Jump to content

User:Ioe bidome/sandbox

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


three

[edit]

Phonological changes

[edit]

Vowels

[edit]

Proto-Italic inherited all ten of the early post-Proto-Indo-European simple vowels (i.e. at a time when laryngeals had colored and often lengthened adjacent vowels and then disappeared in many circumstances): *i, *e, *a, *o, *u, *ī, *ē, *ā, *ō, *ū. It also inherited all of the post-PIE diphthongs except for *eu, which became *ou.

Proto-Italic and Old Latin had a stress accent on the first syllable of a word, and this caused steady reduction and eventual deletion of many short vowels in non-initial syllables while affecting initial syllables much less. Long vowels were largely unaffected in general except in final syllables, where they had a tendency to shorten.

Development of Proto-Italic vowels in Latin[1]
Initial Medial Final
Proto-Italic +r +l pinguis +labial (/p, b, f, m/) +v (/w/) +other +one consonant +cluster absolutely final
one consonant cluster s m, n other
i i e[a] i? ʏ (sonus medius)[b] u e > i[c] i[d] i e i e e
e e o > u[e] e[f]
a a o > u[g]
o o o > u[h] o[i] u
u u u[j] u[k]
ī ī i ī?
ē ē e ē?
ā ā a a, ā
ō ō o ō
ū ū u ū?
ei ī
ai ae ī
oi ū, oe ū ī
au au ū
ou ū

Notes:

  1. ^ Example: imberbis (from in + barba)
  2. ^ Examples: documentum, optimus, lacrima (also spelled docimentum, optumus, lacruma)
  3. ^ Examples: inficere (from in + facere), oppidum (from ob + pedum, borrowed from Gr. πέδον)
  4. ^ Example: invictus (from in + victus)
  5. ^ Examples: occultus (from ob + cel(a)tus), multus (from PIE *mel-)
  6. ^ Examples: exspectare (from ex + spectare), ineptus (from in + aptus), infectus (from in + factus)
  7. ^ Example: exsultare (from ex + saltare)
  8. ^ Example: cultus (participle of co)
  9. ^ Example: adoptare (from ad + optare)
  10. ^ Example: exculpare (from ex + culpare)
  11. ^ Example: eruptus (from e + ruptus)

Note: For the following examples, it helps to keep in mind the normal correspondences between PIE and certain other languages:

Development of some Proto-Indo-European sounds in other languages
(post-)PIE Ancient Greek Sanskrit Gothic Old English Notes
*i i i i, aí /ɛ/ i
*e e a i, aí /ɛ/ e
*a a a a a
*o o a a a
*u u u u, aú /ɔ/ u, o
ī ī ei /ī/ ī
ē ā ē ā
ā;
ē (Attic)
ā ō ō
ō ā ō ō
ū ū ū ū
*ei ei ē ei /ī/ ī
*ai ai ē ái ā
*oi oi ē ái ā
*eu eu ō iu ēo
*au au ō áu ēa
*ou ou ō áu ēa
*p p p f; b f b in Gothic by Verner's law
*t t t þ; d þ/ð; d þ and ð are different graphs for the same sound; d in the Germanic languages by Verner's law
*ḱ k ś h; g h; g g in the Germanic languages by Verner's law
*k k; c (+ PIE e/i)
*kʷ p; t (+ e/i) ƕ /hʷ/; g, w, gw hw, h; g, w g, w, gw in the Germanic languages by Verner's law
*b b b p p
*d d d t t
g j k k
*g g; j (+ PIE e/i)
*gʷ b; d (+ i) q q, c
*bʰ ph; p bh; b b b Greek p, Sanskrit b before any aspirated consonant (Grassmann's law)
*dʰ th; t dh; d d d Greek t, Sanskrit d before any aspirated consonant
*ǵʰ kh; k h; j g g Greek k, Sanskrit j before any aspirated consonant
*gʰ gh; g
h; j (+ PIE e/i)
Greek k, Sanskrit g, j before any aspirated consonant
*gʷʰ ph; p
th; t (+ e/i)
b (word-initially);
g, w, gw
b (word-initially);
g, w
Greek p, t, Sanskrit g, j before any aspirated consonant
*s h (word-initially); s, - s, ṣ s; z s; r r, z in Germanic by Verner's law; Sanskrit ṣ by Ruki sound law
*y h, z (word-initially); - y j /j/ g(e) /j/
*w - v w w

Monophthongs

[edit]
Initial syllables
[edit]

In initial syllables, Latin generally preserves all of the simple vowels of Proto-Italic (see above):[2]

