Jump to content

Nasal infix

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article contains characters used to write reconstructedProto-Indo-Europeanwords (for an explanation of the notation, seeProto-Indo-European phonology).Without properrendering support,you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbolsinstead ofUnicodecombining characters andLatincharacters.

Thenasal infixis a reconstructednasal consonantor syllable*⟨n(é)⟩that was inserted (infixed) into thestemorrootof a word in theProto-Indo-European language.It hasreflexesin several ancient and modernIndo-European languages.It is one of theaffixesthat mark thepresent tense.

Proto-Indo-European[edit]

In theProto-Indo-European language(PIE), the nasal infix*⟨n(é)⟩is one of several means to form theathematicpresent tense.It is inserted immediately before the last consonant of thezero-graderoot.

The infix appeared as*⟨né⟩in the forms where a full-grade stem would be expected, and as*⟨n⟩in forms where zero-grade would be expected. For example, the PIE root*weik-"to win" would yield a nasal-infixed present stem*wi⟨né⟩k-~ *wi⟨n⟩k-.[1][2]

These presents are callednasal infix presentsor simplynasal presentsand are typically activetransitiveverbs,[3]often withdurative aspect.[1]

Origins[edit]

Since the linguistic ancestor of PIE is not known, there can only be speculations about the origins of the nasal infix. It has been suggested that it arose from a suffix (also related to*-neH-and*-neu-) which underwentmetathesis.[1][4]

Other present tense markers[edit]

Besides the nasal infix, PIE employs a number ofaffixesto mark the present:*-u-,*-neu-,*-neH-,*-sḱe-,*-de-,and others. All in all, PIE has at least 18 ways to form the present tense.[5]For many verbs, several of these presents can be reconstructed simultaneously. For example,Scottish Gaelicloisg"to burn" goes back to*l̥h₂p-sḱé-,asḱe-present of the root*leh₂p-which is also the source of Ancient Greekλάμπειν(lámpein) "to shine" via its nasal present*l̥h₂⟨n⟩p-.[6]

It is not clear why there were so many different types of present forms with no or little discernible differences in meaning. The authors of theLexikon der indogermanischen Verbenproposed that they were derived from a number of prior grammatical aspects with distinct (but lost) meanings.[7]

Indo-European languages[edit]

The effects of the nasal infix can be seen inIndo-European languageslikeSanskrit,Latin,Lithuanian,Armenian,[8]Ancient Greek,theGoidelic languages,and theSlavic languages.

In Latin, Ancient Greek and otherdaughter languages,the*nwasassimilatedtombeforelabial consonants(b, p), and toŋ,spellednin Latin and γ in Ancient Greek, beforevelar consonants(g, k, qu).[9]Latinrūpit"has broken" /rumpit"breaks", from*rup-/ *ru⟨n⟩p-,is an example of the first case.[10][11]

Indo-Aryan[edit]

See also:Sanskrit verbs § Building blocks

The phenomenon of nasal-infi xing as inherited from Proto-Indo-European is found inSanskritwith the greatest morphological transparency, and is taken as a guide to examining the feature in kindred languages.[12][13]

Three of the ten classes identified bytraditional Sanskrit grammarianshave nasal infix of some kind, which are higher-grade and accent-bearing in the strong forms, and reduced-grade in the weak forms. The behaviour[a]of the class-7 root√yuj-[b]class-5√śru-[c]and class-9krī-[d]can be seen thus:[12][14]

  • yu·ná·k·ti ↔ yu·ñj·ánti (-na-vs-n-)
  • śṛ·ṇó·ti ↔ śṛ·ṇv·ánti (-no-vs-nu-)
  • krī·ṇā́·ti ↔ krī·ṇ·ánti (-nā-vs-n-)

While these were seen as 3 separate classes by the ancient Sanskrit grammarians,Ferdinand Saussuredemonstrated, as part of his landmark work in postulating theLaryngeal theory,that these were slightly different manifestations of the same nasal infix.[15]

Greek[edit]

Greek has some verbs that show a nasal infix in the present as opposed to other forms of the verb:

