Re: [tied] Albanian as a satem langauge

Thank you for your informative reply.

-----Original Message-----
From: cybalist@yahoogroups.com [mailto:cybalist@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Piotr Gasiorowski
Sent: 04 May 2005 10:49
To: cybalist@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [tied] Albanian as a satem langauge

David Webb wrote:

> What words reveal Albanian to be satem?

All native words reconstructed with *k^, *g^ or *g^H followed by a vowel
or glide, e.g.:

     *g^Hesr(+ *-ah2) > dorë 'hand'
     *g^ombHos > Geg dhâmb, Tosk dhëmb
     *k^onid(+ *-ah2) > Geg thëni:, Tosk thër(r)ijë
     *g^Heimon- > Geg dimën, Tosk dimër 'winter'

Cf.

     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cybalist/message/29877

and the ensuing discussion (note the special development of the *K^
series before *w).

The frequently repeated idea that Albanian is neither satem or centum is
based on two false arguments:

(1) Albanian shows non-satemised *K^ stops in some words, e.g. *smek^ru
> mjekër 'chin, beard', or *k^lu-eh1- > quaj (kluoj) 'call, name'. Such
examples, however, represent regular dispalatalisation before liquids
and nasals, i.e. in a well-defined phonetic context.

(2) Albanian probably shows different reflexes of *K^, *K and *KW before
front vowels. However, the merger of "plain" *K and labiovelar *KW is
not, strictly speaking, part of the satem shift but an independent later
process that failed to be carried through in some satem dialects
(Armenian also distinguishes *K from *KW some contexts). Likewise, some
non-satem languages show traces of the *K vs. *K^ distinction.

Piotr