Re: Vrddhi

From: stlatos
Message: 50655
Date: 2007-12-01

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Andrew Jarrette <anjarrette@...> wrote:
>
> I know cybalist has dealt with this topic before (e.g. message
#44128), but I have not found any satisfactory answer to the question,
what is the origin of vrddhi in denominal derivatives in Sanskrit?
How could e.g. graiva- arise from gri:va:, or sauma- from soma-?
Piotr has mentioned "e-insertion" into the main syllable, but this
would not explain forms like graiva-, and does not explain why the
process of "e-insertion" should arise in the first place.
>
> I hope that someone would care to respond to this question once
again. I want to know how "legitimate" vrddhi in denominals is (as
well as other forms with vrddhi).


If you believe that o > o: > a: in some environments [1] in
Indo-Iranian, then nothing is needed but the analogical extension of
the rule to cases where it wouldn't happen regularly. Thus the o-e-0
ablaut was mainly replaced by a:-a-0 (and in cases where only the
0-grade survived at the time of this analogy, the a(:) might have been
inserted in the wrong place from a historical perspective).


1 I believe specificly:

o -tone > o: /

when followed by a syllable +tone

and o at the end of a syllable

unless at the end of a word


o +tone > o: /

when followed by a syllable -tone

and o at the end of a syllable

unless at the end of a word