Programme

The lengthened grade in Indo-European
Thematic Conference (Arbeitstagung)
of the Society for Indo-European Studies (Indogermanische Gesellschaft)
Leiden, July 29-31, 2013
Sponsored by:

Contents
Introduction …… p. 3
Addresses …….p. 4
Programme …… p. 5
Abstracts …… p. 8
Topics for the Round Table discussion …… p. 44
2

Introduction
In the off-years of the four-yearly General Conference (Fachtagung) of the Society for Indo-
European Studies, a thematic conference is hosted by a different university each year. The
Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL) and its Chair of Comparative Indo-
European Studies are grateful to the Society for granting the organization of the 2013
Thematic Conference to Leiden. The conference will be held from 29 to 31 July.
The topic of the meeting will be the lengthened grade, that is, the long vowels *ē and *ō of
Proto-Indo-European. The origin and the phonetics of these vowels, as well as the
grammatical functions which they had, are still very much disputed. The main aim of this
conference is to make explicit on which points scholars of Indo-European agree and disagree
in their interpretation of the available evidence.
We are happy to see that our call for papers has been answered by many scholars from around
the world, young and old, who are engaged in reconstructing the linguistic past of the Indo-
European languages. The programme contains talks on all of the main branches of Indo-
European, and on a wide variety of theoretical questions concerning the phonology and
morphology of Proto-Indo-European. The conference will be closed by a Round Table
Discussion, in which the main themes and various positions which one may take towards
them will be debated by an expert panel. A selection of topics to be discussed by the panel can
be found at the end of this booklet.
This conference was preceded by the 8 th Leiden Summer School in Languages and Linguistics
(15–26 July), which features Indo-European programmes for beginners and for advanced
students, as well as specialized courses in various Indo-European branches.
The organisation of this conference has been sponsored by Leiden University Fund (LUF),
Brill Publishers, and the Leiden University Centre for Linguistics.
Lucien van Beek
Alwin Kloekhorst
Alexander Lubotsky
Michiel de Vaan
Leiden, July 2013
3

Addresses
Academy Building (all lectures): Rapenburg 67-73, Leiden. Reception: 071 527 1210.
Lipsius Building (lunch): Cleveringaplaats 1, Leiden. Reception: 071 527 2300 or 2500.
Arsenaal Building (final dinner): Arsenaalstraat 1, Leiden. Phone: 071 527 2524/2539.
Town Hall (reception on Tuesday): Stadhuisplein 1, Leiden. We will walk there together from
the Academy Building after the final lecture on Tuesday afternoon.
We will also walk together to the boat trip on Monday afternoon.
For a convenient map of Leiden city centre, see the website of the Leiden Visitor Centre:
http://portal.leiden.nl/uploads/tekstblok/vcl_kaart2012_def.pdf.
4

Programme
Sunday, July 28
17:00 – 19:00 informal “meet and greet” with drinks and possibility to have dinner
(Grand Café Van Buuren, Stationsweg 7)
Monday, July 29
08:30 – 09:45: Welcome and registration, Academy Building
09:45 – 10:00: Opening
Session 1: Indo-Iranian I
10:00 – 10:30 Kümmel: The lengthened grade in the nominative singular
10:30 – 11:00 Ittzés: Temporal augment and vr̥ ddhi-derivation in Indo-Iranian
Coffee break: 11:00 – 11:20
Session 2: Indo-Iranian II
11:20 – 11:50 Kortlandt: Sigmatic and asigmatic long vowel preterit forms
11:50 – 12:20 Dahl: Derivational modality? The rise (and fall) of the lengthened grade as a
subjunctive marker in Vedic
12:20 – 12:50 Šefčík: The fourth makes it whole? The reduced lengthened ablaut grade in Old
Indo-Aryan
Lunch break: 12:50 – 14:10
Session 3: IE ablaut and root structure
14:10 – 14:40 Melchert: “Narten formations” versus “Narten roots”
14:40 – 15:10 Höfler: Notes on three “acrostatic” neuter s-stems
15:10 – 15:40 Nielsen Whitehead: Root-structure and the occurrence of full and lengthened
grade in PIE root nouns
Tea break: 15:40 – 16:00
Session 4: IE ablaut
16:00 – 16:30 Gąsiorowski: Another long grade: Non-canonical ablaut involving PIE *ā
16:30 – 17:00 Litscher: The Nominative Singular of *eh₂- and *ih₂- Stems
17:00 – 17:30 Oettinger: Zu langstufigen Bildungen des Indogermanischen
Evening programme: 18:15 – 19:15 Leiden round trip by boat
Dinner (on own initiative): for information about restaurants, ask the organisation
5

Tuesday, July 30
Session 1: Various Topics
09:30 – 10:00 Blažek: On the lengthening of verbal bases in Indo-European in an Afroasiatic
perspective
10:00 – 10:30 Panagl: ‘Expressive lengthening’ – linguistic reality or strange nightmare?
10:30 – 11:00 Bichlmeier: Dehnstufen in der ‚Alteuropäischen Hydronymie’?
Coffee break: 11:00 – 11:20
Session 2: Greek and Slavic
11:20 – 11:50 Steer: Zur Etymologie von griechisch κῆλα ‚Pfeile, Geschosse‘
11:50 – 12:20 Willi: Ares the Ripper: From Stang’s Law to long-diphthong roots
12:20 – 12:50 Reinhart: The derivation of Slavic imperfective verbs with lengthened grade
Lunch break: 12:50 – 14:10
Session 3: Balto-Slavic
14:10 – 14:40 Yamazaki: Some Notes on the 3rd Person Future Forms in Lithuanian
14:40 – 15:10 Villanueva Svensson: Tone variation among Baltic ia-presents
15:10 – 15:40 Matasović: The accentuation of Balto-Slavic Vr̥ ddhi formations and the origin
of the acute
Tea break: 15:40 – 16:00
Session 4: Tocharian and Albanian
16:00 – 16:30 Hyllested: Unexpected lengthened grade in Albanian
16:30 – 17:00 Malzahn: Surprise at length of Tocharian nouns
17:00 – 17:30 Pinault: The lengthened grade in Tocharian nominal morphology
Evening programme: 17:45 – 18:45 Reception by the mayor at the Town Hall
Dinner (on own initiative): for information about restaurants, ask the organisation
6

Wednesday, July 31
Session 1: Germanic
10:00 – 10:30 Lühr: The lengthened grade in Germanic hypocoristica
10:30 – 11:00 Kroonen: Analogical lengthened grades in the Proto‐Germanic strong verbs
Coffee break: 11:00 – 11:20
Session 2: Szemerényi’s Law I
11:20 – 11:50 Byrd: Accounting for the Absence of Expected Lengthened Grade:
Szemerényi’s Law in Word-Medial Position
11:50 – 12:20 Sandell: On the Phonetics and Phonology of Stang’s and Szemerényi’s Laws
12:20 – 12:50 Keydana: Lengthened grade in Vedic root nouns: Szemerényi's Law and some
of its implications
Lunch break: 12:50 – 14:10
Session 3: Szemerényi’s Law II
14:10 – 14:40 Sukač: Szemerényi’s law and related issues
14:40 – 15:10 Piwowarczyk: The Proto-Indo-European *-VTs# clusters and the formulation
of Szemerényi’s Law
15:10 – 15:40 Pronk: Szemerényi’s law: a critical survey of the evidence
Tea break: 15:40 – 16:00
Session 4: 16:00 – 17:00 Round Table
16:00 – 17:00 Round Table discussion (Kortlandt, Kümmel, Pinault)
Evening programme: 18:30 – end Final Dinner (Arsenaal building)
7

