie "codfish" as a non-etymologizable substrate
> >word (among many other anamal, including fish, names) of North
> >Saami. My knowledge of Finnish-Saami historical linguistics is
> >non-existent, but he does supply a similar substrate word in Saami
> >'gouvssat' "Lapland jay", in Finn. dial. 'kuusanka', whether hat is
> >loaned directly from that substrate or from North Saami.
> >
> >Dansk Etymologisk Ordbog:
> >lange "the codfish species Molva Vulgaris" [ ie. "ling"
> >http://ca.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_762509212/ling.html ]
> >ODa., No. id. Sw. långa, ON langa, side form Germ. Länge, Du. leng,
> >ling (whence Fr. lingue), Engl. ling, der. from 'lang' ["long"]
> >
> >Somehow I doubt that last piece of information.
> >
> >So: bakal-lank- "stick codfish" adopted into Proto-Basque at some
> >time (or directly into West European languages?) from some Western
> >substrate? Does Miguel have any Proto-Basque > Basque objections?
>
> There are good arguments for deriving bacalao/cabillaud from
> either Basque makila "stick"

Well, thank you.

< Lat. bacilla,

I doubt that. The Romans didn't invent the stick.


> or from Romance cap "head", or from cappellanus "chaplain" (cf. Sp.
> abadejo "cod") [the latter two through Basque c.q. Gascon to explain
> -ano > -ao].

Wouldn't you have to include something similar in the first proposal
for the final syllable?

> The correct etymology is almost certainly one of these three,

Because?

> the problem is that all three are more or less equally plausible.
>
> I can see no use for *-lank in this word.

With the last solution no, with the first one there remains something
which has to be accounted for. You're just stonewalling me as usual.
Pfft.
And since I expected that, I asked not for your opinion of the
proposal, but whether you had any objections in the path
Proto-Vasconic > Basque. You haven't answered that question.


Torsten