Re: Hercynian (again)

I don't think so. The hypothesis that it could denote higher mountains
than the Rhine/Danube range was Yours, I simply asked why so far (from
real Hercynia Silua) as Carpathians

2012/2/28, Trond Engen <trond@...>:

> Bhrihskwobhloukstroy:
>
>> 2012/2/28, Trond Engen<trond@...>:
>>
>>> Bhrihskwobhloukstroy:
>>>
>>>> But there's no need of steppes. The fact that steppes cultures were
>>>> probably of Proto-Indo-European language cannot in any way dismiss
>>>> the linguistic fact that the Alpine area has been Indo-European
>>>> from the very beginning (at least from the date of neognos-rule,
>>>> which is Common Indo-European)
>>>
>>> Whatever you might mean by that, it seems like a detour, since I
>>> don't think there's any reasonable mechanism to get the word into
>>> Baltic.
>>
>> This is the mechanism:
>> 1) the morpho-lexical system of Common Indo-European generated the
>> word since the very beginning of the structure of Proto-Indo-European
>> 2) the geographical diffusion fo the speakers of such language
>> brought the word into every territory where Common Indo-European has
>> been spoken
>> 3) according to different specific onomasiological or onomastic
>> needs, the word has been applied to individuals or classes fo
>> referents.
>>
>> I meant that point 2 has taken place in Alpine area as well
>
> OK, in other words a generic meaning "mountain (range)" or some such
> taking specific referents independently. This means it would have been
> attributed to the Alps at a time when Indo-European speakers were
> geographically dispersed far beyond effective contact, although (as I
> understand your account) variant languages had not yet developed. The
> word would have been inherited in Baltic (and probably North Germanic)
> independently of whatever those Pre-Bavarians may have used it for, and
> a meaning "Alps" could not be reconstructed for PIE.
>
> And is there actual evidence that it ever denoted the Alps?
>
> --
> Trond Engen
>