Abstracts
8

Dehnstufen in der ‚Alteuropäischen Hydronymie’?
Harald Bichlmeier, Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, Arbeitsstelle Jena
Erst seit kurzem gibt es Bemühungen, die Forschungen zur ‚Alteuropäischen Hydronymie’
auf das heute in der Indogermanistik übliche Niveau zu heben. Im Rahmen dieser
Bemühungen sind auch einige Flussnamen in die Diskussion geraten, für die auch einmal die
Möglichkeit in Betracht gezogen wurde, dass die rekonstruierte Vorform eine Dehnstufe
enthalten haben könnte. Es sind dies u.a. die Flussnamen Sawa (in Polen) sowie die Naab in
Nord-Ost-Bayern. In die Diskussion mit aufgenommen werden müssen auch die
Namensvetterin des polnischen Flusses, die Sava/Save sowie der morphologisch parallel
gebaute Name der Drava/Drau.
Der Name der Sava/Save könnte eine Dehnstufe enthalten haben. Wenn der Name
aber, was wahrscheinlich ist, parallel zu dem der Drava/Drau gebaut war, ist dies abzulehen.
War die Bildung indes tatsächlich dehnstufig, lag also eine alte Vr̥ ddhi-Ableitung vor, müsste
die ursprüngliche Bedeutung kollektivisch ‚Gebiet entlang des Flusses’ o.ä. bedeutet haben.
Die Benennung des Gebiets müsste dann sekundär auf den Fluss übertragen worden sein.
Gleiches gilt mithin zunächst für die polnische Sawa. Da aber für den polnischen Flussnamen
die Erklärung mittels einer romanischen Zwischenstufe entfällt, bleibt die genannte
Möglichkeit einer Vr̥ ddhi-Ableitung bestehen, die Übertragung der Bezeichnung vom Gebiet
entlang des Flusslaufs auf den Fluss selbst muss in Kauf genommen werden.
Ausgeschlossen werden kann jedoch, dass der slawische Langvokal automatisch bei
der Übernahme ins Slawische aus einem alten Kurzvokal entstanden ist (so Udolph 2007 im
Gefolge älterer Arbeiten).
Auch für die oberpfälzische Naab wurde schon eine dehnstufige Bildung angenommen
(Bammesberger 2001/2002): Es sei späturidg. *nōb h -ā- > kelt. *nōbā- anzusetzen. Dem
widerspricht in diesem Falle jedoch die Mundartform des Flussnamens in den Ortsdialekten,
die [nọ̄ ] lautet: Diese Form kann nur aus sekundär in offener Silbe gedehntem Kurzvokal ahd.
mhd. -a- entstanden sein: Die mutmaßlich aus dem Keltischen ins Westgermanische
übernommene Form des Namens muss also einen Kurvokal gehabt haben, es ist späturidg.
*nob h ā- anzusetzen.
Dehnstufen können in der ‚Alteuropäischen Hydronymie’ nur in den seltensten Fällen
sicher nachgewiesen werden. Wenn sie vorliegen, sind jedoch in unterschiedlichem Maße
Zusatzannahmen besonders hinsichtlich der Semantik zur Erklärung notwendig.
Literatur in Auswahl:
Bammesberger, Alfred (2001/2002): Der Name der Amper: Eine Nachlese. In: Blätter für
oberdeutsche Namenforschung 38/39, S. 47–51.
Bichlmeier, Harald (2010): Moderne Indogermanistik vs. traditionelle Namenkunde, Teil 3:
Traun, Raab und Auders. In: Österreichische Namenforschung 38, 2010, S. 104–113.
Bichlmeier, Harald (2011a): Einige grundsätzliche Überlegungen zum Verhältnis von
Indogermanistik und voreinzelsprachlicher resp. alteuropäischer Namenkunde mit einigen
Fallbeispielen (Moderne Indogermanistik vs. traditionelle Namenkunde, Teil 1). In:
Namenkundliche Informationen 95/96, 2009[2011], S. 173–208.
Bichlmeier, Harald (2011b): Moderne Indogermanistik vs. traditionelle Namenkunde, Teil 2 –
Save, Drau, Zöbern. In: Ziegler, Arne / Windberger-Heidenkummer, Erika (Hgg.):
Methoden der Namenforschung. Methodologie, Methodik und Praxis. [= Akten der 6.
Tagung des Arbeitskreises für bayerisch-österreichische Namenforschung (ABÖN), Graz,
12.–15.5.2010] Berlin: Akademie Verlag 2011, S. 63–87.
9

Bichlmeier, Harald (2012): Einige ausgewählte Probleme der alteuropäischen Hydronymie
aus Sicht der modernen Indogermanistik – Ein Plädoyer für eine neue Sicht auf die Dinge.
In: Acta Linguistica Lithuanica 66, 2012, S. 11–47.
Bichlmeier, Harald (2013): Bayerisch-österreichische Orts- und Gewässernamen aus indogermanistischer
Sicht – Teil 3: Zusammenfassung bisheriger Forschungsergebnisse zu altbayerischen
Flussnamen sowie einige indogermanistische Anmerkungen zu den
Flussnamen Ammer/Amper und Naab. In: Simbeck, Katrin / Winner, Martina (Hgg.):
Namen in Altbayern. (Regensburger Studien zur Namenforschung 8) Regensburg: vulpes
2013. (im Druck)
ESSZI: Snoj, Marko (2009): Etimološki slovar slovenskih zemljepisnih imen. Ljubljana.
Udolph, Jürgen (2007): Alteuropa in Kroatien: Der Name der Sava/Save. In: Folia
Onomastica Croatica 12-13, 2003-2004[2007], S. 523-548.
10

On the lengthening of verbal bases in Indo-European in an Afroasiatic perspective
Václav Blažek, Masaryk University, Brno
In morphology of the Indo-European verb following formations operate with the lengthened
root vowel:
1a. *C 1 ḗC 2 - acrodynamic root present in singular of indicative/injunctive active (LIV 14).
1b. *C 1 ḗC 2 -s- sigmatic aorist in singular of indicative/injunctive active (LIV 20).
2. *C 1 ṓC 2 -i̯ e- causative-iterative with the suffix -i̯ e/o- forming also present (LIV 23, 19).
Note: C 1 = (s)T(R), C 2 = (R)T, R = i̯ , u̯ , l, r, m, n.
(i) The Indo-European lengthened singular of present & sigmatic aorist in -ē- corresponds to
the Beja (North Cushitic) lengthened singular present in -ī-.
√-dir- "to kill":
1.sg. andī́r, 2.sg.m. té-n-dīr-a, 2.sg.f. té-n-dīr-i, 3.sg.m. e-n-dī́r, 3.sg.f. te-n-dī́r;
1.pl. nḗ-dír, 2.pl. tē-dír-na, 3.pl. ē-dír-na.
√-dibil- "to twine, collect, gather":
1.sg. a-dambı̄́l, 2.sg.m. dámbı̄ l-a, 2.sg.f. dámbı̄l-i, 3.sg.m.f. dambı̄́l;
1.pl. ne-dabíl, 2.pl. te-dabíl-na, 3.pl. e-dabíl-na.
(ii) The Indo-European lengthened ō-causative-iterative is formally comparable with the
Afroasiatic intensive formations in -ā-:
Lengthening in frequentative / intensive in Beja, which is used, if a transitive verb has a plural
object:
√-dir- "to kill" vs. frequentative / intensive √-dār- "to massacre, cause carnage"
perfect: 1.sg. a-dā́ r, 2.sg.m. te-dā́ r-a, 2.sg.f. te-dā́ r-i, 3.sg.m. e-dā́ r, 3.sg.f. te-dā́ r;
1.pl. ne-dā́ r, 2.pl. te-dā́ r-na, 3.pl. te-dā́ r-na.
√-dibil- "to twine, collect, gather" vs. frequentative -dābil-:
perfect: 1.sg. a-dā́ bil, 2.sg.m. te-dā́ bil-a, 2.sg.f. te-dā́ bil-i, 3.sg.m. e-dā́ bil, 3.sg.f. te-dā́ bil;
1.pl. ne-dā́ bil, 2.pl. te-dā́ bil-na, 3.pl. te-dā́ bil-na.
ā-present in East Cushitic:
Somali yi-mād-da "he comes" : yi-mid "he came"
Semitic conative: Arabic qātala "he tried to kill", Geez taqātala "killed one another, maked
war".
Berber: Tuareg of Ahaggar impf. ikrǝs "ties" (*yakris) : perf. intensive ikrâs (*yukrâs): impf.
positive intensive ikârräs (*yikârras);
Chadic: Daffo (West Chadic) mwaát "dies" : mot "died"; shwaáh "drinks" : shoh "drank;
Sokoro (East Chadic) nā bā "I go" : nā bē "I went".
11

Accounting for the Absence of Expected Lengthened Grade:
Szemerényi’s Law in Word-Medial Position
Andrew Miles Byrd, University of Kentucky
Szemerényi’s Law (SzL), as is well known, was a phonological process of consonant loss
with subsequent compensatory lengthening (CL) in word-final position, reconstructed for
early PIE. While typically cited as a rule of s-loss, Szemerényi (1970) also recognized this
process to include laryngeals as target consonants, which we may conceive as taking part in a
more general process of fricative deletion.
In this paper I will demonstrate that SzL not only targeted those segments in wordfinal
position; it also targeted them word-medially. Cf. *u̯ erh 1 d h h 1 o- > Lat. verbum, Hesych.
ért h ei ‘speaks’. Of course, such laryngeal deletion is usually attributed to the CHCC > CCC
rule. However, there are a number of strong counterexamples (*ḱerh 2 srom > Lat. cerebrum
‘brain’), and as I have argued on multiple occasions, the CHCC > CCC rule was rather
PH.CC > P.CC (where P = obstruent), driven by violations of syllable structure.
SzL ceased to be a productive rule within late PIE, as evidenced by the
reconstructability of *g w énh 2 ‘woman’, *wih 1 roms, *sals ‘salt’ and *séms ‘one’. It is in this
way that the on-again, off-again reconstructability of laryngeal loss in the sequence RH$
(with < $ > marking a syllable boundary) may be directly explained. But if this truly were
SzL, should we not find lengthened grade in the initial syllables of a form such as **u̯ ērd h h 1 o-
(< *u̯ erh 1 d h h 1 o-)? It will be argued that no CL occurs due to the (P)IE tendency to avoid
superheavy syllables (syllables consisting of more than two morae) in medial position,
resulting in the loss of a mora. This tendency also underlies Schwebeablaut, Osthoff’s Law,
the replacement of certain e-grade oblique stems with ø-grade forms, and Sievers’ Law.
12

Derivational modality? The rise (and fall) of the lengthened grade as a subjunctive
marker in Vedic
Eystein Dahl, University of Bergen
This paper explores the use of the lengthened grade in the so-called strong endings in the
Vedic middle subjunctive paradigm. The inherited 1 st dual and plural middle subjunctive
forms of the type sacāvahe, yajāmahe were replaced by innovative forms like sacāvahai,
yajāmahai which probably arose by analogical influence from 1 st singular middle subjunctive
forms such as sacai, yajai. The paradigm resulting from this process raises a number of
intriguing questions with regard to how the innovative subjunctive forms were generated
synchronically. Specifically, there is an obvious apophonical relationship between forms like
yaje, yajase, yajate etc. on the one hand and yajai, yajāsai, yajātai etc. on the other, the latter
forms ultimately seeming to represent a kind of double vṛddhi-derivation which affects the
penultimate as well as the last syllable. This use of apophony in the verbal paradigm is
remarkable, as processes of this kind, particularly the alternation between full grade and
lengthened grade, mostly serves to affect the derivational base, cf. e.g. so-called Narten
presents like stauti/stavat or sigmatic aorists like ajais/jeṣat. Given the systematic
correspondences between the subjunctive and the indicative in the middle paradigm, it is
significant that the active paradigm of the subjunctive has a far less obvious or systematic
relation to the indicative. From this perspective, the apparent rise in Vedic of a secondary type
of derivational modality employing the lengthened grade as a subjunctive marker seems to
have resulted in a split in the subjunctive paradigm, whereby the active subparadigm was
generated by means of one more or less coherent set of rules while the middle subparadigm
was generated by one simple derivational rule. These two factors, the paradigm split and the
synchronically exceptional derivation pattern of the middle subjunctive forms, may ultimately
have caused the subjunctive to disappear.
13

