From: stlatos
Message: 69857
Date: 2012-06-22
>But that is exactly what the ev. shows for these and other words. Whether one thinks that it was the optional outcome of some earlier grade, older ablaut between nom/acc and the other cases smoothed out by analogy in favor of just one in either direction later, or whatever, it can't be denied merely out of preference.
> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Tavi" <oalexandre@> wrote:
> >
> > --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "dgkilday57" <dgkilday57@> wrote:
> > > The place-name Berganza (Prov. Lugo, Prov. A'lava), with the steep
> > coastal region Bergantin~os (Prov. La Corun~a), corresponds to the
> > Norwegian river-name Bergunda, continuing *bHe'rg^H-n.t-ih2 'protecting,
> > elevated, difficult' vel sim. River- and place-names of the form
> > *Brigantia (Bregenz, Brienz, Brent, Braint) in my opinion are based on
> > the root *wreigH- 'to turn, twist, wriggle' (cf. Gallo-Latin <brigantes>
> > 'parasitic worms', Marc. Burd.), not *bHerg^H-.
> > >
> > What has this to do with OEH?
>
> Everything, since Krahe recognized Bergunda, Berganza, and *Brigantia as having OEH structure. I disagree with him in not regarding *Brigantia as the Celtic outcome of zero-grade *bHr.g^H-, since the other two require full grade. Unlike certain scholars, I do not consider ablaut-grades to be arbitrarily interchangeable, replaced as easily as a woman changes her jewelry.
>