On 04-11-02 13:32, tgpedersen wrote:
> There are a number of unexplained variants with N- ~ kN- for N=liquid
> in Danish, example nibe/knibe "pinch", and even more in Old Norse
> where the alternation is the original hN- ~ kN-
I supopose by "unexplained" you mean phonologically unmotivated.
However, the Kn- clusters (hn-/kn-/gn-) have acquired a phonaesthetic
function in Germanic, the suggested semantic range (apart from
straightforward sound-imitation) being that of pressing, crushing or
beating, as in English <knead, gnaw, gnash, knock, OE hni:tan, hnossian,
cni:dan>, etc., or of lumpiness, compactness or roundness, as in
<gnarl/knarl, knar, knot, knob, knoll, nut [OE hnutu], nit [OE hnitu]>.
The modern spelling is of course non-phonetic, but it still has some
expressive value.
Piotr