  • λαμβάνω (lambánō"to take, receive, get" ) againstaoristἔλᾰβον (élabon)
  • λανθάνω (lanthánō"to escape notice, cause to forget" ) against alternative λήθω (lḗthō;comparelḗthēandalḗtheia)
  • τυγχάνω (tunkhánō"to happen to do sth., to succeed" ) against aorist ἔτυχον (étukhon)

Latin[edit]

Latin has a number of verbs with annin the present stem which is missing in theperfectstem:[16]

  • vīcit"has won" /vincit"wins" (from the PIE verb above)
  • contudit"has crushed" /contundit"crushes"
  • scidit"has cut" /scindit"cuts"

Latin loanwords[edit]

English and the otherGermanic languagesshow only vestiges of the nasal infix. The only certain remaining example is Englishstand,with the past tensestoodlacking the n.[17]However, it can still be seen in some pairs of Latinloanwords:[18]

Celtic[edit]

In Celtic, the Indo-European nasal infix presents split into two categories: ones originally derived from laryngeal-final roots (i.e.seṭroots in Sanskrit), and ones that were not (i.e. fromaniṭroots). Inseṭverbs, the nasal appears at the end of the present stem, while inaniṭ-derived verbs the nasal was followed by a root-final stop (generally-g-in Old Irish). The nasal presents are readily apparent inOld Irish,where the nasal infix is not present outside of the present stem, like in other old Indo-European languages.[22]

Old Irish nasal-infix present verbs (nasal infixes in bold)
Meaning Root type Present Preterite Future Subjunctive
"to support" aniṭ fo·loing(independent)
·fulaing(dependent)		 fo·lolaig fo·lil fo·ló
"to buy" seṭ crenaid(independent)
·cren(dependent)		 cíuir *-cíuri -cria

Theseṭnasal presents' final nasal, ultimately from the nasal infix, was generalized to become suffixed onto all verbs in modernIrishas the present analytic suffix-(e)ann,remaining productive into modern times.[23]

Slavic languages[edit]

Only vestiges are left, likeRussianлечь (*legti[root "leg" ]) (to lie down): лягу (*lęgǫ) (I will lie down),сесть (*sĕsti [root "sĕd" ]) (to sit down): сяду (*sędǫ) (I will sit down)(both e:en).[24][clarification needed]

Examples[edit]

This table shows some examples of PIE rootaorists(without an infix), their infixed present forms and the reflexes (corresponding forms) in anattesteddaughter language.

PIE[25] Reflexes in daughter languages (3rd person singular)
Aorist Present Language Aorist/perfect† Present Translation (present)
*y(e)ug- *yu⟨n(e)⟩g- Sanskrit á·yuj·at yu·ná·k·ti joins[26]
*ǵʰ(e)ud- *ǵʰu⟨n(e)⟩d- Latin fūdit fundit pours[27]
*l(e)ikʷ- *li⟨n(e)⟩kʷ- Latin līquit[ˈliːkʷit] linquit[ˈliŋkʷit] leaves, quits[28]
*sl(e)h₂gʷ- *slh₂⟨n(e)⟩gʷ-(?‡) Ancient Greek ἔ-λαβε(é-labe) λαμβάνει(lambánei) takes[29][9]

†The Latin reflexes of the PIE aorist came to be used as the perfect.[30]

‡It is uncertain whether*sleh₂gʷ-had a nasal infix already in PIE, since Greekλαμβάνωis only attested afterHomer.

Tolkien[edit]

InJ. R. R. Tolkien'sconstructed languagesQuenyaandSindarinspoken by theElves,the nasal infix forms thepast tenseof many verbs. These are most clear in Quenya which shows the nasal infix in the past-tense forms ending in anyconsonantbesides-m, -n,or-r.Thus,cen-"to see" has the past tensecen-në,butmat-"to eat" has not*mat-nëbut themetathesisedma(n)t-ë.[31]The infix is more obscured in related Sindarin due to further sound changes but can be observed in verbs such aspedi"to speak" has the formpennin"I spoke" which shows the nasal infix (in bold) and the-d-ofpediand assimilated to-n-following the infix.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^3rd-person singular and plural
  2. ^'join'
  3. ^'hear'
  4. ^'buy'

