Re: Vowel Coloring

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Piotr Gasiorowski <gpiotr@...> wrote:

>
> On 2008-02-16 07:05, stlatos wrote:
>
> > n-N > s-N
> >
> > *enterno- > L internus, H istarna 'in the middle', istarnya- 'inside'
>
> It could be *h1ens-ter(n)o-, influenced by *h1eg^Hs-ter(n)o-.

If this is supposed to be the source of extern-, I don't agree. It
also doesn't explain the other cases of n-N.

>
> > sw- > st-
> >
> > *sworgheye 'lie ill' > H istarkya- 'fall ill'
>
> The variation s ~ st in Hittite has been proposed before

Yes, but I don't believe it. It's the result of incorrect etymology
and special cases, like metathesis:

*sent-tu- > L sensus, H istanza- 'soul'

*sent-tu-
*sten-tu-
*sten-tw-V
*sten-tsw-
*sten-tsy-

Another sw > st is probably *swaxdu- etc. > istah- 'taste'. The mix
of *swaxdus *swaxdw- and *melittyos *melitti- 'honeyed' > malittu-,
sanizzi- makes analysis difficult, depending on when the endings were
changed and to what extent, but w-w > 0-w probably preceded sw>st.

One possibility:

analogy with nasal infix verb *swanxd- (istanh-) then

*swanxdw- ...... *melitti-
*sanxdw- ....... *melitti-
*sanxw- ........ *melitti-
*sanitti- ...... *melittu/manxw-/malixu etc.
*sanitti- ...... *malittu-
*sanittsi- ..... *malittu-

, and this word

> is one of the examples quoted to illustrate it, but there are other
> possibilities, esp. *(s)terg^H-, as in Ved. {(s)tr.h-} 'injure, harm',
> which forms a nasal present in Sanskrit (cf. Hitt. istarnink-).
> <istark-iya-> could be compared with *sworgH-eje-, but the basic form of
> the verb is an unextended consonantal stem (<istarkzi> etc.).

Well, that's probably from *r, not *or like the causative; both
kinds existing is no problem, even if from PIE.

>
> > This also affects kYL- which became kYw- after the change kYw>kw

above:

> >
> > kYw- > c^w-? > sw-
> >
> > *kYLu- > L clue:re, H istuwa- 'become famous'
>
> Why not the simplest solution: *steu- 'praise, (mid.) become famous'?

That doesn't explain:

>
> > *kYLewos > *swowos >> H istamas- 'hear, learn'

Which is almost certainly related, and in exactly the same way as
derivatives of *kYLu- in other IE.

> >
> > The change of a special velar to a fricative before w is probably
> > also seen in:
> >
> > *gWixWwo- > *xWigWwo- > *xWidzwo- > *xWizw(a)- > H huisu- 'alive'
>
> The adjective is deverbal in Hittite

I disagree, it's the other way around, like in most IE.

, and the verb has a consonantal

> stem (<huiszi>, ipv. <hue:s>).

Why couldn't a verb from an adj. become such in Hittite?

> Again -- why not choose the simplest
> solution: *h2wes- 'stay' --> 'exist, remain alive'?

Because that doesn't explain huit- in other forms and related
languages. The first stage is dissimilation gWw > dw (then first
affrication and probably tsw>tsy; initial probably > duw- first,
etc.). Like I've said, the weak case of *gWixWwos was *gWixWu-, so
that made (by analogy) *xWidwo- *xWidu-. After this > *xWidzwo-
*xWidu- > *xWizwo- *xWidu- Hittite extends the z of the strong to the
weak case and the verb made from it, but not in other forms with
huit-, and other languages don't extend it at all, so the analogical
nature of the exchange is clear.