Re: Proper methodology

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

> On Fri, 05 Dec 2003 15:06:15 +0000, Glen Gordon <glengordon01@...>
> wrote:

> >As I said, *yus < *yeu- "to join, group".
> >It explains the origin, the semantics and the phonetics in the

most simple

> >way I can think of or have come across.
>
> There are several objections to be made against such a

hypothesis.

> The use of a verbal or nominal root is unheard in the personal

pronouns.

> If the root were *yeu-, a root noun derived from it should be *yut-

(pl.

> *yutes), not *yu-. Actually, the root is in my opinion *yeuh1-,

from which

> a root noun *yu:- (pl. *yuwes) is derivable in principle (whether

that

> could have meant "a group of people" is another question). Since

the

> nominal plural is *-es, never *-s, that would have given a

paradigm:

>
> nom. *yúh1es
> acc. *yuh1-s-mé
> encl. *yoh1s
>
> Instead of actually attested:
>
> nom. *yú(:)s
> acc. *us-mé
> encl. *wos

What if singular and plural had merged? Might not we have a suffix
*-s as in the 2s of verbs, meaning 'your' (ambiguity intentional!)?
(The whole would be parallel to 'you lot', 'your group' in various
languages.)

Richard.