Re: [tied] Nominative: A hybrid view

On Tue, 3 Jun 2003, Miguel Carrasquer wrote:

> On Tue, 03 Jun 2003 20:00:23 +0000, Glen Gordon <glengordon01@...>
> wrote:
>
> >Please support this conviction of yours that
> >Kart *otxo- derives from IE *okto:u with something more substantial.
>
> The Svan form is wo(:)s^tx(w), which suggests a borrowing from *o:k^toh3
> with *h3 still /xW/ and perhaps stressed /o/ still long. The fact that the
> word is Pan-Kartvelian and not just Georgian-Zan also suggests an ancient
> date of borrowing.

I take it that you consider the IE *-h3 a dual marker. What is that doing
here if the word means 'four' which according to the whole point should be
the meaning of the lost singular? In what way is this sensibly related to
the borrowed word that means 'eight' in Kartvelian, but 'four' in Semitic?
Can you borrow foreign numerals and still not care about counting? Is the
evidence misleading for reasons not germane to the debate?

Jens