Re[4]: [tied] German Suffix "-isch"

At 4:13:27 AM on Sunday, December 26, 2004, alex wrote:

> Brian M. Scott wrote:

>> At 2:50:43 PM on Saturday, December 25, 2004, alex wrote:

>>> Brian M. Scott wrote:

>>>> At 2:16:54 PM on Saturday, December 25, 2004, alex
>>>> wrote:

>>>>> German "-isch", English "-ish", is this suffix going
>>>>> back to PGmc. "-eske" or is there an another
>>>>> explanation ?

>>>> PGmc *-iska-, I believe.

>>> Hmmm, I doubt about the last vowel. I assume there is an
>>> palatal vowel as well.

>> No. The suffix is Gothic <-isks>, ON <-iskr>, OSax <-isk>,
>> OHG <-isc> (becoming <-isch> in MHG). This is from PGmc
>> *-iska-, I believe from PIE *-isko-.

> Is the Slavic "-ski" not the same suffix as the
> Germanic and Rom. one?

The Slavic suffix cognate to PGmc. *-iska- is *-IskU,
according to what I have handy.

> I am not very sure abou tits function but when I think at
> Russian "Govoroti po ruski ?" it appears to me it makes
> the same construction "like" : russian-russisch. In that
> case, if the suffix is the same, then the Slavi has too
> the last vowel a palatal vowel.

If I'm not mistaken, the Slavic adjective has another
suffix, *-jI, originally a 3rd person demonstrative pronoun,
after the *-IskU suffix.

Brian