--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Miguel Carrasquer <mcv@...> wrote:
> ... My problems with Kortlandt's explanation
> have been stated by Kortlandt himself: the proposed rule
> does not explain pádla, ê'dla, sê'dla, possibly strígla and
> some others. The explanation through some kind of
> analogical extension of Hirt's law raises more questions
> than it answers (why did it only work in the l-ptc. and not
> for instance in the oxytonic o-stem neuters with acute root
> such as the ones in -dló [dêdló, peNdló, stadló etc.]?).
This is a misunderstanding, no doubt caused by Kortlandt's
excessively brief formulation. As I understand things, what he
assumes happened is the following:
In the verbal system, Hirt's law gave rise to a series of verbs with
an acute stem in which a mobile present tense combined with an (a)-
stressed l-participle. (This is, I think, unproblematic.)
Then Winter's law caused the stem of a number of verbs that until now
had had a short stem vowel to become acute. (As far as I can see this
is unproblematic too, at least until such moment as one starts to
specify exactly what version of Winter's law one adheres to and
whatever it is one means when using the word "acute", but I don't
think either point is relevant here.)
Since in the new acute verbs Hirt's law had not taken place, Winter's
law gave rise to a series of verbs with an acute stem in which a
mobile present tense combined with an end-stressed mobile l-
participle.
Put differently: after Winter's law had operated, some verbs with an
acute stem and a mobile present tense had a stem-stressed l-
participle whereas in others the l-participle was end-stressed. The
analogy proposed by Kortlandt consists in the assumption that the
latter type was analogically eliminated in favour of the former type.
As usual in Kortlandt it is a perfectly banal analogy. I can't follow
the idea that if such an analogy took place in the l-participle the
same must necssarily have happened to derivations in -dló etc. and I
suspecet it is due to some misunderstanding.
Willem