Re: Verner’s Law could be a result of interfamilial contact

From: Rick McCallister
Message: 57357
Date: 2008-04-15

--- mkelkar2003 <swatimkelkar@...> wrote:

> "Wilk suggest that one of the Finno-Ugric substratum
> features in
> Indo-European is the generalized initial stress in
> Germanic (as well
> as in Latvian (see section 2.3) and in the
> north-western Russian
> dialects, known for a number of Finnic-substratum
> phenomena). This
> `main event in the split of Proto-Indo-European into
> Prot-Germanic and
> the other IE languages' had dramatical consequences
> within Germanic,
> known as Verner'law, which was later introduced into
> Finnic in the
> form of consonant gradation. Wilk also proposes a
> few other
> FU-substratum features in Germanic—for example,
> umlaut as a reflex
> vowel harmony. Some of Wilk's suggestions have met
> with a
> considerable skepticism and criticism on the part of
> historical
> linguistics. The accent shift in Germanic is
> probably the most
> plausible candidate for a contact-induced change.
> Here, Wilk follows
> Salmons (1992) who suggests a shared Germanic-Celtic
> accent shift
> talking (sic) place in prehistoric north-western
> Europe on the basis
> of early and profound contact with a Finno-Ugric
> language. This is
> based on a vernally accepted view that
> Proto-Finno-Ugric had an
> initial stress—a view that might be disputed
> (Viitso, 1997; 224-5).
> There are also additional considerations that cast
> some doubt on the
> Salmons-Wilk suggestion (see Koptjevskaja-Tamm and
> Walchli, 2001: 640)."
>
> Koptjevskaja-Tamm, M. (2006). The circle that won't
> come full: two
> potential isoglosses in the circum Baltic area. In
> linguistic areas:
> convergence in historical and typological
> perspective. Matras, Y.,
> McMahon, A., and Vincent, N. (eds.), pp. 182-226.
> New York: Palgrave
> McMillan. ISBN: 1-4039-9657-1
>
A problem is that Celtic and (early) Italic had
initial stress as well and they were nowhere near
Finno-Urgric



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