Re: Fun with prenasalized stops.txt

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Richard Wordingham" <richard@...> wrote:

>
> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@> wrote:
> >
> >
> > > This Old Irish nasalization takes place after former previous
> > > nasal, and its surprising it should happen here. The only ending
> > > that looks promising for postulating an ending in a nasal is
> > > *-au/*-a:, which would then be *-onW/-o:, and perhaps -inW/*-unW
> > > for the -i and -u-stem's *-i: and *-u:. Why it is limited to the
> > > neuter in Old Irish, I don't know. The Dsg of "two" is Skt.
> > > dvabhyam.
> > >
> >
> > I forgot: In Old Irish the numerals 7, 8, 9 and 10 all nasalize
> > the following initial. PIE 7, 9 and 10 end in nasal, but 8 is a
> > dual.
>
> Shibboleth? :)

How so?

> Is it conceivable that there was a rule that said neuter duals and 8
> had the same effect, so that when 8 started to behave like 7, 9 and
> 10, so did the neuter dual? It seems far fetched to me, but I'm not
> sure it's impossible.

I think I was trying to suggest that PIE "eight" wasn't *ok^tou, but
*ok^t-onW or *ok^t-oNw, with the dual ending I proposed above.
*septm., *ok^tonW, *novn., dek^m, all with nasal endings, will
nasalize the following initial consonant.


Torsten