Re: Ligurian

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Tavi" wrote:

>
> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "stlatos" stlatos@ wrote:
> >
> > Hamp read it as a burial poem, which it obviously is, as in Celtic,
> > with Lepontic < Celtic. Combining our interpretations:
> >
> > Pelkui pruiam Teu karite, is^os kalite palam
> > Belgu:i bru:yam De:wu: karite, is^os kalite pallam
> > Belgo-for tomb/grave De:won- made, he raised (grave) stone
> > De:won- made Belgo- the grave, he raised the stone
>
> Belgu-i pruia-m Deu karite, is´os kalite palam
>
> Devo- made (this) tomb for Belgo-, himself raised the stone.
>

The verb kal-ite is obviously from IE *kelH- 'to raise', but kar-ite must be a loanword from Etruscan car- 'to make' (cfr. car-u 'made'). I think this root originally referred to stone carving, which is precisely what Obelix is doing in this cartoon.

Possible long-range cognates are Dravidian *ker- 'to scratch', Austro-Asiatic *ki:r 'to scrape, to dig', Afrasian *k'ara?\- 'to cut' and IE *k'erH- 'to damage' (vel sim) > Sanskrit s´rn.á:ti 'to crush, to break', Avestan a-sar@... 'unbroken', sari- 'fragment', etc.