Another long grade: Non-canonical ablaut involving Proto-Indo-European *ā
Piotr Gąsiorowski, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań
The only undisputed source of PIE a-vocalism is *e coloured by an adjacent *h 2 . Assuming
the archaic character of Narten ablaut (*ḗ : *é), and the resistance of long *ē to colouring, we
can expect cases of *h 2 ēC-/*h 2 aC- and *Cēh 2 -/*Cah 2 - (> *ēC-/*aC-, *Cē-/*Cā-). Such an
analysis does not predict alternations like *CāC-/*CaC-, which are nevertheless supported by
the comparative evidence (e.g. *u̯ ā́ ĝ- /*u̯ áĝ- ‘break’). They are difficult to explain with the
help of the laryngeal theory alone, or require questionable assumptions.
I shall argue that the *ā́ : *á alternation is not a secondary effect of laryngeal colouring
but an inherited pattern akin to *ḗ : *é (as well as *ó : *é), and deserves to be treated as a
separate subtype of full-vowel ablaut. I shall try to provide examples of this pattern, define
morphophonological constraints on its occurrence, and criteria for deciding which instances
of *ā : *a are due to it rather than some secondary source of a-vocalism.
Selected bibliography:
Beekes, Robert S. P. 1988. PIE. RHC- in Greek and other languages. Indogermanische
Forschungen 93, 22-45.
Jasanoff, Jay H. 2003. Hittite and the Indo-European verb. Oxford: OUP.
Kümmel, Martin Joachim. 1998. Wurzelpräsens neben Wurzelaorist im Indogermanischen.
Historische Sprachforschung 111, 191-208.
Lubotsky, Alexander. 1989. Against a Proto-Indo-European phoneme *a. In: Theo
Vennemann (ed.), The new sound of Indo-European: essays in phonological
reconstructions, Berlin–New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 53-66.
Schindler, Jochem. 1972. L’Apophonie des nom-racines en indo-européen. Bulletin de la
société de lin istiq e de Paris 67, 31-68.
de Vaan, Michiel. 2004. ‘Narten’ roots from the Avestan point of view. In: Adam Hyllested,
Anders Richardt Jørgensen, Jenny Helena Larsson & Thomas Olander (eds.), Per
Aspera Ad Asteriscos. Studia Indogermanica in honorem Jens Elmegard Rasmussen
sexagenarii Idibus Martiis anno MMIV, Innsbruck: Innsbrucker Beiträge zur
Sprachwissenschaft, 591-599.
14

Notes on three “acrostatic” neuter s-stems
Stefan Höfler, University of Vienna
The neuter s-stem nouns usually reflect full grade in the root throughout the whole paradigm,
whereas the suffix shows ablaut from o-grade in the nom.-acc. sg. to e-grade in the oblique
stem. Based on his interpretation of different relic forms, Schindler (1975) argued that this
paradigm (e.g. *u̯ ék u̯ -os : *u̯ ék u̯ -es- ʻword, speechʼ) replaced an older proterokinetic pattern
(e.g. *u̯ ék u̯ -s : *u̯ k u̯ -és-). Even though some aspects of his argumentation have been criticized
until recently, Schindler’s assumptions remain the basis for today’s communis opinio
concerning the ablaut pattern of neuter s-stem nouns.
At the end of his article, Schindler mentioned that there could have been s-stems of the
acrostatic type B (i.e. R(ḗ)-S(z) : R(é)-S(z)-) as well, citing forms that reflect lengthened grade
in the root and pairs with root vowel alternations. Schindler’s mere floating the possibility of
their existence has consequently led to a broad acceptance of this type of neuter s-stems
among many scholars to this day. In 1994, Schindler then suggested the existence of “Narten”
roots – roots that show a systematic ablaut ē/ĕ in verbal and nominal formations instead of the
common ĕ/z pattern, thus offering an alternative explanation for long-vowel s-stems. While
some of his examples have been convincingly explained without the concept of “Narten”
roots, the mystery of “acrostatic” s-stems remains widely unsolved.
Taking a closer look at three of the most interesting examples (PIE *mḗd-os, *sḗd-os
and *h 1 ḗd-os), this paper shall question both the concept of “acrostatic” neuter s-stems and the
role of “Narten” roots in their respect. The aim of this paper is to examine the different
possible explanations for the three s-stems, and, in a broader perspective, the parallel nominal
and verbal formations of the underlying roots, and thus to re-evaluate the phenomenon of
long-vowel s-stems.
15

Unexpected lengthened grade in Albanian
Adam Hyllested, University of Copenhagen
Unexpected and otherwise undocumented lengthened grade shows up in Albanian in an
unusually large number of cases when compared to the other Indo-European branches. While
it is of course possible that the PIE lengthened grade stayed productive and developed a wider
use in Pre-Proto-Albanian (as already suggested by Jokl 1916), the attested Albanian forms in
fact do not seem to reveal any clear functional patterns. Most cases are therefore assigned
individual explanations (to the extent that they are explained at all). The verb vesh ‘wear, put
on’, for example, seemingly from *u̯ ōs-, has been identified as a “Narten-root”, while Huld
(1984) asserts as the source and old causative *u̯ os-eie- where *o > *a that regularly
undergoes umlaut to -e-.
The long vowel in njoh ‘to know’ is supposed to either reflect < *ĝnēh₃-skō with
lengthened grade analogical from the s-aorist, or the outcome of a zero-grade *ĝn̥ h₃-skō.
Among nominal forms, derë ‘door’ has been interpreted as an old collective *d h u̯ ōr-h₂, a
solution which, although perhaps not immediately compelling in either case, could apply to
dorë ‘hand’ as well (if from *ĝ h ēsr̥ -h₂; Huld 1984, Jens Elmegård Rasmussen p.c.). While
possible, hardly any of the morphological explanations are valid for more than a couple of
items each, and none of them can therefore clarify why particularly Albanian displays so
many cases of secondary lengthened grade both among its verbal and nominal forms.
A phonological explanation for dorë going back to Haebler 1967 has proven
increasingly popular (embraced by most recent works such as Demiraj 1997, Orel 2000, de
Vaan 2004, Matzinger 2006, Vermeer 2008, Matasović 2012), namely that -o- reflects
compensatory lengthening arisen by the loss of -s- in the old consonant cluster: *ĝ h esr- >
*ĝ h ēr- > *dēr- > *dōr- > dor-. In this paper I will try to show that phonological explanations
are indeed preferable in most cases where Albanian deviates from other IE languages, and that
there is no need to assert an increased morphological productivity of the lengthened grade in
Pre-Proto-Albanian.
Crucially, unexpected lengthening occurs almost exclusively preceding consonant
clusters, very often heavy ones (consisting of three consonants or more) where at least one
consonant has disappeared. Thus, we can assert compensatory lengthening applying to e.g.
boj ‘to drive, to mate’ < PPAlb. *bāgnja- < PIE *b h eg w - ‘to run’; huaj ‘foreign, strange’ <
PPAlb. *ksōnwja- < PIE *ksen-u̯ -; korrë ‘harvest’ < PPAlb. *kārsnā- < PIE *kerts-neh₂; quaj
‘call, give a name’ < PPAlb. *klōusnja- < PIE *kleu̯ s-; sorrë ‘crow’ < PPAlb. *čārsnā- < PIE
*k w ers-neh₂; shoh ‘to see’ < *sāska- < PIE *sek w -skō; thom ‘to say’ < PPAlb. *tsānsmi < PIE
*kens-; and zorrë ‘gut’ < PPAlb. *džārnā- < PIE *g w erh₃-neh₂.
The possibility remains that at least some of the relevant forms never had long vowels
in the first place. Alb. e is already known to be one regular (conditioned) outcome of PIE *e,
and *o via umlaut. The case of shoh ‘to see’ is particularly interesting in this respect since a)
the lengthened grade is morphologically odd in -sḱ-presents; b) a sequence *-k w -sḱ- was
probably already reduced to *-sḱ- in PIE (cf. *pr̥ sḱō < *pr̥ k-sḱō ‘ask’); and (c), in fact we find
no other examples of -e- following sh < PIE *s.
References:
Demiraj, Bardhyl, 1997: Albanische Etymologien. Untersuchungen zum Albanischen
Erbwortschatz. Amsterdam / Atlanta: Rodopi.
Haebler, Claus, 1967: Review of Hamp. – Die Sprache 13: 79-84.
Hamp, Eric, 1966: “The Position of Albanian”. – Henrik Birnbaum & Jaan Puhvel: Ancient
Indo-European Dialects.University of California Press.
Huld, Martin, 1984: Albanian Etymologies. Bloomington: Slavica.
16

