--- Francesco Brighenti <
frabrig@...> wrote:
>
>
>
> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, george knysh
> <gknysh@...> wrote:
>
> > what is your take that long "a" can transform
> itself into long "o"
> > in attested situations? Cf. the table at
> >
> > http://www.kroraina.com/sarm/jh/jh3_4.html
>
> It seems to me that in Old Iranian --> Iranian of
> South Russia and
> Central Asia this transformation only occurs before
> a nasal (cf.
> also below).
****GK: OK.== In this connection, I have a query which
I almost hesitate to make (I suspect Torsten might get
all excited(:=))). We know that in various mediaeval
sources, the Alan/As are referred to as "Yas-" or
"Ias-/Jas-". It seems to be an accepted fact that in
some Slavic languages de-nasalization occurred ca. the
10/11 cs. Thus the "Sventosthlab" recorded in
Porphyrogenitus becomes the "Svyatoslav" of the Kyivan
Chronicle, Yatvingians become "Yatvyagi" et sim. Is it
at all plausible to surmise that this "Yas-" is the
denasalization of an "Ans-" word, or would this be an
erroneous assumption?****
>
> > there are a few classical "Os-" mentions of
> presumably Alanic
> > tribes (in Pliny and Ptolemy).
>
> For example?
****GK: I was working from memory. Checking my notes I
find that Pliny's "Issi" (a tribe of the Aorsi)(NH
VI,22) is probably irrelevant. Ptolemy (Geog. III,5)
locates the "Osili" on the lower Don between the
"Tanaitae" and "Rhoxolanis", but this too might be
illusive. I'm beginning to suspect some connection
with the "local" name for the Don ("Silis") in which
case the solitary "O" would not mean much. And to
assume an "Ossili" reading seems unwarranted.****
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com