  • PIE *ǵneh₃tós "known" > *gnōtos > nōtus (i-gnōtus "unknown"; Welsh gnawd "customary", Sanskrit jñātá-; Greek gnōtós[n 1])})
  • PIE *gʷih₃wós "alive" > *gʷīwos > vīvus (Old English cwic, English quick, Greek bíos "life", Sanskrit jīvá-, Slavic živъ)
  • PIE *h₂eǵros "field" > *agros > ager, gen. agrī (Greek agrós, English acre, Sanskrit ájra-)
  • PIE *kápros "he-goat" > *kapros > caper "he-goat", gen. caprī (Greek kápros "boar", Old English hæfer "he-goat", Sanskrit kápṛth "penis")
  • PIE *kʷís "who?" > *kʷis > quis (Greek tís,[n 2] Avestan čiš, Sanskrit kís)
  • PIE *kʷód "what, that" > *kʷod > quod (relative) (Old English hwæt "what", Sanskrit kád)
  • PIE *méh₂tēr "mother" > *mātēr > māter (Doric Greek mā́tēr, Old Irish máthir, Sanskrit mā́tṛ)
  • PIE *múh₂s "mouse" > *mūs > mūs (Old English mūs, Greek mûs, Sanskrit mū́ṣ)
  • PIE *nókʷts "night" > *noks > nox, gen. noctis (Greek nuks < *nokʷs, Sanskrit nákt- < *nákts, Lithuanian naktìs)
  • PIE *oḱtṓ "eight" > *oktō > octō (Greek oktṓ, Irish ocht, Sanskrit aṣṭā́)
  • PIE *sēmi- "half" > *sēmi- > sēmi- (Greek hēmi-, Old English sām-, Sanskrit sāmí)
  • PIE *sweh₂dús "pleasing, tasty" > *swādus > *swādwis (remade into i-stem) > suāvis (Doric Greek hādús, English sweet, Sanskrit svādú-)
  • PIE *swéḱs "six", septḿ̥ "seven" > *seks, *septem > sex, septem (Greek heks, heptá, Lithuanian šešì, septynì, Sanskrit ṣáṣ, saptá-)
  • PIE *yugóm "yoke" > *jugom > iugum (Greek zugón, Gothic juk, Sanskrit yugá-)

Short vowel changes in initial syllables:[3]

  1. *e > i before [ŋ] (spelled n before a velar, or g before n):
    • PIE *deḱnós > *degnos > dignus "worthy"
    • PIE *dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s > *denɣwā > Old Latin dingua > lingua "tongue" (l- from lingō "to lick")
  2. *swe- > so-:[4]
    • *swepnos > *suopnos > *sopnos > somnus "sleep"
    • *sweðalis > suodalis > sodalis “comrade”
  3. *we- > wo-, later followed by wo- > we- except before labial consonants or velarized l [ɫ] (l pinguis; i.e. an l not followed by i, ī or l):[4]
    • *welō > volō “I want” (vs. velim “I would want”)
    • *wemō "> vomō “I vomit”
    • westeros > voster > vester “your, of you (pl)”

There are numerous examples where PIE *o appears to result in Latin a instead of expected o, mostly next to labial or labializing consonants. A group of cases showing *-ow- > *-aw- > -av- (before stress), *-ōw- > *-āw- > -āv- is known as Thurneysen-Havet's law:[5] examples include:

  • PIE *lowh₃ṓ > *lawō > lavō 'I wash'
  • PIE *oḱtṓwos > *oktāwos > octāvus 'eighth' (but octō 'eight')

Other cases remain more disputed, such as:

  • lacus 'lake', in contrast to Irish loch < PIE *lókus
  • mare 'sea', in contrast to Irish muir, Welsh môr (Proto-Celtic *mori) < PIE *móri

De Vaan suggests a general shift *o > a in open syllables when preceded by any of *b, *m; *kʷ, *w; *l.[6] Vine (2011)[7] disputes the cases with *moCV, but proposes inversely that *mo- > ma- when followed by r plus a velar (k or g).

Medial syllables
[edit]

In non-initial syllables, there was more vowel reduction of short vowels. The most extreme case occurs with short vowels in medial syllables (i.e. short vowels in a syllable that is neither the first nor the last), where all five vowels usually merge into a single vowel:

1. They merge into e before r (sometimes original o is unaffected)[8]

  • *en-armis > inermis "unarmed" (vs. arma "arms")
  • *Falisiōi > Faleriī "Falerii (major town of the Faliscans)" (vs. Faliscus "Faliscan")
  • *-foro- "carrying" (cf. Greek -phóros) > -fero-, e.g. furcifer "gallows bird"
  • *kinis-es "ash" (gen.sg.) > cineris (vs. nom.sg. cinis)
  • *kom-gesō > congerō "to collect" (vs. gerō "to do, carry out")
  • Latin-Faliscan Numasiōi (Praeneste fibula) > Numeriō "Numerius"
  • Latin-Faliscan *pe-par-ai "I gave birth" > peperī (vs. pariō "I give birth")
  • PIE *swéḱuros "father-in-law" > *swekuros > *swokuros > *soceros > socer, gen. socerī

2. They become Old Latin o > u before l pinguis, i.e., an l not followed by i, ī, or l:[8]

  • *ad-alēskō "to grow up" > adolēscō > adulēscō (vs. alō "I nourish")
  • *en-saltō "to leap upon" > īnsoltō (with lengthening before ns) > īnsultō (vs. saltō "I leap")
  • PIE *-kl̥d-to- "beaten" > *-kolsso-[n 3] > perculsus "beaten down"
  • *kom-solō "deliberate" > cōnsulō
  • *ob-kelō "to conceal" > occulō (vs. celō "I hide")
  • Greek Sikelós "a Sicilian" > *Sikolos > Siculus (vs. Sicilia "Sicily")
  • *te-tol-ai > tetulī "I carried" (formerly l pinguis here because of the original final -ai)

3. But they remain o before l pinguis when immediately following a vowel:[9]

  • Latin-Faliscan *fili-olos > filiolus "little son"
  • Similarly, alveolus "trough"

