[tied] Re: Balkan Serpents (was: alb. gji (breast))

In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Richard Wordingham" wrote:

> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Miguel Carrasquer wrote:

>> [a lot of confused nonsense]
>>
>> It's really very simple:
>>
>> Lat. vitellu(m) > vetEllu > vetiellu > vitzel(u)
>> vitella(m) vetElla vetiella vitzea
>>
>> Unstressed /e/ gave /i/ here, probbaly at the stage
>> *vetiellu > *vitiellu by assimilation.
>
> Regular or sporadic?

Assimilation and dissimilation are frequent enough in Romanian.
In this context, the affricate [ts] should have favorized it;
also some analogy with "vita" could been taken into account.
Not a regular phenomenon, though.

> -ella > -ea as in stea < stella.

Or in margella > m&rgeaw& > m&rgea. The "long" form is still
alive with the article: /m&rgeawa/, /steawa/, etc. The loss of
final /w&/ is specific to Daco-Romanian, in Aromanian the old
form is preserved.

> The rules we had gave -tElla > tiella > tiealla > tziealla
> -tzalla > -tzaa.

You forget about the regular exit of final -ella in Romanian.
-ll- > /w/ in this case.

Regards,
Marius Iacomi