Re: [tied] Re: The role of analogy, alliteration and sandhi in coun

On 2007-05-09 08:15, tgpedersen wrote:

>> I don't think you can take one word as evidence of kW/p variation
>> related to later changes in IE languages.
>
> In this case, I think you can.
> The akWa/apa alternation recurs in many European river names.
> W.P. Schmid
> Alteuropa und das Germanische
> in
> Beck(ed.)
> Germanenprobleme in heutiger Sicht
> juxtaposes the river names
> Alpe, NWGerm. Alupe,Lith. / Albæk, Den.
> Asphe, NWGerm. Asupis, Lith. / Asbæk Den.
> Gellep, NWGerm. Geldupe, Lith. / Geldbæk, Den.
> Marpe, NWGerm. Marupe, Lith. / Marbæk, Den.
> Vidapa, NWGerm. Vidupe, Lith. / Vidå, Den.
>
> Elsewhere, Germany has river names in -ach.

Why are you using hydronyms with *-Baki- (*-Bakja-) 'brook' to
illustrate the *kW ~ *p variation? The "Bach" word has nothing to do
with *axWo:!

> Obviously, a word with such a wide geographical distribution must
> belong to a language which must have mattered one way or another to
> invading IE-speakers. Since the distribution of apa and akWa names
> doesn't follow any known IE borders it must have been a substrate
> language for large parts of Europe, thus giving rise to loans of or
> preferences for p- or kW- variants later on.
>
>
>> For 'river, water?' I'd say
>> that *xakYw+ with reduplicated *xaxkYw+ > *xaxpY+ (this assumes that
>> h2 = x = velar fricative).
>
> Reduplication is not productive in IE nominal morphology. It's a verb
> thing.

Well, productive or not, there are PIE beavers and wheels, arent't
there? Not that I agree with Sean here, but this particular objection is
objectionable itself.

Piotr