4. Before /w/ the result is always u, in which case the /w/ is not written:[9]

  • *dē nowōd "anew" > dēnuō
  • *eks-lawō "I wash away" > ēluō
  • *mon-i-wai "I warned" > monuī
  • *tris-diw-om "period of three days" > trīduom > trīduum

5. They become i before one consonant other than r or l pinguis:[8]

  • *ad-tenējō > attineō "to concern" (vs. teneō "I hold")
  • *kaput-es "head" (gen. sg.) > capitis (vs. nom.sg. caput)
  • Latin-Faliscan *ke-kad-ai "I fell" > cecidī (vs. cadō "I fall")
  • *kom-itājō "accompany" > comitō
  • *kom-regō > corrigō "to set right, correct" (vs. regō "I rule; straighten")
  • *kornu-kan- "trumpeter" > cornicen
  • PIE *me-món-h₂e (perfect) "thought, pondered" > Latin-Faliscan *me-mon-ai > meminī "I remember"
  • *nowotāts "newness" > novitās
  • Greek Sikelía "Sicily" > Sicilia (vs. Siculus "a Sicilian")
  • *wre-fakjō "to remake" > *refakiō > reficiō (vs. faciō "I do, make")

6. But they sometimes become e before one consonant other than r or l pinguis, when immediately following a vowel:[10]

  • *sokiotāts "fellowship" > societās
  • *wariogājesi "to make diverse" > variegāre
  • But: *medio-diēs "midday" > *meriodiēs (dissimilative rhotacism) > *meriidiēs > merīdiēs "noon; south"
  • But: *tībia-kan- "flute-player" > *tībiikan- > tībīcen

7. Variation between i and (often earlier) u is common before a single labial consonant (p, b, f, m), underlyingly the sonus medius vowel:

  • From the root *-kap- "grab, catch":[11]
    • occupō "seize" vs. occipiō "begin"
    • From the related noun *-kaps "catcher": prīnceps "chief" (lit. "seizer of the first (position)"), gen. prīncipis, vs. auceps "bird catcher", gen. aucupis
    • *man-kapiom > mancupium "purchase", later mancipium
  • *mag-is-emos > maxumus "biggest", later maximus; similarly proxumus "nearest", optumus "best" vs. later proximus, optimus
  • *pot-s-omos > possumus "we can"; *vel-omos > volumus "we want"; but *leg-omos > legimus "we gather", and all other such verbs (-umus is isolated in sumus, possumus and volumus)
  • *sub-rapuit > surrupuit "filches", later surripuit

Medially before two consonants, when the first is not r or l pinguis, the vowels do not merge to the same degree:

1. Original a, e and u merge into e:[8]

  • *ad-tentos > attentus "concerned" (cf. tentus "held", attineō "to concern")
  • *sub-raptos "filched" > surreptus (vs. raptus "seized")
  • Greek tálanton > *talantom > talentum
  • *wre-faktos "remade" > refectus (cf. factus "made")

2. But original i is unaffected:[8]

  • *wre-likʷtos "left (behind)" > relictus

3. And original o raises to u:[9]

  • *ejontes "going" (gen. sg.) > euntis
  • *legontor "they gather" > leguntur
  • *rōbos-to- > rōbustus "oaken" (cf. rōbur "oak" < *rōbos)
Syncope
[edit]

Exon's Law dictates that if there are two light medial syllables in a row (schematically, σσ̆σ̆σ, where σ = syllable and σ̆ = light syllable, where "light" means a short vowel followed by only a single consonant), the first syllable syncopates (i.e. the vowel is deleted):[12]

  • *deksiteros "right (hand)" > dexterus (cf. Greek deksiterós)
  • *magisemos > maximus "biggest" (cf. magis "more")
  • *priismo-kapes > prīncipis "prince" gen. sg. (nom. sg. prīnceps < *priismo-kaps by analogy)
  • *wre-peparai > repperī "I found" (cf. peperī "I gave birth" < *peparai)

Syncopation tends to occur after r and l in all non-initial syllables, sometimes even in initial syllables.[13]

  • *agros "field" > *agr̩s > *agers > *agerr > ager
  • *faklitāts > facultās
  • *feret "he carries" > fert
  • *imbris "rainstorm" > *imbers > imber
  • *tris "three times" > *tr̩s > *ters > Old Latin terr > ter

Sometimes early syncope causes apparent violations of Exon's Law:

  • kosolinos "of hazel" > *kozolnos (not **koslinos) > *korolnos > *korulnos (o > u before l pinguis, see above) > colurnus (metathesis)

Syncope of -i- also occurred in -ndis, -ntis and -rtis.[13] -nts then became -ns with lengthening of the preceding vowel, while -rts was simplified to -rs without lengthening.

  • *frondis "leaf" > *fronts > frōns
  • *gentis "tribe" > *gents > gēns
  • *montis "hill" > *monts > mōns
  • *partis "part" > *parts > pars
Final syllables
[edit]

In final syllables of polysyllabic words before a final consonant or cluster, short a, e, i merge into either e or i depending on the following consonant, and short o, u merge into u.

