Re: [tied] Stop horsing around

--- In cybalist@..., "caraculiambro" <gpiotr@...> wrote:

> --- In cybalist@..., "Glen Gordon" <glengordon01@...> wrote:
>
> From: "Glen Gordon" <glengordon01@...>
> Date: Tue Apr 30, 2002 8:32 pm
> Subject: Re: [tied] Stop horsing around
>

<Snip>

> > So if every other language borrows words complete with

inflection, why is Abkhaz-Adyghe so special??

>
> Have you really examined "every other" language? "Every other" in

the sense 'all the other' or '50% of' languages? It isn't difficult
to find examples of regular inflections getting systematically
deleted in loans. Even English often drops Latin -us, e.g. sine < Neo-
Lat. sinus, and that despite Fr. sinus; cf. also Pliny, Antony, Livy,
etc. with -y for -ius.

>

Wouldn't the dropping of '-us' be following a French tradition of how
to acclimatise Greco-Latin words?

I recall that OE also drops '-us', but then there are:
1. 'Heavy bilingualism' - scholars did the borrowing.
2. Possibly examples such as Lt. vinum and OE wi:n to preserve the
correspondence of the declensions.

Richard.