Re: [tied] The "Mother" Problem

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "elmeras2000" <jer@...> wrote:

>
> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Mate Kapovic" <mkapovic@...>
> wrote:
>
> > Well, I would say that evidence is contradictory. Germanic &

Vedic

> point to
> > one thing and Greek to another.
>
> The Greek evidence is in itself contradictory, since mé:te:r does
> not agree with me:téra, me:trós, me:trí. So, since the latter forms
> agree perfectly with the oxytone paradigm of Vedic and Germanic,
> that structure would seem to deserve a status of preference,
> provided the barytone form of the nom. and voc. can be accounted
> for. The IE recessive accent of the vocative offers a fine
> explanation. This leaves the non-barytone forms of Greek and the
> forms of Vedic and Germanic as in all probability authentic

reflexes

> of the PIE form of the lexeme. Due to the existence of Hirt's law
> the Balto-Slavic forms could reflect any preform and so are not
> diagnostic. Then, with the weight of the preference for IE
> oxytonesis arrived at, the BSl. forms would in fact seem to reflect
> the working of Hirt's law.
>
> There is no serious evidence supporting IE barytonesis in 'mother'.
> So, if the vowel grade would make one assume that, any influence
> from 'father' on the accent would rather seem to have occurred
> before the dissolution of PIE than after it.
>
> Jens

************
And Albanian too, with its high conservative character on preserving
of root's accent, I think should be taking into account:
<motër> `sister', but <motërmadhja> `grand-mother' testifying that
the perform was *meH2ter > mé:ter > motër (*é: > o, -er > -ër).

Konushevci