1. Short a, e, i merge into i before a single non-nasal consonant:[14]

  • PIE thematic 2nd/3rd sg. *-esi, *-eti > PI *-es, *-et > -is, -it (e.g. legis, legit "you gather, he gathers")
  • Proto-Italic *wrededas, *wrededat > reddis, reddit "you return, he returns"
  • i-stem nom. sg. *-is > -is

2. Short a, e, i merge into e before a cluster or a single nasal consonant:[14]

  • *in-art-is > iners "unskilled" (cf. ars "skill")
  • *kornu-kan-(?s) > cornicen "trumpeter" (cf. canō "to sing")
  • *mīlets > mīles "soldier"
  • *priismo-kaps > prīnceps "first, chief" (cf. capiō "to take")
  • *septḿ̥ > septem "seven"
  • i-stem acc. sg. *-im > -em

3. Short o, u merge into u:

  • o-stem accusative *-om > Old Latin -om > -um
  • o-stem nominative *-os > Old Latin -os > -us
  • PIE thematic 3rd sg. mediopassive *-etor > -itur
  • PIE thematic 3rd pl. *-onti > *-ont > -unt
  • *kaput > caput "head"
  • PIE *yekʷr̥ > *jekʷor > iecur "liver"

4. All short vowels apparently merge into -e in absolute final position.[14]

  • 2nd sg. passive -ezo, -āzo > -ere, -āre
  • Proto-Italic *kʷenkʷe > quīnque "five"
  • PIE *móri > PI *mari > mare "sea" (cf. plural maria)
  • PI s-stem verbal nouns in *-zi > infinitives in -re
  • But: u-stem neuter nom./acc. sg. *-u > , apparently by analogy with gen. sg. -ūs, dat./abl. sg. (it is not known if this change occurred already in Proto-Italic)

Long vowels in final syllables shorten before most consonants (but not final s), yielding apparent exceptions to the above rules:[15]

  • a-stem acc. sg. *-ām > -am
  • Proto-Italic *amānt > amant "they love"
  • Proto-Italic *amāt > amat "he/she loves" (cf. passive amātur)
  • PIE thematic 1st sg. mediopassive *-ōr > -or
  • *swesōr > soror "sister" (cf. gen. sorōris)

Absolutely final long vowels are apparently maintained with the exception of ā, which is shortened in the 1st declension nominative singular and the neuter plural ending (both < PIE *-eh₂) but maintained in the 1st conjugation 2nd sg. imperative (< PIE *-eh₂-yé).[15]

Diphthongs

[edit]
Initial syllables
[edit]

Proto-Italic maintained all PIE diphthongs except for the change *eu > *ou. The Proto-Italic diphthongs tend to remain into Old Latin but generally reduce to pure long vowels by Classical Latin.

1. PIE *ei > Old Latin ei > ẹ̄, a vowel higher than ē < PIE . This then developed to ī normally, but to ē before v:

  • PIE *bʰeydʰ- "be persuaded, be confident" > *feiðe- > fīdō "to trust"
  • PIE *deiḱ- "point (out)" > Old Latin deicō > dīcō "to say"
  • PIE *deiwós "god, deity" > Very Old Latin deiuos (Duenos inscription) > dẹ̄vos > deus (cf. dīvus "divine, godlike, godly")
  • But nominative plural *deivoi > *deivei > *dẹ̄vẹ̄ > dīvī > diī; vocative singular *deive > *dẹ̄ve > dīve

2. PIE (*h₂ei >) *ai > ae:

  • PIE *kh₂ei-ko- > *kaiko- > caecus "blind" (cf. Old Irish cáech /kaiχ/ "blind", Gothic háihs "one-eyed", Sanskrit kekara- "squinting")

3. PIE *oi > Old Latin oi, oe > ū (occasionally preserved as oe):

  • PIE *h₁oi-nos > Old Latin oinos > oenus > ūnus "one"
  • Greek Phoiniks > Pūnicus "Phoenician"
  • But: PIE *bʰoidʰ- > *foiðo- > foedus "treaty" (cf. fīdō above)

4. PIE *eu, *ou > Proto-Italic *ou > Old Latin ou > ọ̄ (higher than ō < PIE ) > ū:[16]

  • PIE *deuk- > *douk-e- > Old Latin doucō > dūcō "lead"
  • PIE *louk-s-neh₂ > *louksnā > Old Latin losna (i.e. lọ̄sna) > lūna "moon" (cf. Old Prussian lauxnos "stars", Avestan raoχšnā "lantern")
  • PIE *(H)yeug- "join" > *youg-s-mn̥-to- > Old Latin iouxmentom "pack horse" > iūmentum

5. PIE (*h₂eu >) *au > au:

  • PIE *h₂eug- > *augeje/o > augeō "to increase" (cf. Greek aúksō, Gothic áukan, Lithuanian áugti).
Medial syllables
[edit]

All diphthongs in medial syllables become ī or ū.

