From: Piotr Gasiorowski
Message: 22883
Date: 2003-06-08
----- Original Message -----
From: Abdullah Konushevci
To: cybalist@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, June 08, 2003 11:36 PM
Subject: [tied] Re: rothacism in Albanian
> Where did it start I don't know for sure, but I know that, except PIE
roots (cf. syni/syri 'eye', gjuni/gjuri 'knee') all Old Greek and Latin
loans undergoes rothacism (cf. mokën/mokër < Gr. makhana 'millstone',
drapën/drapër < drapenon 'sickle', pjepën/pjepër < pepenon 'melon' and
kunorë < Lat. corona 'crown', lini/liri < Lat. linum 'flax') until Slavic
ones not (cf. zakon 'law', sanë < seno 'hay').
Of course rhotacism is later than the division of Albanian into Geg and Tosk
dialects, since rhotacism is a characteristically Tosk development. Cf. Geg
llânë : Tosk llërë 'forearm', Geg emën : Tosk emër, etc. (in case Alex is
puzzled by the variants given in your posting).
Piotr