References[edit]

  1. ^abcBaldi 1999,p. 372
  2. ^Rix 2001,p. 670
  3. ^Fortson 2004,p. 88
  4. ^Milizia 2004
  5. ^Rix (2001:14–20)
  6. ^Rix (2001:402)
  7. ^Rix (2001:36–37)
  8. ^Hamp (1975)
  9. ^abSmyth 1920,§523
  10. ^Petschenig (1971:435)
  11. ^Rix (2001:510–511)
  12. ^abSzemerényi, §9.4.1.3.
  13. ^Burrow, p. 289.
  14. ^Burrow, §7.8.
  15. ^Fortson (2010), §4.18.
  16. ^Petschenig 1971,pp. 138, 442, 533
  17. ^Ringe (2006:78)
  18. ^Rix (2001:670, 547–548, 510–511)
  19. ^"confound".Dictionary Unabridged(Online). n.d.
  20. ^Harper, Douglas."impact".Online Etymology Dictionary.
  21. ^Harper, Douglas."convince".Online Etymology Dictionary.
  22. ^McCone (1991)
  23. ^McCone (1997:206–207)
  24. ^Reformatskij 1996[pages needed]
  25. ^Rix (2001:179, 406–407, 566, 316)
  26. ^Whitney, §683-692.
  27. ^Petschenig (1971:227)
  28. ^Petschenig (1971:298)
  29. ^Schäfer & Zimmermann (1990:271)
  30. ^Fortson (2004:250)
  31. ^Fauskanger 2003

Bibliography[edit]

  • Fortson, Benjamin W. IV (2004).Indo-European Language and Culture.Blackwell Publishing.ISBN1-4051-0316-7.
  • Fortson, Benjamin W (2010).Indo-European Language and Culture(2010 ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.ISBN978-1-4051-8895-1.
  • Szemerényi, Oswald JL (1996).Introduction to Indo-European Linguistics.Great Britain: Clarendon Oxford.ISBN0-19-824015-5.
  • McCone, Kim (1991).The Indo-European Origins of the Old Irish Nasal Presents, Subjunctives and Futures.Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft. IBS-Vertrieb.ISBN978-3-85124-617-9.
  • McCone, Kim (1997).The Early Irish Verb.Maynooth Monographs 1 (2nd ed.). Maynooth: An Sagart.ISBN1-870684-76-1.
  • Milizia, Paolo (2004). "Proto-Indo-European Nasal Infixation Rule".Journal of Indo-European Studies.32(3&4): 337–359.
  • Whitney, William Dwight (January 2008).Sanskrit Grammar(2000 ed.). Motilal Banarsidass.ISBN978-81-208-0620-7.
  • Burrow, T (2001).The Sanskrit Language(2001 ed.). Motilal Banarsidass.ISBN81-208-1767-2.
  • Petschenig, Michael (1971).Der kleine Stowasser(in German). Vienna: Oldenbourg Schulbuchverlag.
  • Reformatskij, A (1996).Введение в языкознание[An introduction to linguistics] (in Russian). Moscow.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Ringe, Don(2006).A Linguistic History of English part 1: From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic.
  • Hamp, Eric (1975). "On the nasal presents of Armenian".Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung.89(1): 100–109.
  • Rix, Helmut(2001).Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben(in German). Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag.ISBN3-89500-219-4.
  • Schäfer, Karl-Heinz; Zimmermann, Bernhard (1990).Taschenwörterbuch Altgriechisch(in German) (3 ed.). Munich: Langenscheidt.ISBN3-468-10031-0.
  • Baldi, Philip(22 January 1999).The Foundations of Latin.Trends in Linguistics. Mouton de Gruyter.ISBN3-11-016294-6.
  • Fauskanger, Helge Kåre(February 2003)."lesson 6".Quenya Course.
  • Smyth, Herbert Weir(1920).A Greek Grammar for Colleges.Retrieved5 January2014– viaPerseus Project.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nasal_infix&oldid=1232151726"