1. (Post-)PIE *ei > ī, just as in initial syllables:[17]

  • *en-deik-ō > indīcō "to point out" (cf. dīcō "to say")

2. Post-PIE *ai > Old Latin ei > ī:[17]

  • *en-kaid-ō "cut into" > incīdō (cf. caedō "cut")
  • *ke-kaid-ai "I cut", perf. > cecīdī (cf. caedō "I cut", pres.)
  • Early Greek (or from an earlier source) *elaíwā "olive" > olīva

3. (Post-)PIE *oi > ū, just as in initial syllables:[17]

  • PIE *n̥-poini "with impunity" > impūne (cf. poena "punishment")

4. (Post-)PIE *eu, *ou > Proto-Italic *ou > ū, just as in initial syllables:[17]

  • *en-deuk-ō > *indoucō > indūcō "to draw over, cover" (cf. dūcō "to lead")

5. Post-PIE *au > ū (rarely oe):[17]

  • *ad-kauss-ō "accuse" > accūsō (cf. causa "cause")
  • *en-klaud-ō "enclose" > inclūdō (cf. claudō "close")
  • *ob-aud-iō "obey" > oboediō (cf. audiō "hear").
Final syllables
[edit]

Mostly like medial syllables:

  • *-ei > ī: PIE *meh₂tr-ei "to mother" > mātrī[12]
  • *-ai > ī in multisyllabic words: Latin-Faliscan peparai "I brought forth" > peperī[18]
  • *-eu/ou- > ū: post-PIE manous "hand", gen. sg. > manūs[18]

Different from medial syllables:

  • -ai > ae in monosyllables: PIE *prh₂ei "before" > prae (cf. Greek paraí)[18]
  • -oi > Old Latin -ei > ī (not ū): PIE o-stem plural *-oi > (cf. Greek -oi);[18]
  • -oi > ī also in monosyllables: PIE kʷoi "who" > quī.[18]

Syllabic resonants and laryngeals

[edit]

The PIE syllabic resonants *m̥, *n̥, *r̥, *l̥ generally become em, en, or, ol[n 4] (cf. Greek am/a, an/a, ar/ra, al/la; Germanic um, un, ur, ul; Sanskrit am/a, an/a, r̥, r̥; Lithuanian im̃, iñ, ir̃, il̃):

  • PIE *déḱm̥(t) "ten" > decem (cf. Irish deich, Greek deka, Gothic taíhun /tɛhun/)
  • PIE *(d)ḱm̥tóm "hundred" > centum (cf. Welsh cant, Gothic hund, Lithuanian šim̃tas, Sanskrit śatám)
  • PIE *n̥- "not" > OL en- > in- (cf. Greek a-/an-, English un-, Sanskrit a-, an-)
  • PIE *tn̥tós "stretched" > tentus (cf. Greek tatós, Sanskrit tatá-)
  • PIE *ḱr̥d- "heart" > *cord > cor (cf. Greek kēr, English heart, Lithuanian širdìs, Sanskrit hṛd-)
  • PIE *ml̥dús "soft" > *moldus > *moldwis (remade as i-stem) > *molwis > mollis (cf. Irish meldach "pleasing", English mild, Czech mladý)

The laryngeals *h₁, *h₂, *h₃ appear in Latin as a[n 4] when between consonants, as in most languages (but Greek e/a/o respectively, Sanskrit i):

  • PIE *dʰh₁-tós "put" > L factus, with /k/ of disputed etymology (cf. Greek thetós, Sanskrit hitá- < *dhitá-)
  • PIE *ph₂tḗr "father" > L pater (cf. Greek patḗr, Sanskrit pitṛ́, English father)
  • PIE *dh₃-tós "given" > L datus (cf. Greek dotós, Sanskrit ditá-)

A sequence of syllabic resonant + laryngeal, when before a consonant, produced mā, nā, rā, lā (as also in Celtic, cf. Greek nē/nā/nō, rē/rā/rō, etc. depending on the laryngeal; Germanic um, un, ur, ul; Sanskrit ā, ā, īr/ūr, īr/ūr; Lithuanian ím, ín, ír, íl):

  • PIE *ǵn̥h₁-tos "born" > gnātus "son", nātus "born" (participle) (cf. Middle Welsh gnawt "relative", Greek dió-gnētos "Zeus' offspring", Sanskrit jātá-, English kind, kin)
  • PIE *ǵr̥h₂-nom "grain" > grānum (cf. Old Irish grán, English corn, Lithuanian žìrnis "pea", jīrṇá- "old, worn out")
  • PIE *h₂wl̥h₁-neh₂ "wool" > *wlānā > lāna (cf. Welsh gwlân, Gothic wulla, Greek lēnos, Lithuanian vìlna, Sanskrit ū́rṇa-)

Consonants

[edit]

Aspirates

[edit]

The Indo-European voiced aspirates bʰ, dʰ, gʰ, gʷʰ, which were probably breathy voiced stops, first devoiced in initial position (fortition), then fricatized in all positions, producing pairs of voiceless/voiced fricatives in Proto-Italic: f ~ β, θ ~ ð, χ ~ ɣ, χʷ ~ ɣʷ respectively.[19] The fricatives were voiceless in initial position. However, between vowels and other voiced sounds, there are indications—in particular, their evolution in Latin—that the sounds were actually voiced. Likewise, Proto-Italic /s/ apparently had a voiced allophone [z] in the same position.

