Re: Phonetic change lo -- no in some languages

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From: kalyan97

To: phoNet@yahoogroups.com

Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2002 3:43 PM

Subject: [phoNet] Re: Phonetic change lo -- no in some languages

> There is an intriguing lexeme nyoh in Khotanese which connotes `nine'. [Whence y? –h from Persian? Belvalkar Vol. 94]. Is it possible that n- in nyoh was derived from loh?

 

I've checked the form of Iranian numerals. They are unproblematic. Proto-Iranian *nava [nawa] changed regularly into Avestan nauua [nawa], Khotanese nau [sic!], Sogdian nw' [nawa], etc. There is a final <-h> in Zoroastrian Pahlavi and Modern Persian noh, which results from the influence of the next numeral, <dah> '10' < das < *das'a.

 

The numerals '9' and '10' often show "group assimilation", cf. Latin novem, decem (instead of *noven, decem) or Lithuanian devintas, des^imtas (instead of *navintas, des^imtas; similarly in Slavic). In Khotanese it was '10' that assimilated to '9', hence <nau, dasau> in the language.

 

Piotr