--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, enlil@... wrote:
> Perhaps you mistakingly believe that a 3pp *-éna-ta shows left
shifting
> accent but that's not correct. The ending was originally *-éna with
> penultimate accent. The ending *-ta was simply a postposed
demonstrative
> and not part of the word. When it became considered part of the
word,
> the word accent automatically became antepenultimate without
any "left
> shifting".
Well, I don't *believe* much of what you write, but I do try to
figure out what rational thinking may underlie it. And yes, if I am
told that there is an automatic accent placing on the penult in the
active singular while the 3pl act. is suppposedly *-éna-ta, I do not
see the accent moving in the usual direction. When I am subsequently
told that this is a special case without relevance for the rule I
have an alarming déjà-vu. It just seems to be part of the game that
the rules are fine and final, but the examples are reinterpreted at
will or even pardoned fort their inability to illustrate the rules
that have been extracted from them.
>
> > Hey man, the perfect was your point of departure.
>
> It was an untested idea but I've decided that it was a deadend. No
biggy.
I'm afraid it is *major* if rules are based on untested ideas and
are being retained even when it is decided that the idea was a
deadend.
Jens