In all Italic languages, the word-initial voiceless fricatives f, θ, and χʷ all merged to f, whereas χ debuccalized to h (except before a liquid where it became g); thus, in Latin, the normal outcome of initial PIE bʰ, dʰ, gʰ, gʷʰ is f, f, h, f, respectively. Examples:[20]

  • PIE *bʰér-e- "carry" > ferō (cf. Old Irish beirid "bears", English bear, Sanskrit bhárati)
  • PIE *bʰréh₂tēr "brother" > *bʰrā́tēr > frāter (cf. Old Irish bráthair, Sanskrit bhrā́tar-, Greek phrā́tēr "member of a phratry")
  • PIE *dʰeh₁- "put, place" > *dʰh₁-k- > *θaki- > faciō "do, make" (cf. Welsh dodi, English do, Greek títhēmi "I put", Sanskrit dádhāti he puts")
  • PIE *dʰwṓr "door" > θwor- > *forā > forēs (pl.) "door(s)" (cf. Welsh dôr, Greek thurā, Sanskrit dvā́ra- (pl.))
  • PIE *gʰabʰ- "seize, take" > *χaβ-ē- > habeō "have" (cf. Old Irish gaibid "takes", Old English gifan "to give", Polish gabać "to seize")
  • PIE *ǵʰaidos "goat" > *χaidos > haedus "kid" (cf. Old English gāt "goat", Polish zając "hare", Sanskrit háyas "horse")
  • PIE *ǵʰh₂ens "goose" > *χans- > (h)ānser (cf. Old Irish géiss "swan", German Gans, Greek khḗn, Sanskrit haṃsá-)
  • PIE *gʰlh₂dʰ-rós "shining, smooth" > *χlaðros > *glabrus > glaber "smooth" (cf. Polish gładki "smooth", Old English glæd "bright, glad")
  • PIE *gʷʰen-dʰ- "to strike, kill" > *χʷ(e)nð- > fendō (cf. Welsh gwanu "to stab", Old High German gundo "battle", Sanskrit hánti "(he) strikes, kills", -ghna "killer (used in compounds)" )
  • PIE *gʷʰerm- "warm" > *χʷormo- > formus (cf. Old Prussian gorme "heat", Greek thermós, Sanskrit gharmá- "heat")

Word-internal *-bʰ-, *-dʰ-, *-gʰ-, *-gʷʰ- evolved into Proto-Italic β, ð, ɣ, ɣʷ. In Osco-Umbrian, the same type of merger occurred as that affecting voiceless fricatives, with β, ð, and ɣʷ merging to β. In Latin, this did not happen, and instead the fricatives defricatized, giving b, d ~ b, g ~ h, g ~ v ~ gu.[21]

*-bʰ- is the simplest case, consistently becoming b.[22]

  • PIE *bʰébʰrus "beaver" > *feβro > Old Latin feber > fiber

*-dʰ- usually becomes d,[23] but becomes b next to r or u, or before l.[24]

  • PIE *bʰeidʰ- "be persuaded" > *feiðe > fīdō "I trust" (cf. Old English bīdan "to wait", Greek peíthō "I trust")
  • PIE *medʰi-o- "middle" > *meðio- > medius (cf. Old Irish mide, Gothic midjis, Sanskrit mádhya-)
  • PIE *krei(H)-dʰrom "sieve, sifter" > *kreiðrom > crībrum "sieve" (cf. Old English hrīder "sieve")
  • PIE *h₁rudʰ-ró- "red" > *ruðro- > ruber (cf. Old Russian rodrŭ, Greek eruthrós, Sanskrit rudhirá-)
  • PIE *sth̥₂-dʰlom > *staðlom > stabulum "abode" (cf. German Stadel)
  • PIE *werh₁-dʰh₁-o- "word" > *werðo- > verbum (cf. English word, Lithuanian var̃das)

The development of *-gʰ- is twofold: *-gʰ- becomes h [ɦ] between vowels but g elsewhere:[21]

  • PIE *weǵʰ- "carry" > *weɣ-e/o > vehō (cf. Greek okhéomai "I ride", Old English wegan "to carry", Sanskrit váhati "(he) drives")
  • PIE *dʰi-n-ǵʰ- "shapes, forms" > *θinɣ-e/o > fingō (cf. Old Irish -ding "erects, builds", Gothic digan "to mold, shape")

*-gʷʰ- has three outcomes, becoming gu after n, v between vowels, and g next to other consonants. All three variants are visible in the same root *snigʷʰ- "snow" (cf. Irish snigid "snows", Greek nípha):[25]

  • PIE *snei-gʷʰ-e/o > *sninɣʷ-e/o (with n-infix) > ninguit "it snows"
  • PIE *snigʷʰ-ós > *sniɣʷos > gen. sg. nivis "of snow"
  • PIE *snigʷʰ-s > *sniɣʷs > nom. sg. nix (i.e. /nig-s/) "snow"

Other examples:

  • PIE *h₁le(n)gʷʰu- > *h₁legʷʰu- > *leɣʷus > *leɣʷis (remade as i-stem) > levis "lightweight" (cf. Welsh llaw "small, low", Greek elakhús "small", Sanskrit laghú-, raghú- "quick, light, small")

Labiovelars

[edit]

*gʷ has results much like non-initial *-gʷʰ-, becoming v /w/ in most circumstances, but gu after a nasal and g next to other consonants:[26]

  • PIE *gʷih₃wos > *ɣʷīwos > vīvus "alive" (cf. Old Irish biu, beo, Lithuanian gývas, Sanskrit jīvá- "alive")
  • PIE *gʷm̥i̯e/o- "come" > *ɣʷen-je/o > veniō (cf. English come, Greek baínō "I go", Avestan ǰamaiti "he goes", Sanskrit gam- "go")
  • PIE *gʷr̥h₂us "heavy" > *ɣʷraus > grāvis (cf. Greek barús, Gothic kaúrus, Sanskrit gurú-)
  • PIE *h₃engʷ- > *onɣʷ-en > unguen "salve" (cf. Old Irish imb "butter", Old High German ancho "butter", Sanskrit añjana- "anointing, ointment")
  • PIE *n̥gʷén- "(swollen) gland" > *enɣʷen > inguen "bubo; groin" (cf. Greek adḗn gen. adénos "gland", Old High German ankweiz "pustules")

