Re: The oddness of Gaelic words in p-

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Rick McCallister <gabaroo6958@...> wrote:

>
>
> --- tgpedersen <tgpedersen@...> wrote:
>
> > --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "mkelkar2003"
> > <swatimkelkar@> wrote:
> > >
> > >
> >
>

http://dnghu.org/Indo-European-Languages/viewforum.php?f=13&sid=5a341258abb3261b7aae1ad952c54a0d

> > >
> > Thank you, MKelkar. Because, in it, I find MacBain's
> > An Etymological
> > Dictionary of the Gaelic Language, with 2 pages
> > worth of words in p-
> > http://www.ceantar.org/Dicts/MB2/mb28.html#MB.P
> > http://www.ceantar.org/Dicts/MB2/mb29.html
> > http://www.ceantar.org/Dicts/MB2/mb30.html
> > which is odd, since Gaelic is a q-Celtic language.
> > Some of the frequent explanations from Latin are undoubtedly
> > correct, but you're struck by the tortuousness of some of the
> > derivations, both the semantic and the morphological ones ('formed
> > from', indeed), and the equally frequent explanations from English
> > are no really an explanation either since 'true' Germanic words
> > can't have p- either; some are even not known in other Germanic
> > languages than English. So, are they Venetic, and have we found
> > the missing language of Eastern England? It does sort of look
> > vaguely Italic.
> > Torsten
> >
> Scots Gaelic words beginning in /p-/ are either going to be
> innovations in Scots Gaelic, or loanwords
> from Germanic (Scots, English, Flemish, Norn or Old Norse);
> from Italic/Romance (Latin, French);
> from P-Celtic (Cumbric, Pictish);
> or from its hypothetical (non-IE?) precursor.
> These are the known languages spoken in Scotland

Please don't remind of what McBain says. I've read it. That's why I'm
proposing something else. I suggest you take a closer look at his
etymologies. They are in general a poor fit, semantically and
morphologically.

> Take a look at what is known about Pictish and see what you can find

No way. Why would Pictish words appear in Welsh and English?


Torsten