Re: Vasco-Caucasian and the comparatine method [was: Stacking up on

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

>
> > NEC *be:nggwa 'rock, mountain; ravine'
> > Paleo-Basque *bendi (dentalization of the velar)
> > Basque mendi 'mountain'
>
> Trask already proved you wrong here
>

Really? How so?

> > NEC *middzV 'sweet'
> > Paleo-Basque *es- (loss of initial nasal)
> > Basque ez-ko (G, HN, L, Z) 'wax', ez-ti 'honey', (HN, L, LN, Z) 'mild, soft', (B, Bazt, R) 'sweet'
>
> As I remember, Miguel Carrasquer Vidal related this to an IE root.
>

Which in turn would be also a loanword from this very root: *medh-u- 'honey; mead'.

> Also, isn't the Basque word for "bee" erle?, so it would more likely  be derived from "bee"
>

On the contrary, it's er-le 'bee' which would be derived from *es-.

> The basic problem is that while you're a good soloist, to master the comparative method, you have to be a conductor. You need to line your sound correspondences in a row, instead of just presenting mass comparatives
>

That's right. This is precisely why I was reluctant to present any stuff before my research was finished.