*kʷ remains as qu before a vowel, but reduces to c /k/ before a consonant or next to a u:[27]

  • PIE *kʷetwóres, neut. *kʷetwṓr "four" > quattuor (cf. Old Irish cethair, Lithuanian keturì, Sanskrit catvā́r-)
  • PIE *leikʷ- (pres. *li-né-kʷ-) "leave behind" > *linkʷ-e/o- : *likʷ-ē- > linquō "leaves" : liceō "is allowed; is for sale" (cf. Greek leípō, limpánō, Sanskrit riṇákti, Gothic leiƕan "to lend")
  • PIE *nokʷts "night" > nox, gen. sg. noctis
  • PIE *sekʷ- "to follow" > sequor (cf. Old Irish sechem, Greek hépomai, Sanskrit sácate)

The sequence *p *kʷ assimilates to *kʷ *kʷ, an innovation shared with Celtic:

  • PIE *pekʷō "I cook" > *kʷekʷō > coquō (cf. coquīna, cocīnā "kitchen" vs. popīna "tavern" < Oscan, where *kʷ > p, Polish piekę "I bake", Sanskrit pacati "cooks")
  • PIE *pénkʷe "five" > quīnque (cf. Old Irish cóic, Greek pénte, Sanskrit páñca-)
  • PIE *pérkʷus "oak" > quercus (cf. Trentino porca "fir", Punjabi pargāī "holm oak", Gothic faírƕus "world", faírgun- "mountain"[n 5])

The sequences *ḱw, *ǵw, *ǵʰw develop identically to *kʷ, *gʷ, *gʷʰ:[28]

  • PIE *dn̥ǵʰwéh₂[n 6] "tongue" > *dn̥ɣwā > *denɣʷā > Old Latin dingua > lingua
  • PIE *éḱwos "horse" > *ekʷos > Old Latin equos > ecus > equus (assimilated from other forms, e.g. gen. sg. equī; cf. Sanskrit aśva-, which indicates -ḱw- not -kʷ-)
  • PIE *ǵʰweh₁ro- "wild animal" > *χʷero- > ferus (cf. Greek thḗr, Lesbian phḗr, Lithuanian žvėrìs)
  • PIE *mreǵʰus "short" > *mreɣu- > *mreɣʷi- (remade as i-stem) > brevis (cf. Old English myrge "briefly", English merry, Greek brakhús, Avestan mǝrǝzu-, Sanskrit múhu "suddenly")

Other sequences

[edit]

Initial *dw- (attested in Old Latin as du-) becomes b-, thus compensating for the dearth of words beginning with *b in PIE:

  • PIE *deu-l̥- "injure" > duellom "war" > bellum (a variant duellum survived in poetry as a trisyllabic word, whence English "duel")
  • PIE *dwis "twice" > duis > bis (cf. Greek dís, Sanskrit dvis)


S-rhotacism

[edit]

Indo-European s between vowels was first voiced to [z] in late Proto-Italic and became r in Latin and Umbrian, a change known as rhotacism. Early Old Latin documents still have s [z], and Cicero once remarked that a certain Papirius Crassus officially changed his name from Papisius in 339 b.c.,[29] indicating the approximate time of this change. This produces many alternations in Latin declension:

  • est "he is", fut. erit "he will be"
  • flōs "flower", gen. flōris
  • mūs "mouse", pl. mūrēs

Other examples:

  • Proto-Italic *a(j)os, a(j)esem > *aes, aezem > aes, aerem "bronze", but PI *a(j)es-inos > *aeznos > aēnus "bronze (adj.)"
  • Proto-Italic *ausōs, ausōsem > *auzōs, auzōzem > aurōra "dawn" (change of suffix; cf. English east, Aeolic Greek aúōs, Sanskrit uṣā́s)
  • Proto-Italic *swesōr > *swozōr > soror "sister" (cf. Old English sweostor, Sanskrit svásar)

However, before another r, dissimilation occurred with sr [zr] becoming br (likely via an intermediate *ðr): [30]

  • Proto-Italic *keras-rom > *kerazrom ~ *keraðrom > cerebrum "skull, brain" (cf. Greek kéras "horn")
  • Proto-Italic *swesr-īnos > *swezrīnos ~ *sweðrīnos > sobrīnus "maternal cousin"

Elision

[edit]

In groups of stop + /s/ before unvoiced consonants, the stop was lost: [31]

  • proto-italic *subs-teneō > latin susteneō "hold up"

Syncopated words like dexter (<*deksiteros) were not effected by this change. Additionally, words beginning with ex- or prepositions like ob- frequently restored the stop.