Jokl, Norbert, 1916: Studien zur albanesischen Grammatik 4. Indogermanische Forschungen
37: 199-220.
Matasović, Ranko, 2012: A grammatical sketch of Albanian for students of Indo-European.
Zagreb.
Matzinger, Joachim, 2006: Der Altalbanische Text Mbsuame e Kreshtere (Dottrina cristiana)
des Leke Matrenga von 1592: Eine Einfuhrung in die albanische Sprachwissenschaft.
Dettelbach: J.H. Röll.
Orel, Vladimir, 2000: A concise historical grammar of the Albanian language: reconstruction
of Proto-Albanian. Leiden: Brill.
de Vaan, Michiel, 2004: “PIE *e in Albanian”. – Die Sprache 44, 1: 70-85.
Vermeer, Willem, 2008: “The Prehistory of the Albanian Vowel System: A Preliminary
Exploration”. – Evidence and Counter-evidence. Festschrift Frederik Kortlandt, vol. 1
SSGL 32. Amsterdam / New York: Rodopi. Pp. 591-608.
17

Temporal augment and vr̥ ddhi-derivation in Indo-Iranian
Máté Ittzés, Eötvös-Loránd-University, Budapest
The paper seeks to answer the question how augmented forms of verb stems with initial i and
u were formed in Old Iranian, i.e. Avestan and Old Persian.
First, the Old Indo-Aryan rule of temporal augment will be shortly described, which
consists in the vr̥ ddhi of the initial vowel. However, such a general rule cannot be assumed for
Old Iranian (or Proto-Indo-Iranian), since it has to be interpreted as an inner-OIA
development. Unfortunately, no relevant Avestan and Old Persian forms are directly attested.
In OIA the treatment of the initial vowel in augmented forms is parallel to the rule
observed in nominal vr̥ ddhi-derivation. It can be assumed that a similar parallism existed in
the Old Iranian languages. Nominal vr̥ ddhi is relatively well known in Avestan, i.e. simple
vowels are replaced by guṇa and guṇa vowels probably by vr̥ ddhi, although the latter is not
attested. This means that Avestan probably had augmented forms with short (guṇa)
diphthongs.
The exact rules of Old Persian nominal vr̥ ddhi have been unclear. Most scholars
assume that, similarly to OIA, both simple and guṇa vowels were replaced by vr̥ ddhi. Since
there is broad consensus now that, in comparison to OIA, Avestan preserved the original
Proto-Indo-Iranian derivational mechanism, this would have to be regarded as a parallel, but
independent, innovation of OP and OIA. The crucial form is the month name θ-a-i-g-r-č-i-. I
will show that, contrary to the view that the first syllable’s long diphthong (if it is really a
long diphthong) must be the vr̥ ddhi-replacement of the simple vowel i, it may also be
interpreted otherwise (i.e. *θigra- → *θaigraka- → θāigrači-). This means that Old Persian
rather had an Avestan-like rule of vr̥ ddhi-derivation (and thus an Avestan-like temporal
augment).
18

Lengthened grade in Vedic root nouns: Szemerényi's Law and some of its implications
Götz Keydana, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
The lengthened grade in the nom.sg. of non-neuter root nouns and some primary derivatives is
often explained as a result of compensatory lengthening. The most prominent case in point is
Szemerényi's Law. In this talk I discuss the methodological premises of this law and look into
possible explanations for the alleged change.
In the first part I show that due to its logical structure Szemerényi's Law is not a sound
law sensu stricto. I then proceed to discuss various phonological scenarios for the law given
in the literature. Compensatory lengthening being the most promising I give a detailed
account of this process in word-final Vrs-sequences. Clusters of this type are indeed prone to
undergo change based on hypocorrection and often resulting in a lengthened preceding vowel.
However, hypocorrection is only possible if the target of the deletion is adjacent to the vowel.
Thus, the only outcome a phonological change can account for is † V̅ s. I propose a solution to
this problem based on a morphophonological repair triggered by recoverability issues and / or
paradigm uniformity. In this scenario, lengthening became opaque and could easily be
reanalyzed, thus starting a new career as a morphological marker for the n.sg.
19

Sigmatic and asigmatic long vowel preterit forms
Frederik Kortlandt, Leiden University
On various occasions I have argued that sigmatic and asigmatic long vowel preterit forms
originated from monosyllabic lengthening in Proto-Indo-European. This view has generally
been disregarded or misrepresented until Kümmel’s recent article (2012). According to my
view, lengthened grade was originally limited to the 2nd and 3rd sg. active forms of both the
sigmatic and the root aorist injunctive. I have claimed that the original distribution was
essentially preserved in the Vedic sigmatic aorist injunctive, but not in the corresponding
indicative, where lengthened grade was generalized, e.g. 1st sg. jeṣam vs. ajaiṣam, 1st pl.
jeṣma vs. ajaiṣma, also śramiṣma vs. atāriṣma. In the root aorist, lengthened grade was
preserved e.g. in Tocharian B śem ‘came’ < *g w ēm-, lyāka ‘saw’ < *lēǵ-, Latin vēnit, lēgit,
Gothic qemun, Albanian mblodhi, Greek ἔσβη ‘(the fire) went out’ < *-g w ēs-, Vedic āraik
‘left’ < *-lēik w -.
Kümmel (2012) disregards the possibility of an apophonic difference between
injunctive and indicative forms. Starting from the presupposition that the active forms of the
sigmatic aorist always had a lengthened grade root vowel, he has to explain away all contrary
instances. Narten presents are a recent development in Vedic, where the athematic present of
the root stu- is secondary and the oldest paradigms of this root are the thematic middle present
and the active subjunctive. The only lengthened grade forms of this root in the Rgveda are the
injunctive staut (7th maṇḍala) and the imperfect astaut (10th maṇḍala). What was the model
for their creation? I think that it was the monosyllabic form of the root aorist injunctive, which
appears to have been preserved in the indicatives RV akrān, asyān, āraik, acait, aśvait,
adyaut of the roots krand-, syand-, ric-, cit-, śvit- and dyut-.
20

Analogical lengthened grades in the Proto‐Germanic strong verbs
Guus Kroonen, Copenhagen University
Proto-Germanic had four short vowels, *a, *e, *i, *u, and four long vowels, *ē, *ī, *ō, *ū.
PGm. *ē is traditionally assumed to have had a phonetic value *[ǣ], developing into *ā in
West Germanic and to *ē in Gothic. However, new evidence suggests that *ē functioned as a
secondary lengthened grade of *a in the so-called verbal iterative system. This points to an
original Proto-Germanic pronunciation *[ā].
The Proto-Germanic iterative system consists of a highly productive derivational
pattern with which any full‐grade strong verb could be given a zero‐grade iterative with a
root-final geminate, cf. G schneiden : schnitzen ‘to cut’ (see recently Kroonen 2012). It has in
recent years come to light that the reverse process, i.e. derivation from iteratives to strong
verbs, occurred as well. Back-formed strong verbs typically inherit the geminate of the
iterative (Lühr 1988: 351ff., Kroonen 2011: 106-112). Also, iteratives with u‐vocalism
produced strong verbs with long *ū analogically after verbal pairs with *ī : *i ablaut, cf. G
zauchen : zucken ‘to pull’ (cf. Lat. ducere, ibid. 112-117).
A possibility that has not yet been explored is that some other iterative verbs, namely
those with a-vocalism, may have similarly given rise to their own class of strong verbs. By
assuming that this class, in analogy to those with long *ī and *ū, received a long *ā in their
roots, a number of formally and etymologically intricate formations, e.g. Go. slepan ‘to
sleep’, Go. tekan ‘to take’ and MHG zāfen ‘to tear’, can be satisfactorily accounted for.
Literature:
F. Kortlandt, 2011, Where have all the aorists gone?, Amsterdamer Beiträger zur älteren
Germanistik 67.
G. Kroonen, 2012, Reflections on the o/zero-ablaut of the Germanic iterative verbs. In: H.
Craig Melchert (ed.), The Indo-European Verb, 191-200. Wiesbaden.
G. Kroonen, 2011, The Proto‐Germanic n‐stems. Amsterdam – New York.
R. Lühr, 1988, Expressivität und Lautgesetz im Germanischen. Heidelberg.
D. Ringe, 2006, From Proto‐Indo‐European to Proto‐Germanic. Oxford.
21

The lengthened grade in the nominative singular
Martin Joachim Kümmel, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
The lengthened grade sometimes appears in single forms of nominal paradigms, the best
established case being the nominative singular of athematic paradigms. However, the
explanation of the phenomenon is controversial: One approach assumes that the lengthening
originally came up in forms where *-s was lost after resonants ( “Szemerényi’s law”) and was
only later taken over by other stems (cf., e.g., Szemerényi 1970: 109ff.). Other approaches
doubt such a connexion to the loss of *-s: Rasmussen (1978: 74-79; 1989: 139-142, 251ff.)
assumed a lengthening effect of the original nominative ending **-z, while Beekes (1985:
151-164) rejects any connection with the ending *-s and assumes two different sources:
lengthening before final resonants in originally s-less nominatives, and lengthening in
monosyllables.
For the assessment of the different approaches it is important to keep in mind what
data the reconstructed distribution is based upon. Some reconstructions crucially depend on a
lengthened grade attested in Indo-Iranian; e.g., the reconstruction *djḗws ‘sky; day’ is mainly
based on Vedic dyáuṣ. However, the distribution of lengthened grades and full grades in Indo-
Iranian was strongly affected by the effects of Brugmann’s Law turning many o grades into
synchronic lengthened grades. In this paper I will examine the synchronic distribution and
history of long grade and full grade in Indo-Iranian noun inflection and the consequences of
these findings for the reconstruction of the nominative singular in PIE, It will be argued that
these data support the theory that the lengthened grade originally was in complementary
distribution with overt *-s.
References:
Beekes, Robert S. P. (1985). The Origins of the Indo-European Nominal Inflection Innsbruck.
Rasmussen, Jens Elmegård (1978): Zur Morphophonemik des Urindogermanischen. In:
Collectanea Indoeuropaea I, ed. B. Čop et al., Ljubljana, 59-143.
Rasmussen, Jens Elmegård (1989). Studien zur Morphophonemik der indogermanischen
Grundsprache. Innsbruck.
Szemerényi, Oswald (1970). Einführung in die vergleichende Sprachwissenschaft. Darmstadt.
22

