I'm curious, how would the "arktos/ursus" word for bear be pronounced
in Proto-Slavic if it were preserved there? Could anyone suggest a
hypothetical reconstruction?
Thanks in advance.
Gene
PIE *xrtkos > *rtk'os
> *irtsu > *jIrsU (I, U
= yers, i.e. reduced vowels). But the sequence *rtk is
so uncommon that it's difficult to say what its "regular" development
should be (moreover, it was prone to metathesis). The initial
syllabic *r is another problem. An alternative
development would have given *urtsu >
*wUrsU. I'd predict hypothetical Polish
*jars/wars, Russian
*jors/vors, etc. Suspiciously similar
to Latin ursus, in fact.
Piotr
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