/s/ was lost before voiced consonants, with compensatory lengthening: [32]

  • proto-italic *is-dem > latin īdem "same"

Clusters involving /s/ were also lost before voiced consonants, also with compensatory lengthening: [31]

  • proto-italic *eks-dowkō > *es-dowkō > latin ēdūcō "draw out"

Other

[edit]

/k/ became /g/ (possibly later then becoming [ŋn] before) /n/: [33]

  • PIE *deḱnós > *degnos > dignus "worthy"

Final /d/ began to be lost after long vowels in the late 3rd century BCE:[34]

  • PIE masc. ablative singular *-ead > -ōd >
  • PIE *meHd "me" > mēd >

Grammatical changes

[edit]

The dual is generally lost with only a few relics remaining.[35][36] [35][36]

The Instrumental case merges into the ablative case. [37] The old genitive singular,*-osjo, still attested in the Lapis Satricanus as popliosio valesiosio, is replaced by [38] The locative merged into the ablative after the proto-italic period. It survives in a few adverbs.[37]

===Verbs An infinitive ending *-si is created. [39]

  • The Proto-Indo-European injunctive disappeared. Its functions were taken by the optative and present indicative.[40]
  • The indicative lost final /i/ (final /t/ had become /d/ earlier so secondary endings remained separate).[41]
  • The augment was lost.[42]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Greek is ambiguously either < *gneh₃tós or *gn̥h₃tós
  2. ^ kʷi- > ti- is normal in Attic Greek; Thessalian Greek had kís while Cypro-Arcadian had sís.
  3. ^ > ol is normal in Proto-Italic.
  4. ^ a b These short vowels are then subject to the normal rules of vowel reduction in non-initial syllables.
  5. ^ Both "world" and "mountain" evolve out of the early association of oak trees with strength, cf. Latin robur = "oak" but also "strength"
  6. ^ PIE *dn̥ǵhwéh₂; -ǵʰw- not -gʷʰ- indicated by Old Church Slavonic języ-kŭ "tongue" < *n̥ǵhu-H-k- with loss of initial *d-; -gʷʰ- would yield /g/, not /z/.

references

[edit]
  1. ^ Sen, Ranjan (December 2012). "Reconstructing phonological change: duration and syllable structure in Latin vowel reduction". Phonology. 29 (3): 465–504. doi:10.1017/S0952675712000231. ISSN 0952-6757. S2CID 49337024.
  2. ^ sihler 1995, pp. 37–46.
  3. ^ sihler 1995, p. 39.
  4. ^ a b sihler 1995, p. 40-41.
  5. ^ Collinge, N. E. (1985). The Laws of Indo-European. John Benjamins. pp. 193–195. ISBN 90-272-3530-9.
  6. ^ de Vaan 2008, p. 8.
  7. ^ Vine, Brent (2011). "Initial *mo- in Latin and Italic". Münchener Studien zur Sprachwissenschaft (65): 261–286.
  8. ^ a b c d e sihler 1995, pp. 60–62.
  9. ^ a b c sihler 1995, p. 62.
  10. ^ sihler 1995, p. 63.
  11. ^ sihler 1995, pp. 63–64.
  12. ^ a b sihler 1995, p. 70.
  13. ^ a b sihler 1995, pp. 68–70.
  14. ^ a b c sihler 1995, pp. 65–67.
  15. ^ a b sihler 1995, pp. 78–79.
  16. ^ sihler 1995, p. 40.
  17. ^ a b c d e sihler 1995, p. 64.
  18. ^ a b c d e sihler 1995, p. 71.
  19. ^ James Clackson & Geoffrey Horrocks, The Blackwell History of the Latin Language (Oxford: Blackwell, 2007), 51-2.
  20. ^ sihler 1995, p. 139.
  21. ^ a b sihler 1995, pp. 139–141.
  22. ^ sihler 1995, p. 143.
  23. ^ sihler 1995, p. 149.
  24. ^ sihler 1995, pp. 148–149.
  25. ^ sihler 1995, pp. 162–164.
  26. ^ sihler 1995, p. 156.
  27. ^ sihler 1995, p. 156, 165.
  28. ^ sihler 1995, pp. 159–160.
  29. ^ Fortson, Benjamin W., Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction, p. 283
  30. ^ Sihler 1995, p. 214.
  31. ^ a b sihler 1995, p. 220.
  32. ^ Sihler 1995, p. 213.
  33. ^ Sihler 1995, p. 207.
  34. ^ Sihler 1995, p. 228.
  35. ^ a b Silvestri 1998, p. 332.
  36. ^ a b Meiser 2017, p. 752.
  37. ^ a b Sihler 1995, pp. 252–253.
  38. ^ Sihler 1995, pp. 259.
  39. ^ Sihler 1995, pp. 610.
  40. ^ Rix 2002, p. 2.
  41. ^ Rix 2002, pp. 2–3.
  42. ^ Rix 2002, p. 3.

sources

[edit]


vbef

[edit]
Oral vowels
Type Front Back
short long overl. short long overl.
Close i u
Mid e eː~ɛː ɔː
Open ɑ ɑː


First person pronouns[1]
First person Second person
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nominative ik *wet
*wit1
*þū *jūz
Accusative *mek
*mik1
*unk *ūs *þek
*þik1
*inkw *izwiz
Genitive *mīn *ūser *þīnaz *inkweraz *izweraz
Dative/instrumental *ūs *þiz *inkwiz *izwiz
Second person pronouns[1]
First person Second person
Singular Dual Plural Singular Dual Plural
Nominative ik *wet
*wit1
*þū *jūz
  1. ^ a b Bremmer 2009, pp. 55–56.