The Nominative Singular of *eh 2 - and *ih 2 - Stems
Roland Litscher, Universität Zürich
The usual reconstruction of PIE *eh 2 - and *ih 2 -stem nominatives as *-ah 2 (

The lengthened grade in Germanic hypocoristica
Rosemarie Lühr, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin
Among the Germanic n-stems there is a group of nouns which show a lengthened grade *ē,
*ū, *ō followed by long voiced obstruents, MHG tāpe ‘paw’ (*dēbban-), OHG scuobba
‘scale’ (*skōbbōn-). Double voiced obstruents behind long vowels are not due to sound laws.
According to Kluge’s law, only voiceless stops arise from assimilation of n to a preceding
obstruent. Kluge himself explained the variation of single and double obstruents by analogy.
Despite criticisms of these “associationen” by Kauffmann, Lühr, van Helten, Rasmussen, this
view is recently accepted by Kroonen. However, in the case of alternation opacity of
allomorphemes with *þ : *tt resp. *đ : tt, one would rather expect a leveling to *t : *tt. Hence,
another explanation of the long voiced obstruents must be found. In a first step, it has to be
proven whether the connection of long vowels and long voiced stops is compatible with the
Germanic syllable structure. The investigation is based on metrical phonology. The next
investigation step concerns the meaning of the words with lengthened grade and long voiced
stops in Germanic. As sound symbolism and expressivity play an important role in the
Germanic lexicon, it is to be demonstrated to what extent such mental phenomena could have
caused this phonetically odd mixture. Hereby the status of lengthened grades must be settled.
It is posited that the long vowels are inherited in Germanic, but in front of long voiced stops
they have the function to reinforce expressivity. Though the Germanic syllable structure
forbids such super-heavy syllables, the lengthened grade is retained. The function of
reinforcing expressivity by the lengthened grade is a special feature of the Germanic branch
of the Indo-European languages.
24

Surprise at length of Tocharian nouns
Melanie Malzahn, University of Vienna
The Tocharian languages reflect lengthened grades in roots within the verbal and nominal
system. As for root apophony, on the one hand we find lengthened grades of roots in
athematic nouns that do not come as a surprise at least to the followers of the Schindler
School. Here belongs the TA dual form śanweṃ ‘jaws’ from *ĝēn- that can be derived from
the paradigm of an acrostatic u-stem (as per Nikolaev, 2010, 1-18). Similarly, the ē-grade i-
stem TB yel, TA wal < *wēl-i- ‘worm’ is reminiscent of the Greek ē-grade i-stem δῆρις
‘battle’. The same applies to lengthened-grade thematic nouns and respective n- and eh 2 -stem
derivatives, since PIE had denominative o-stems denoting appurtenance formed by
vrddhisation. Here seems to belong TB yente, TA want ‘wind’ < *h 2 u̯ ēh 1 -n̥ to- (as per
Schindler, 1994, 399; Widmer, 1997, 28), TB yerpe ‘orb’ (Weiss, 2007, 261), and also TB
śer(u)we ‘hunter’ if this is an inherited form (Jasanoff apud Nussbaum, 1986, 8). Here may
also belong the following forms, whose etymologies will be discussed: TB ariwe* ‘ram, male
goat’; TB āntse, TA es ‘shoulder’; TB yepe ‘knife’; TB yerkwanto ‘wheel’; TB yetse ‘skin’;
TB yolme ‘pond, pool’; TA yṣaṃ ‘trench, moat’; TB ṣpel ‘pill’; TB sāle ‘ground, basis’, and
possibly TB yerter ‘wheelrim, felloe’.
On the other hand, there are lengthened grades in Tocharian nouns that do come as a
surprise, e.g., TB ñem/TA ñom ‘name’ if this goes back to a protoform PIE *h 1 nḗh 3 -mn̥ . It
will be argued that there is, however, no principled reason against assuming acrostatically
inflected men-stems that existed beside proterokinetically inflected ones. A different case is
TB yesti ‘piece of cloth’ < *u̯ ḗstoi̯ (Malzahn 2004), because it bizarrely combines ē-acrostatic
root ablaut with a suffix ablaut typical of holokinetically inflected nouns.
Especially in such cases, I think one should turn to Schindler’s suggestion (Schindler,
1994, 398f.) that such irregular lengthened or full grades of roots found in nouns have to do
with verbal Narten forms. To be sure, in my view Schindler’s original claim (“Verbalen
Nartenformationen entsprechen systematisch Nominalbildungen mit analogen
Ablautverhältnissen. Das läßt auf zwei ursprüngliche Wurzeltypen schließen, Standard- und
Nartenwurzeln”) was much too strong and should nowadays be abandoned; on the other hand,
it seems quite reasonable to assume that thanks to the principle of analogy, lengthened grades
and full grades found in verbal (so-called) Narten paradigms could be transferred into
respective nominal forms at least sporadically, i.e., precisely non-systematically.
For Tocharian one may put forth further evidence from the root TB ñäsk- ‘to seek’
(Malzahn, 2007). The same principle can be argued for TB yesti ‘piece of cloth’.
Finally, I would like to argue that a weak version of Schindler’s explanation principle
is a strategy to account for TB śerkw ‘cord, string’, TA nom. pl. śorkmi ‘strings’, which I
think Hilmarsson has plausibly shown to derive from a pre-PT *kērg( h )-u̯ n̥ (Hilmarsson, 1986,
125-144).
References:
Hilmarsson, Jörundur, 1986: Studies in Tocharian Phonology, Morphology and Etymology
with special emphasis on the o-vocalism, Proefschrift Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden,
Reykjavík.
Malzahn, Melanie, 2004: “Toch. B yesti nāskoy und der Narten-Charakter der idg. Wurzel
*u̯ es- ‘(Kleidung) anhaben’”, Die Sprache 43/2, 2002-2003[2004], 212-220.
Malzahn, Melanie, 2007: “Tocharian Desire”, Verba Docenti. Studies in historical and Indo-
European linguistics presented to Jay H. Jasanoff by students, colleagues, and friends,
ed. by Alan J. Nussbaum, Ann Arbor/New York: Beech Stave Press, 237-249.
25

Nikolaev, Alexander S., 2010: Issledovanija po praindoevropejskoj imennoj morfologii /
Studies in Indo-European nominal morphology, Sankt-Peterburg: Nauka.
Nussbaum, Alan J., 1986: Head and Horn in Indo-European, Berlin / New York: de Gruyter.
Schindler, Jochem, 1994: “Alte und neue Fragen zum indogermanischen Nomen”, In
honorem Holger Pedersen. Kolloquium der Indogermanischen Gesellschaft 1993 in
Kopenhagen, hrsg. von Jens Elmegård Rasmussen, Wiesbaden: Reichert, 397-400.
Weiss, Michael, 2007: “Latin Orbis and its Cognates”, Historische Sprachforschung 119,
2006[2007], 250-272.
Widmer, Paul, 1997: Nartennomen, Lizentiatsarbeit Univ. Bern.
26

The accentuation of Balto-Slavic Vr̥ ddhi formations and the origin of the acute
Ranko Matasović, University of Zagreb
The traditional view that PIE lengthened grade vowels receive the acute in Balto-Slavic can
no longer be defended. It is contradicted by such examples as PIE *d h ugh 2 tēr ‘daughter’ >
Lith. duktė͂ , PIE *(H)rēk-s-o-m ‘I said’ > Croat. rijêh, PIE *h 2 ōwyom ‘egg’ > Croat. jâje. It
should also be taken as proved that syllables closed by laryngeals and voiced stops (or
glottalics, by Winter’s law) received the acute intonation in Balto-Slavic.
However, the fact that the PIE lengthened grade long vowels are circumflex in Balto-
Slavic does not prove that all lenghtened grade long vowels in Balto-Slavic are circumflex. In
the present paper we shall show that a number of formations with the lengthened grade of the
root, that were not inherited from PIE, received the acute in Balto-Slavic. Such words have
the lengthened grade only in Balto-Slavic, but not in other IE languages, which shows that
their Vr̥ ddhi is not inherited from PIE. Examples of such formations are BSl. *ślā́wā ‘fame’
(Lith. šlóvė, Croat. slȁva) < PIE *k’low- (Gr. kléos), BSl. *ṓsi- ‘ash-tree’ (Lith. úosis, Croat.
jȁsen) < PIE *h 3 es- (ON askr), etc. There are also cases where we cannot show that the Balto-
Slavic acute occurs on a long vowel (since we find it on syllables containing diphthongs), but
where derivation by Vrddhi seems plausible on semantic grounds, as well as others, where we
find an unexplained acute either in Baltic or in Slavic, but not in both branches.
In the present paper, we will systematically collect and analyze such material in order
to show that the Balto-Slavic Vr̥ ddhi formations, in contradistinction to the inherited PIE long
vowels, received the acute intonation.
27

