From: Jens Persson
Message: 3023
Date: 2003-04-20
> Sæll Arnljótr,with
>
> --- In norse_course@yahoogroups.com, "Jens Persson" <arnljotr@...>
> wrote:
> > I t strikes me that in Älvdalska, they say 'ûor' (=our), i.e.
> a nasalization.of
> >
> > /Arnljotr
>
> This makes sense. The development of our 'our' into Old Norse is
> believed to have happened as follows:
>
> *unsar - *ûsar (nasal) - *ôsar (nasal) - *ôsr + ending
> 'sr' in then restructured in 3 different ways:
> 1) reduced to /s/
> 2) reduced to /r/
> 3) deleted
> 1) and 2) result in *ôs (nasal) and *ôr (nasal) - Norse 'oss' & 'ór'
> 3) results in *ô (nasal) + (a/e)r - *ôar - *uâr - vár /vâr/
> (see Voyles and others)
>
> Gothic has both masc. & fem. 'unsar'. It is generally agreed that
> our Proto-Norse speaking ancestors had *unsaraz in the masc. nom.
> and *unsarû in the fem. nom. - very close to Proto-Germanic. One
> suspects that the elves in Älvdal had a nasal whenever they spoke
> about 'vár elfr' (our river).
>
> Regards,
> Konrad.
>
>
>
>
>
> > --- In norse_course@yahoogroups.com, "konrad_oddsson"
> > <konrad_oddsson@...> wrote:
> > > 'For the examples given of the nasal vs. oral distinction this
> > > appears from the etymology of each form as follows:
> > >
> > > (Note: nasal are within paranthesis; long vowels not indicated)
> > >
> > > H(A)R 'shark' *hanhaR, cf. Skt. shankú- 'stick, water animal';
> but
> > > HAR 'hair' *hâra, cf. OHG OS hâr, OE h´ær.
> > >
> > > R(O)(hooked o)'corner' *wranhô (cf. Sw. vrå), cf., with
> alternation
> > > according to Verner's Law, OIcel. rong (hooked o) *wrang-, OE
> wrang
> > > (a), cf. Mod. Engl. wrong 'twisted'; but RO (hooked o) 'yard'
> > *rahô,
> > > cf. Sw. rå, MHG rahe.
> > >
> > > Þ(E)L 'file' *þinhlô/*finhlô, cf. OHG fîhala, OE fêol, fîl, cf.
> > Skt.
> > > pimsháti 'hews out, carves'; but ÞEL 'woollen nap' probably
> *þela,
> > > cf. OE þel 'a plank, plate,' Skt. talam 'surface, level, palm'.
> > >
> > > F(E)R (hooked e) 'conceives' *fanhiR, cf. OIcel.inf. fá, Goth.
> > > fahan, OHG OS fâhan, OE fôn *fanhan, cf., with alternation
> > according
> > > to Verner's Law, past part. OIcel. fengenn (cf. also Lat.
> pangô);
> > > but FER (hooked o) 'sheep' *fahaz - PIE *pokos, cf. Gk. pêkos,
> > pôkos
> > > 'wool, fleece'.
> > >
> > > I 'in' *in, cf. Goth. OHG OS OE in; but ISA 'ice floes'(acc.
> pl.)
> > > *îsanz, cf. OHG OS OE îs.
> > >
> > > (O)RAR 'our' (fem.pl.) *unrôR *unzarôz (My Note: oblique case
> > thejuggs,
> > > reflexive pronoun - Proto-Norse adjective would be *unsaraR
> mas.sg.)
> > > cf. Goth. unsar, OHG unsêr, OS unsa; but ORAR 'madness' *wôrôR,
> cf.
> > > OHG adj. wuorag, OS wôrag, OE wêrig (Mod. Engl. weary).
> > >
> > > (Ö)RA 'younger' (neut.) *junhiRô, cf. Goth. juhiza, and, with
> > > alternation according to Verner's Law, OIcel. ungr, Goth.
> > OHGwhereas
> > > OS jung, OE geong; but ÖRA 'to vex' *wôrian, cf. orar above.
> > >
> > > Þ(U)AT 'pressed' *þunh-; but ÞU 'thou' *þû, cf. Goth. þu, Lat.
> tu,
> > > etc..
> > >
> > > S(Y)NA 'to show' *siunian, cf. OIcel. sión, Goth. siuns;
> > > SYNA 'laps,' as a gen. pl. of the weak fem. *sýia, must go back
> to
> > > *siujônô (cf. Goth.gen.pl. in -ono of fem. n-stems), with the
> root
> > > vowel separated from the nasal consonant by the intervening -jô-
> .'
> > >
> > > Seeing these etymologies should underscore the importance of
> this
> > > type of modern linguistic research to the accurate phonological
> > > representation of Old Norse. Given the advances that have been
> made
> > > in this type of research, we should one day be able to achieve
> the
> > > following: 1) produce a dictionary and printed texts in Old
> Norse
> > > where nasality is indicated by regular and elegant means 2)
> produce
> > > a standardized ancestor for Old Norse for comparative and
> literary
> > > purposes, one which would be a tremendous help in understanding
> why
> > > Old Norse is the way it is and why it is sometimes so confusing
> and
> > > difficult to learn.
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > > Konrad.