Re: OE hlihhan / hlæhhan

W dniu 2012-04-21 21:00, gprosti pisze:

> Hello,
>
> The only case of intervocalic <h> in Old English that I know of is
> <hlihhan> / <hlæhhan> "laugh". I recall seeing <hlihhan> explained as an
> onomatopoeic word (in other words, onomatopoeia accounts for its
> divergence from the pattern of Germanic *-h- > OE zero). But, <hlihhan>
> has at least partial cognates in other Germanic languages, including
> those that preserve intervocalic <h>: e.g., Goth. <hlahjan>.

Geminated /xx/ is rare in Old English, but we find it e.g. in <hweohhol>
(one of the non-Vernerian variants of the 'wheel' word), and in Old
Northumbrian <æhher> 'ear of corn' and <tæh(h)er>, both with the
sporadic but rather common West Germanic obstruent gemination before a
liquid (*xWexWla-, *ax(i)r- < *axiz-, *taxra-). There are several other
examples, such as the verb <tiohhian>/<teohhian> 'consider'.

> Is the <-hh-> of OE <hlihhan> / <hlæhhan> generally thought to be
> onomatopoeic, or is it the expected outcome of earlier <-hj->?
>
> Also, does the <-ch-> of German <lachen> have the same origin as the
> <-hh-> in its OE cognate?

Goth. hlahjan, ON hlæja and OE hliehhan (etc.) surely reflect PGmc.
*xlaxja- with the normal gemination before *j in West Germanic. The
German cognate is compatible with them. There are also Klugean variants
containing *xlakk- (from pre-Gmc. *klak-ná:-) and Vernerian ones like
the causative *hlo:Gija- 'make sb. laugh' (ON hløgja). There's nothing
here that must be explained with recourse to onomatopoeia.

Piotr