From: altamix
Message: 12686
Date: 2002-03-15
----- Original Message -----I wish we knew the Getic form of "eleven" (in fact, any Getic word with a securely established meaning would be a priceless gem). As we don't know it, however, the simplest and least speculative hypothesis about the source of the "N-on-ten" construction in the Balkan League need not assume local substrate influence. The construction existed in Slavic before the Slavic expansion began, so why agree that the Bulgarians and Macedonians brought it from the north but insist that the Romanians borrowed it from Dacian or Thracian? It's more reasonable to draw conclusions from the data we have, rather than assume something we'll never be able to prove or disprove.