“Narten formations” versus “Narten roots”
H. Craig Melchert, UCLA
Verbal stems showing “acrostatic” *ḗ/é ablaut are widely labeled “Narten formations” in
honor of Johanna Narten, who in 1968 first argued for the systematic existence of such a type
of present: e.g. *stḗuti, *stéwn̥ ti ‘praise’ seen in Vedic astāut and Old Avestan participle
stauuat-. Some scholars, most explicitly Schindler, have assumed that “Narten”-type ablaut is
lexically determined: certain roots show a lengthened-grade/full-grade alternation where
“normal” roots show full grade alternating with zero-grade, or full grade in a category usually
showing zero grade.
While certain roots do show “clusters” of lengthened-grade formations in both verbal
and nominal categories, this fact per se does not justify the notion of a special class of “Narten
roots”, since it is commonplace that the expected ablaut pattern of a nominal formation may
be influenced by a related verbal category: e.g., beside the inherited result noun tarma- ‘peg,
nail’ < *tór(h 1 )-mo- and the likely parallel karša- ‘shearing’ < *kórs-o- beside karš- ‘cut’ <
*kers-, Hittite also shows for this productive formation examples like kuera- ‘field’ <
*‘section’ with e-grade after kuer- ‘cut’ and gulšša- ‘fate’ with zero grade after gulšš- ‘draw,
sketch’.
I will argue that lengthened-grade “Narten presents” (and related secondary nominal
formations) are attested in some cases to roots that also show “regular” ablaut patterns,
including *h 1 es- ‘be’ (following Oettinger), *swep- ‘fall asleep’ (cf. Klingenschmitt), and
others. I conclude that acrostatic “Narten presents” do not reflect a special class of roots, but
are merely another among the well-established types of characterized presents. They differ
merely in showing “internal” derivation rather than an overt suffix. What remains an open
question is to what extent we can identify them with a particular Aktionsart.
28

Root-structure and the occurrence of full and lengthened grade in PIE root nouns
Benedicte Nielsen Whitehead, University of Copenhagen
The paper reviews the ablaut patterns of PIE root nouns, especially the conditions for
nominatival lengthening and the choice of weak grade correlating to a specific form of the
nominative.
Certain basics of PIE root-noun apophony are today considered commonplace, such as
the link between ablaut and specific semantic types: stative agent-nouns, action nouns,
nomina rei actae (Schindler 1972); or the fact that that nominatival lengthening occurs only in
stems with one final consonant (e.g. Möller 1880: 499).
However, Schindler 1979: 60 also pointed out that in certain well-defined cases, root
structure was a determining factor for the choice of a particular ablaut grade. This paper
surveys 80 root nouns of presumed IE age and qualifies his findings as follows: a root noun
will only ever appear in a form that displays (a) at least one initial consonant, (b) a syllabic
element and (c) if possible, exactly one final consonant. I.e., the root maintains the basic
phonological structure C N V 1 C 1 , when possible.
The relevance of these observations is twofold. As will be illustrated, we should,
firstly, pay special attention to a small handful of root nouns that do not adhere to these rules,
and secondly, we should be careful when drawing conclusions about original ablaut patterns
on the basis of attested forms.
These facts challenge our otherwise firm convictions about the ablaut of PIE root
nouns.
References:
Möller, H. 1880. “Zur declination. Germanisch ā ē ō in de endungen des nomens und die
Entstehung des o (*a₂)”. PBB 7: 482-547.
Schindler, J. 1972. Das Wurzelnomen im Arischen und Griechischen. Dissertation: Phil. Fak.,
Universität Würzburg.
Schindler, J. 1979. “C. Rezension”. Die Sprache 25 (1): 57-60.
29

Zu langstufigen Bildungen des Indogermanischen
Norbert Oettinger, Erlangen
Da die Existenz von „Narten-Wurzeln“ nicht wahrscheinlich ist, wird man mit teilweise
unterschiedlicher Herkunft von in der Wurzelsilbe langstufigen Bildungen der
indogermanischen Grundsprache rechnen und sie zunächst einzeln betrachten. Dies soll in
jeweils kurzer Form geschehen.
Beim Nomen fällt auf, dass der Typ N-A.Sg. *h 1 i̯ ēk w -r̥ , Gen. *h 1 i̯ ek w -n̥ -s ‚Leber‘ im
hierarchischen Derivationssystem des Indogermanischen mit dem Typ Nom.Sg. *dóm-s, Gen.
*dém-s ‚Haus‘ um die erste Position konkurriert. Auch die Langstufe mancher neutraler s-
Stämme wie gr. ῥῆγος ‚Decke‘ bedarf der Diskussion.
Beim Verbum scheinen manche Narten-Präsentien einmal reduplizierten Präsentien
funktional gleichwertig gewesen zu sein. Dies wurde im Prinzip bereits von Harđarson (1993)
vermutet. Da der spät-urindogermanische sigmatische Aorist ebenfalls Langstufe aufwies, so
stellt sich die Frage, ob auch hier eine entsprechende Gleichwertigkeit vermutet werden kann.
Literatur:
Hackstein, Olav, 1995. Zu den sigmatischen Präsensstammbildungen des Tocharischen.
Göttingen.
Harđarson, Jón Axel. 1993. Studien zum Urindogermanischen Wurzelaorist und dessen
Entsprechungen im Indoiranischen und Griechischen. Innsbruck.
Jasanoff, Jay H. 2003. Hittite and the Indo-European Verb. Oxford.
Oettinger, Norbert. 2011. Indogermanisch *h 1 es- ‘sitzen’ und luwisch asa[r]. In: MSS 65,
167-170.
30

‛Expressive lengthening’ – linguistic reality or strange nightmare?
Oswald Panagl, Salzburg
Among the representations of lengthened grade vowels reconstructed for Proto-Indo-
European as well as attested in ancient Indo-European languages, most of the examples under
consideration may be explained either as reflexes of laryngeals or as “Dehnstufen” (in Neo-
Grammarian sense) within the traditional vowel-system. But there are also some instances
which do not fit into this framework. Mayrhofer in his Indo-European Phonology (Mayrhofer
1986/ 2012) mentions e.g. the word pairs *mŭs : *mūs “mouse” or *nŭ : *nū “now”: „So ist
der einsilbige Nom. Sing., wohl */ṷīs/, für ‚Gift‘ im Jungavestischen noch erhalten … Wenn
das ved. Verbum muṣṇā́ ti ‚stiehlt‘ primär ist und auf laryngalloses *mus-, allenfalls *meṷ-szurückweist
und wenn das verbreitete Wort für ‚Maus‘ davon abgeleitet ist, dann enthält die
Gleichung ved. mū́ ṣ- = lat. mūs = ahd. mūs usw. altes */ū/. Sicher alt ist */nū(n)/ … in ved. nū,
gr. νῦν neben */nu/ in ved. nú, gr. νύ… etc.“ (p. 171). However, valuable observations about
lengthened grade one-syllable case forms of lexemes with the vowels /i/ or /u/ are published
by Specht (KZ 59, 1932, p. 280 sqq.) A special case is the particle of exclamation *ō, for
which Mayrhofer denies the effect of a laryngeal.
If we take into account some metrical lengthenings (Homeric āthánatos) and several
irregularly long vowels unexpected so far, we may think with some scholars like Hirt (1921),
Grammont (1971) of phono-stylistic reasons like emphasis, force or insistance.
Do there exist phenomena comparable to spontaneous gemination of consonants? Lühr
(1988) presented models and types of explanations given by Martinet (1937), who offers
special semantic fields (Onomatopées, Noms d’animaux, Aliments, Parties du corps,
Maladies, Métiers etc.), and Graur (1929), who emphasizes the role of „mots vulgaires“ with
„une valeur affective“ and characterized by „séries d’idées susceptibles d’avoir cours dans le
langage familier ou vulgaire.“ On the other hand, Wissmann (1939) underlines the dominance
of lexemes in hypocoristic style (Lallwörter, Kurznamen, Tierwörter) as well as words „zur
Bezeichnung von wertlosen und geringgeschätzten Dingen“.
Questions upon questions!
31

The lengthened grade in Tocharian nominal morphology
Georges-Jean Pinault, École Pratique des Hautes Études
The Tocharian phonological system does not show any contrast of length in the vowels. The
reflexes of the PIE vowels *ē and *ō, as well as of the diphthongs *ēi̯ , *ōi̯ , etc. in Common
Tocharian (CToch.), are still moot points, despite some advances in recent decades. In
particular, the fate of these diphthongs in final position, as well as of the PIE final sequences
*°ōR, *°ōN, *°ōs, etc. has been much debated. These issues are partly related to the
interpretation of PIE morphology and to patterns of internal derivation. Tocharian material
has been often used to confirm hypotheses about PIE issues, without due consideration of the
facts that can be reconstructed for CToch. on the basis of the two daughter languages, TA and
TB. The paper will propose a comprehensive survey of the traces of lengthened grade in
several Tocharian nominal categories. Some problems relevant to the reconstruction of the
PIE nominal inflection will also be discussed. To take a single example, it will be shown, after
weighing the pros and cons, that TB ñem, TA ñom ‘name’ (CToch. *ñæmä) does not provide
any evidence for the reconstruction of a lengthened grade in the inflection of the PIE noun,
allegedly *h 1 nḗh 3 - for the strong stem allomorph. The still controversial reflexes in CToch. of
PIE *-ōi̯ and *-oi̯ in final position will be discussed. It appears that the allomorph *-oi̯ has
remained productive as making abstracts, parallel to the productivity of the abstracts in *-u̯ or
> CToch. *-wær, that would have replaced *-u̯ ōr. If this argument is accepted, the Tocharian
data would point to the existence of neuters with nom.-acc. sg. *-oi̯ , *-u̯ or, etc. who stand for
the PIE collectives in *-ōi̯ , *-u̯ ōr as expected according to Szemerényi’s Law, from *-oi̯ -h 2 ,
*-u̯ or-h 2 . The situation seems to be different for animate *-on-, *-mon- and *-u̯ on-stems,
which would show in Common Toch. the reflexes of expected nom. sg. *-ōn, *-mōn and
*-u̯ ōn (< *-(C)on-s).
32

