[tied] The 'lamb' word [Was: Re: Mi- and hi-conjugation in Germanic]

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Piotr Gasiorowski <gpiotr@...>
wrote:

> Well, nothing outside Slavic suggests a long vowel, and the

environment

> in question doesn't seem to favour one (*h2aHgWno-? or some kind

of

> vr.ddhi applied ad hoc?).

I meant the latter. With words of unknown derivation we do
everything ad hoc. What motivation is there for the presence of /-n-
/ other than the superficial fact that we see it? Similarly, what
motivation is there for the assumption of a short vowel rather than
a long one?

> I wonder if you understand the peculiarities
> of Celtic *ogno- (I don't think I do, if the usual reconstruction

is

> correct), but the *o, aberrant as it is, at any rate doesn't point

to

> originally long vocalism.

What would it have been with old /a:/? Could it be relevant
that /a:/ is also from /o:/ in Celtic? Can it be demonstrated that
it is not relevant? Are we perhaps deciding fundamental issues by
examples we do not understand?

Jens