Re: [tied] Metathesis in sonant+ labiovelars, Greek, The Ant

From: Joao S. Lopes
Message: 37098
Date: 2005-04-12

About Ant:
 

*morweH2 [formiga]   

Greek myrme:x,Myrmidon 

Latin formica[*mormica<morvica]

Sanskrit vamra[*marva], valmika[varmika <marvika]

Avestan maoirish

Old Slavic mravi- 

ON myrr

Old Irish muirb

Armenian mrjiwn

 

*morweH2- is the usual reconstruction. I'm thinking about an alternative view:

*morgWm-

*mr.gWmeH2- > murgm- > myrme:x

*mrgWmH- > formica

*morgW-> mrjiwn

 

 



Sean Whalen <stlatos@...> wrote:

--- "Joao S. Lopes" <josimo70@...> wrote:
> Let me pick three words as example: nyx, onyx, lykos

> IE *n.kWt- > *nukt- > Greek nyx (nykt-) "night"
> IE *H3o-n.gWH- > *o-nugH- > Greek onyx (onykh-)
> "nail"
> IE *wl.kWos > *wluko- > Greek lykos "wolf"

> My question is:
> These shifts represent a regular trend in IE>Greek
> (sonant+labiovelar > sonant+u+velar) or may be loans
> from another IE language (but very close to Greek)

Are these your own reconstructions?  The oldest
posited forms above create misleading conclusions.  I
think it goes more like this:

nok^t-
nokt-
nukt-
nykt-

H3nogWh-
H3.nogWh-
onogWh-
onogh-
onugh-
onukh-
onykh-

H1ulkWo-
ulkWo-
lukWo-
luko-
lyko-

That is, there's only metathesis in lukos, but not the
kind you show.  The u in the other words comes from
rounding/raising of *o between certain consonants
(usually sonorant and/or round, as in onyma, gymnos-).


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