The Proto-Indo-European *-VTs# clusters and the formulation of Szemerényi’s Law
Dariusz Piwowarczyk
Szemerényi’s Law is a term used nowadays for a sound change postulated for the Indo-
European proto-language through which a sequence *-V̆ Rs develops into *-V̄ Rø (1970: 109,
155). Nowadays there seem to exist three different approaches to Szemerényi’s Law: some
scholars assume that it operated in a way as formulated by Szemerényi himself (Neri 2003:
20 35 ), others assume that it only operated in sequences consisting of a resonant and *-s
(Griepentrog 1995: 177-179, Kim 2001: 127) and still other scholars deny the existence of the
law altogether, assuming that the vowel was lengthened before word-final resonant (ĕR > ēR)
except *-m (Beekes 1985: 151-154).
In this paper I shall argue that Szemerényi’s Law operated in the proto-language and
that its operation should be restricted to *-V̆ Rs# and *-V̆ RH# sequences only. The assumption
of the lengthening of vowels before a resonant requires a difficult explanation of the vocative
of the *r-stems (cf. Beekes 1985: 99-101) which is easily explained by assuming that the law
did operate.
Additionally, I will show that the development of *V̆ Ts > *V̆ ss > *V̄ s, often assumed
as part of Szemerényi’s Law (cf. Neri 2003: 20 35 , Lipp 2009: 93) as in PIE *pód-s > *póss >
*pṓs > Doric Greek pṓs ‘foot’ (Hesych.), is hardly credible (cf. also Kim 2001: 127 24 ).
References:
Beekes, Robert. 1985. The origins of the Indo-European nominal inflection. Innsbruck.
Griepentrog, Wolfgang. 1995. Die Wurzelnomina des Germanischen und ihre Vorgeschichte.
Innsbruck.
Kim, Ronald. 2001. “Tocharian B śem ≈ Latin vēnit? Szemerenyi’s Law and *ē in PIE root
aorists. MSS 61. 119-147.
Lipp, Reiner. 2009. Die indogermanischen und einzelsprachlichen Palatale im
Indoiranischen. Band II. Heidelberg.
Neri, Sergio. 2003. I sostantivi in -u del gotico. Innsbruck.
Szemerenyi, Oswald. 1970. Einfuhrung in die vergleichende Sprachwissenschaft. Darmstadt.
33

Szemerényi’s law: a critical survey of the evidence
Tijmen Pronk, Institut za hrvatski jezik / Leiden University
Today it appears to be widely accepted that the lengthened grade vowel in the nominative
singular of hysterodynamic nouns of the type *ph 2 tēr was the result of earlier loss of final *-s
with compensatory lengthening of the preceding consonant, which was subsequently
shortened with compensatory lengthening of the preceding vowel (Szemerényi 1999: 116).
The development is generally referred to as Szemerényi’s law, although the basic idea behind
it is much older (cf. Collinge 2009: 237).
Nussbaum (1986: 129f.) added to Szemerényi’s hypothesis by suggesting that
collectives ending in a long vowel and a resonant can be explained in a similar way. The
collective ending *-h 2 would have been lost with eventual compensatory lengthening of the
vowel in the preceding syllable. Szemerényi’s law has also been employed to explain a
number of further isolated lengthened grades.
Beekes (1990) provided several arguments against Szemerényi’s law. He argued that
the asigmatic nom.sg. of the h 2 -stems proves the existence of originally asigmatic
nominatives. He further argued that case endings like gen. sg. *-ei-s, *-en-s provide
counterevidence against Szemerényi’s law. A similar argument applies to the thematic acc.pl.
ending *-o-ns.
During the lecture, the strengths and weaknesses of Szemerényi’s law will be
discussed. We will also address the question whether alternative accounts of the lengthened
grade may provide a better explanation for the data.
References:
Beekes, Robert S. P. 1990 “Wackernagel’s explanation of the lengthened grade”,
Sprachwissenschaft und Philologie: Jacob Wackernagel und die Indogermanistik
heute. Wiesbaden, 33–53.
Collinge, N. E. 2009 The laws of Indo-European. Amsterdam–Philadelphia.
Nussbaum, Alan 1986 Head and horn in Indo-European. Berlin–New York.
Szemerényi, Oswald 1999 Introduction to Indo-European linguistics. Oxford.
34

The derivation of Slavic imperfective verbs with lengthened grade
Johannes Reinhart, University of Vienna
Slavic imperfective verbs derived from verbs with a short stem vowel (e, o, ь, ъ) usually have
a lengthened vowel (e.g. OCS svьtěti ‘shine’ → svitati, kloniti ‘bend’ → klanjati). According
to the theory of Jerzy Kuryłowicz the lengthened grade in derived imperfective verbs started
in seṭ-roots with a sonorant before the laryngeal. After the root vowel is lengthened it is
introduced to the position before a vowel, e.g. trh 1 -tei ‘rub’ > tīrh 1 -tei, tīrh 1 -ā-tei > tĭrh 1 -tei,
tīrh 1 -ā-tei. Then the preconsonantal vowel is shortened and can be recognized only by its
accentuation. This is the origin of the apophonic relationship of verbs of the tĭrti (OCS trьti) ~
-tirati type. This relationship was later analogically spread to verbs like bĭrati ~ -birati, merti
~ -mirati and gnesti ~ -gnětati, greti ~ -grěbati.
There are, however, some insurmountable difficulties related to Kuryłowicz’s theory.
One such difficulty is that the shortening of preconsonantal long-vowels in the structure ī/ūRC
must have taken place not long after the development of short high-vowels in front of syllabic
sonorants, which is dated no later than 1000 BC. On the other hand, the origin of Common
Slavic verbal aspect is a relatively recent process, cf. e.g. van Wijk: „Le système des aspects
est lui aussi d’origine relativement moderne“ (RÉSl 9, 1929: 251).
One must also bear in mind that imperfective verbs of the type -tirati are always found
with verbal prefixes and have the following derivational history: simple verb (e.g. tьrti) →
prefix + simple verb (prětьrti) → prefix + derived imperfective verb (prětirati). Therefore
simple verbs in the modern languages (e.g. Sln. tirati) probably owe their existence to the loss
of the prefix (dépréverbation). This means that in the framework of Kuryłowicz’s theory
simple derived imperfective verbs existed for several centuries only to disappear before the
earliest written texts. These facts force us to abandon Kuryłowicz’s theory as a general
principle and to look for alternative solutions.
In this paper an attempt is made to explain the lengthened grade in Slavic imperfective
derivation as the result of different processes. The following processes come into
consideration: (a) denominative verbs derived from nouns with a long vowel (some of which
might be explained by Kuryłowicz’s formula); (b) derived verbs with lengthened grade (of IE
origin or post-IE formations built after IE models); (c) after a proportion Te/aRT : TuRT =
Te/aHT : x, x = *TuHT (= TūT) etc. (cf. Mathiassen, Studien, 1974: 18); (d) by the
relationship ī : ĭ (i : ь; < *ei : i) arisen after the monophtongisation of diphthongs.
If the scenario suggested in this paper is true, then the derivation of Slavic
imperfective verbs with lengthened grade is a typical case of a conspiracy.
35

On the Phonetics and Phonology of Stang's and Szemerényi's Laws
Ryan Sandell, UCLA
This paper works towards a better understanding of the phonetic and phonological processes
in Proto-Indo-European that bear the labels of Stang’s Law (Stang 1965: 292 ff.) and
Szemerényi’s Law (Szemerényi 1970: 106-11). Descriptively, both laws appear to involve the
the loss of certain consonants in auslaut when preceded by certain other consonants, with
consequent compensatory lengthening of the vowel in the final syllable (e.g., **di̯ eu̯ -m >
*di̯ ēm; **ph 2 ter-s > *ph 2 tēr). Principally, two questions require an account:
1. why are those certain word-final consonants lost?
2. why does the loss of those consonants result in compensatory lengthening?
Answers to the first question seem largely straightforward with respect to Stang's Law:
assimilation of segments, coupled with the well-known constraint against adjacent identical
segments in PIE, leads to loss of a consonant (cf. Mayrhofer 1986 [2012]: 171-2). In the case
of Szemerényi's Law, already Szemerényi (1970: 109) advanced a similar explanation based
on assimilation (e.g., *-rs#>*-rr#) and degemination, but some more recent work (e.g., Byrd
2010: 88-94) has instead suggested that a general ban on word-final resonant + fricative
sequences was operative in PIE. The fact that cases involving both *s and *h 2 , despite the
divergent phonetic properties of those segments, have been adduced as instances of
Szemerényi's Law (cf. Szemerényi 1970: 155, 159), raises the further question of whether the
all Szemerényi's Law phenomena reflect the same process.
The second question is more troubling, in light of the fact that a plausible model of
compensatory lengthening (Moraic Theory; see Hayes 1989) does not predict compensatory
lengthening of the type VC 1 C 2 # > V̄ C 1 #, and that the typological study of Kavitskaya (2002)
does not find evidence for compensatory lengthening of such a type. Evidence from Greek,
Latin, and Indo-Iranian, however, suggests that word-final consonants may have been
extrametrical (i.e., did not bear a mora) in PIE (a not uncommon situation cross-linguistically;
cf. Hayes 1995: 56-60). Thus, when a formerly weight-bearing consonant became word-final,
its mora was transferred to the preceding vowel, and so produced the lengthened vowel.
References:
Byrd, A. M. (2010). Reconstructing Indo-European Syllabification. Ph.D. thesis, University
of California, Los Angeles.
Hayes, B. (1989). Compensatory Lengthening in Moraic Phonology. Linguistic Inquiry 20,
253--306.
Hayes, B. (1995). Metrical Stress Theory. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Kavitskaya, D. (2002). Compensatory Lengthening: Phonetics, Phonology, Diachrony. New
York: Routledge.
Mayrhofer, M. (1986 [2012]). Indogermanische Grammatik I 2: Lautlehre. Heidelberg: Carl
Winter.
Stang, C. (1965). Indo-Européen *G w ŌM, *D(I)I̯ ĒM. In: Symbolae linguisticae in honorem
Georgii Kuryłowicz (Polska Akademia Nauk. Prace Komisji Językoznawsta, ed.).
Wrocław: Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich.
Szemerényi, O. (1970). Einführung in die vergleichende Sprachwissenschaft. Darmstadt:
Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.
36

