From: Patrick Ryan
Message: 39897
Date: 2005-09-08
----- Original Message -----
From: "Piotr Gasiorowski" <gpiotr@...>
To: <cybalist@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2005 1:47 AM
Subject: Re: [tied] Re: IE thematic presents and the origin of their
thematic vowel
> Rob wrote:
>
> > Could not *gWrxW-é- and *tud-é- simply be subjunctives of root
> > duratives?
>
> Anyway, of root verbs with an underlying short vowel.
>
> > *bher- is a root durative, is it not?
>
> The comparative evidence indicates a thematic present (*bHér-e-ti)
> beside a _reduplicated_ athematic present (*bHi-bHér-ti) and traces of
> an athematic aorist.
>
> Piotr
***
Patrick:
PIE is incapable of differentiating roots that had originally different
short vowels in pre-PIE except indirectly.
With PIE *bher-, we actually have two verbs:
1) pre-PIE *bhar(a:)-, 'carry' ('be suspended by the edges'; Sumerian pala);
and
2) pre-PIE *bher(e)-, 'bring' ('let fall at the feet'; Sumerian pir-3).
*bhar(a:)- is inherently durative while *bher(e)- is inherently punctual,
lexically.
It is, therefore, understandable that different treatments would be used to
inflect each of these originally different verbs, conflated in PIE to
*bher-.
Singularity was expressed in pre-PIE by stress-accent on the root-syllable:
*bhára and *bhér(e)-.
Plurality (duration) was expressed in pre-PIE by stress-accent on the
ultima.
Therefore, when it was desired to emphasize the duration of an inherently
durative root, the stress-acent was transferred to the ultima: *bhará- (PIE
*bheré-).
Repeated punctual action (iteration) was expressed in pre-PIE by
reduplication: *bhe-bhér- (PIE *bhi-bhér-).
Pre-PIE *bhára became PIE *bhé:r-, 'carried'.
To emphasize the singularity of a punctual action, a singulative -*s was
added: *bhérs-, 'brought (once)'.
To indicate a limited set of punctual repetitions, a dual (set) formant -*ya
was added: *bheréya- (PIE *bheréye-), 'brings a number of times'.
To emphasize non-present time, *é-, 'then', was prefixed to the verb.
All of the above forms are actional.
The 'perfect' was originally a stative form, i.e. portrayed the state
resulting from an action. As a consequence, the earliest conjugational
formants were, rather than pronouns indicating agents, rather adverbs
indicating orientation to the conversation: *?a, 'here'; *?o, 'there'; and
*?e, 'over there'.
Now, I am well aware that anyone reasonably versed in IE languages can find
real and apparent exceptions to these suggested formations but I believe
this outline captures the logic involved at a given point in time.
***