Re: *a/*a: ablaut

On Sat, 16 Feb 2008 12:48:48 +0100, "fournet.arnaud"
<fournet.arnaud@...> wrote:

>>================
>>
>>The examples you gave
>>are all tainted by the fact
>>a schwa in unstressed positions
>>could be coloured into o by a
>>neighbouring w m or p.
>
>The rules work the same in cases without labials. For
>example, the suffix *-tér- ~ '*-tor-, or the "month/moon"
>word:
>
>**mát-nu:t-z > *méh1no:ts
>**mát-nu:t-m > *méh1notm.
>**mat-nút-a:s > *m(e)h1nésos [*]
>Miguel Carrasquer Vidal
>
>===========
>I don't understand your graphic conventions.
>
>1. mat > meH1
>Does it mean t > H1 ?

Yes, before a consonant, or when stressed at the end of the
word (e.g. the instrumental ending *-ét (= Hitt. -it) >
*-éh1). The root "measure" is *met- and *meh1-.

>2. Is <:> long meaning ?

Yes. Are you familiar with IPA?

>It's anti-phonological to suppose that
>unstressed vowels can be long
>while stressed are short.

No it isn't. Unstressed vowels can be long and stressed
vowels can be short.

>...

>[*] The posttonic lengthening perhaps reflects an ancient
>stress retraction (in the case of *méhnot-, this is
>suggested by Kartvelian *(m)ttute "moon", which might
>reflect the older accentuation ***mat-nút-).
>
>=======================
>Georgian has
>Month : tve
>Lune : mtvari (obviously the month-maker)
>
>I cannot see the connection between
>*tve and meH1-nvt-
>
>I think it is unsupported.
>From Starostin kartvelian :
>Proto-Kartvelian: *du(s?)te-
>Russian meaning: ????, ?????
>English meaning: moon
>Georgian: tve (Old Georg. twite-, ttwe-)
>Megrel: tuta-
>Svan: dos^d-ul, dos^t?-ul
>Laz: (m)tuta-

Neither Starostin nor Klimov (PKartv. *tute-) make any
attempt to explain the Old Georgian Anlaut tt-, which was
obviously simplified in the other forms. The Kartvelian
data point to Proto-Kartvelian *(m)ttúte-, which squares
very well with pre-PIE **mátnut-. Both forms can easily be
derived from a proto-form **matnút- "moon, month".

=======================
Miguel Carrasquer Vidal
miguelc@...