Re: [tied] Birdo [was Re: Risoe fo the Feminine]

From: Miguel Carrasquer
Message: 32400
Date: 2004-04-29

On Thu, 29 Apr 2004 18:56:39 +0200, Piotr Gasiorowski
<piotr.gasiorowski@...> wrote:

>29-04-2004 16:00, Miguel Carrasquer wrote:
>> Anyways, Albanian a- > 0- (Lat. ami:cu > mik) makes the
>> Albanian form undecisive about the Anlaut (the proposed IE
>> reconstruction *h2awito- can also be *h2wito-, or *h2weito-).
>> The *-t- is certainly very interesting...
>
>I wouldn't be so sure about the *-t-. Cimochowski discusses a whole
>collection of Albanian terms for pigeons. He quotes <videzë> 'wood
>pigeon, ringdove' and <vidhezë> (originally diminutives), <vitó, vitója>
>(f.); <vidó>; Geg <vidâ, vidani> (m., with the suffix -an- of Slavic
>origin); and North Geg <vidhë>. The most likely prototype for all this
>variation is *vid, typically accompanied by the exclamatory particle
>mentioned by Sergei (cf. biró/bir 'son', djaló/djalë 'boy', vashó/vashë
>'girl'). The variant with /-t-/, as often in Albanian, results from the
>generalisation of final devoicing.
>
>Frankly speaking, since the wood pigeon hardly qualifies as a bird par
>excellence,

In view of the Brythonic semantics, I cannot resist the
temptation to insert a Chico Marx quote here: Why a duck?
http://www.whyaduck.com/info/movies/scenes/whyaduck.htm

>the true reason why the Albanian word is added to the etymon
>of 'avis' is superficial similarity. I don't exclude the possibility
>that a connection exists, but it's far from self-evident. To quote
>Cimochowski, "Il reste complètement obscur, pourquoi le nom primitif de
>l'oiseau en général aurait du se spécialiser justement dans ce
>territoire comme le nom du pigeon."

Pourquoi un canard...? No, that doesn't work.

Seriously, objections noted. I still think there is enough
other support for an old *h2woyt-/*h2weyt- "bird".

=======================
Miguel Carrasquer Vidal
mcv@...