Re: An outline on evolution *tw- > z- in Albanian

From: Abdullah Konushevci
Message: 48054
Date: 2007-03-22

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Rick McCallister <gabaroo6958@...>
wrote:
>
> What timeline are we looking at? Is this independent of Greek tw
to s, or part of the same process? Is it a regional or genetic thing?
************
First, allow me to publish much full version, published in my most
loved and correct forum sci.lang, for I found myself as a black
sheep in Cybalsit:

Evolution *tw- > z- in Albanian
We notice that cluster *tw- was assibilated only in Greek (/s/) and
in Albanian (/z/, voiced allophone of /s/). Same phenomenon is to be
noticed also in treating the labiovelars *kW- and *gW-.
*tweH2k- ` to occupy, bind, embrace'. 1a. Alb zap, invariable, in
bëj zap `to circumvent, restraint, embrace' with extended variant
zapt; b. zapoj/zaptoj 'to invade, occupy' from extended weak root
form *twakb-o-, cf. Greek sattein/sassein `to arm'. 2. Alb
zabel `grove, thicket' from *twakb-el-, cf. Greek sakos `hurdle,
holy place'. 3. Alb tuk `round, around, approximately', attested yet
in some idioms and replaced with variant form tek: ja tuk `right
here/there, replaced by ja tek from zero-grade form *tuk-. (Pokorny
1. twa:k- 1098.)
*tweH1i-1 `to cut down, hack, hit'. 1. Alb përzâ/përzë `to oust, cut
out, hunt, dispatch' from*twe:i-n > PAlb *twoin: Old Icelandic
veita `to hit, push, bump', Lithuanian tvyskinu- `to knock'.
(Pokorny 1. twe:i- 1099.)
*twei-2 `to excite, shake; to shimmer'. 1a. Alb xixë `sparkle' from
a reduplicated prefixed form d-twi-d-twi-H2; b. denominative
xixëlloj `to sparkle, glitter'; c. xixëllonjë `fire-fly': Skt tvis.-
`to sparkle, agitate', Greek seiein `to shake, swing, agitate',
seismos `earthquake', seiros `glowing, burning'. 2. Alb zekth `
botfly, gadfly, horse-fly', diminutive of extended o-grade form
*twoik-o. (Pokorny 2. twei- 1099.)

If we believe, and we have no reason to not believe, Mallory-Adams
in their recent book "The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European
and the Proto-Indo-European World" (2006) posits Albanian in CE
languages, together with Greek and Armenian, so I see genetic
affiliation crucial in this aspect.

Konushevci