From: Urban Lindqvist
Message: 2070
Date: 2000-04-09
----- Original Message -----From: Mark OdegardSent: Saturday, April 08, 2000 9:46 PMSubject: [cybalist] Narten Present.What is a "Narten present"?Usually it's a root present with the ablaut e: ~ e + fixed accent on the root syllable instead of the more common e ~ 0 + mobile accent. Cf. Vedic 3 sg. active staú-ti < *sté:u- vs. 3 sg. middle stáv-e < *stéu- (Narten present) and 3 sg. active brávi:-ti < *mléuH- vs. 3 sg. middle bru:-té < *mluH-´ (non-Narten present).Mary Niepokuj uses this term in her article "Hang" in EIEC, p. 255.She is referring to *konk (circumflex over k), which gives English 'hang' and 'hinge', Latin cunctor 'delay'. When speaking of Old Indic sankate 'doubts, fears', and the possible TochB reflex, sank- '+/- delay hesitate' she writes:
This form is securely reconstructible; both Latin and and Old Indic show a shift from immobility to a state of emotional uncertainty. If the Tocharian form belongs here, we have have evidence for a Narten present, strong-grade *konk, weak-grade *kenk.
I'm beginning to fully understand the distinction of zero grade, full grade, lengthened grade (ablaut variations giving the daughters different reflexes of the same word), but wonder about weak and strong grade. And what, pray, is a Narten present.Weak and strong are relative terms: in the present active singular you have strong grade, in others weak. So a strong grade of a Narten present is e:, of a non-Narten present e.(I don't understand the *konk- vs. *kenk- business, though.)Johanna Narten, "Zum 'proterodynamischen' Wurzelpräsens", in _Pratida:nam_ (Fs. Kuiper), 1968.Urban