The fourth makes it whole? The reduced lengthened ablaut grade in Old Indo-Aryan
Ondřej Šefčík, Masaryk University, Brno
Due to the abolishing of both original IE o-grades (i.e. IE full o-grade and lengthened o-
grade) in Indo-Iranian, the ablaut system of Indo-Aryan was formed with only three grades:
reduced (RG, 0/i), full (FG, a) and lengthened (LG, ā).
We can describe the ablaut system in OIA with a set of values distinguishing different
grades, i.e. any given ablaut grade is attached to a unique set of values.
For describing the Old Indo-Aryan ablaut system, we need only four values of two
features ({±reduced} and {±lengthened}) thus FG = {-reduced, -lengthened}, RG: =
{+reduced, -lengthened}; LG = {-reduced, +lengthened}:
0/I RG
=
a ā FG LG
This system is not “complete”, since there is a gap where there could be a grade with
values {+reduced, +lengthened}. It should be noted that this gap was filled in the Balto-Slavic
languages, which have two reduced lengthened grades in two variants: {e-reduced
lengthened} and {o-reduced lengthened}.
We suppose that analogically in Old Indo-Aryan, there are traces of tendencies to
formalize a fourth grade (i.e. reduced lengthened grade, RLG, ī) and we can at least partially
reach the “complete” system of ablaut in OIA as:
0/i (ī) RG (RLG)
=
a ā FG LG
The forming of “reduced lengthened” grade in OIA was seconded by the fact, that the
loss of original laryngeals left roots lengthened, when those roots, unlike roots which lack an
original laryngeal. Thus lengthened reduced grade arose first as a variant of reduced grade.
For a further systematization of the RLG we should note the following tendencies:
1. In the passive of the present stem (ya-passive), with the lengthening of a preceding
root vowel of otherwise non-lengthened reduced grade.
2. Analogically, in the formation of the derivative stem.
3. In the reduplicative aorist, where the reduplication syllable is “reduced” like the
reduplication syllables of present or desiderative reduplication, but is also
“lengthened”, either by the quality of the reduplication vowel or position.
It is no coincidence that all three stems are “secondary”, i.e. highly productive stems
with a clear semantics (passive, desiderative, causative aorist), which contrast with old
37

“primary” stems. The first two stems arose from positional lengthening before a lost laryngeal
as well, while the third was probably formed independently purely through an analogy.
Selected literature:
Kortlandt, F. H. H. (1972) Modelling the Phoneme - New Trends in East European
Phonemic Theory. The Hague: Mouton.
MacDonell, A. A. (1910): Vedic Grammar. Strassburg: Karl J. Trübner.
Marcus, S. (1967) Introduction mathématique à la linguistique structurale. Paris: Dunod.
Šefčík, O. (2008) Values, Features, Fine Metrics and Oppositions. Linguistica Brunensia 56:
5–14.
Šefčík, O. (2009) Preliminary Description of the Czech Phonemic System Using Feature
Geometry. In: Dočekal, M. & M. Ziková (eds.) Czech in Formal Grammar 183-196.
Muenchen: Lincom Europa.
Whitney, W. D. (1885): The Roots, Verb-forms and Primary Derivatives of the Sanskrit-
Language. Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel.
Whitney, W. D. (1924 5 ): Sanskrit Grammar. Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel.
38

Zur Etymologie von griechisch κῆλᾰ ‚Pfeile, Geschosse‘
Thomas Steer, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg
Die Etymologie von gr. Nom.-Akk.Pl.n. κῆλᾰ ‚Pfeile, Geschosse‘ (Il.+) ist noch nicht
abschließend geklärt. Formal und semantisch bestehen verschiedene Anschlussmöglichkeiten,
vgl. z.B. R. S. P. Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden / Boston 2010) s.v.
Die Belegstellen bei Homer, wo κῆλᾰ in erster Linie die Geschosse des Pfeilgottes
Apollon bezeichnet, machen eine ursprüngliche Bedeutung ‚Pfeile‘ wahrscheinlich. Daher
dürfte die bereits mehrfach vorgeschlagene und favorisierte Verknüpfung von κῆλᾰ mit ved.
śará- ‚Rohr‘ (RV+), ‚Pfeil‘ (AV+), śáru- ‚Geschoss, Pfeil, Speer‘ (RV+) semantisch am
wahrscheinlichsten sein. Hinzu kommen noch andere Argumente: Bei Homer werden mit
κῆλᾰ nur Geschosse von Göttern (A 53 des Apollon, M 280 des Zeus) bezeichnet. Und auch
im Rigveda wird śáru- offenbar nur für von Göttern gesandte Geschosse benutzt. Außerdem
bestehen zwischen Apollon und dem altindischen Gott Rudra, der auch Śarva (abgeleitet von
śáru-) genannt wird (vgl. VS 16,18; 16,28), sehr auffällige mythologische Parallelen (Pfeil
und Bogen als Attribute; Seuchen- und Heilgötter etc.); vgl. z.B. Th. Oberlies, Die Religion
des R̥ gveda. Erster Teil: Das religiöse System des R̥ gveda (Wien 1998) 206f., 213–16.
Als lautlich problematisch bei der semantisch und mythologisch gut motivierten
etymologischen Verbindung von gr. κῆλᾰ und ved. śará- ‚Rohr, Pfeil‘, śáru- ‚Pfeil, Geschoss‘
erweist sich der griechische Langvokal in κηλ- < *ḱēl(H)-, dem im Altindischen ein kurzer
Vokal in śar- < *ḱe/ol(H)- gegenübersteht. Für die Genese der noch ungeklärten griechischen
Dehnstufe sollen zwei mögliche Erklärungen zur Diskussion gestellt werden.
39

Szemerényi's law and related issues
Roman Sukač, Silesian University, Opava
In my talk I would like to present my theory on the mechanism of Szemerényi's law and
morphonological issues including the function of resulted lengthened grade in a paradigm.
Concerning -rs codas in PIE root nouns, there is a theory that would explains the weakening
of /r/ before /s/ due to the shared place of articulation (Kümmel 2007). However, this process
(not limited to root nouns only) must be language specified, because no /r/ weakening in final
codas can be seen in OE fyrst or some internationalisms like Mars, revers, Czech kompars.
Also, the hysterokinetic nouns like *ph 2 -tér-s do not undergo any r-weakening.
Also, the PIE "VNs" clusters give the same results, like *k´u̯ ons >*k´u̯ ōn. Obviously,
the whole group containing a resonant behaves in a similar way. There is a recent
hypocorrection theory by Ohala and Kavitskaya (2002) which might explain the Szemerényi's
law as compensation lengthening. In my opinion, we face some difficulties here.
First, the exact pronunciation of the ancient speakers is not known and in a
reconstructed language we should deal with phonological level only.
Second, we should explain why such a mechanism does not occur in other Indo-
European languages (see typological paralells above).
Third, the S. Law can be observed in the consonantal coda cluster of the same place
articulation. So I try to have a look at examples where the cluster -VRs leads to the following
possible results:
1) -VRs > -V̅ R (lengthening, coda simplification, S. Law)
2) -VRs > -V̅ s (lengthening, coda simplification, resonant loss)
3) - VRs > -V(R)(s) no lengthening, coda simplication
If b) and c) exist typologicaly, the S. Law is just one of several possible outcomes of the same
process. I think that what we observe here is the mora transfer from the moraic coda (which
leads to the lengthening of the nucleus) with the subsequent final cluster simplification.
So in the second part of my talk I will explain my theory of moraic codas and mora
transfer. Basically, I argue that the moraic structure is *-V µ R µ s and that it leads to the solution
1) (see above). I also try to explain why the solutions 2) and 3) are typologicaly possible.
Finally, I will briefly discuss how the lengthened grade spreads intra- and
interparadigmaticaly creating some forms of optimal paradigms.
40

Tone variation among Baltic ia-presents
Miguel Villanueva Svensson, Vilnius University
The ia-presents are an extremely productive class of primary verbs in the Baltic languages. iapresents
with a long vowel or diphthong frequently present dialectal variation between acute
and circumflex intonation, e.g. Lith. grė́bia / grė̃bia “rakes”, spréndžia / spreñdžia “decides”,
júosia / juõsia “girds”, díegia / diẽgia “plants”, dáužia / daũžia “strikes”, etc. Such variants
are much more widespread than previously thought: it seems as if every verb with acute
intonation could acquire circumflex variants in the prehistory of (East) Baltic.
In spite of its obvious importance, this phenomenon has never been subject to a
thorough treatment. As a result, previous accounts depend on an insufficient collection of
data. In this presentation I intend to fulfill the following goals:
First, I will present and sift the corpus of ia-presents with tone variation (including iapresents
with unexpected circumflex or acute intonation).
Second, I will present a new account of this phenomenon. Acute intonation is clearly
expansive among roots ending in a resonant or a diphthong (Lith. ber̃ti → bérti “strew,
scatter”, jaũti → jáuti “mix”, etc.). Among roots ending in a stop or a sibilant, on the other
hand, acute intonation can be argued to be original. The circumflex variant arose in the
preterit due to retraction of the ictus from *-ìi̯ ā > *-ē̃.
Third, I will discuss the implications of this proposal in a broader, Balto-Slavic and
Indo-European perspective: a) it accounts for circumflex intonation among words that should
have presented acute intonation, b) it implies an old acute vowel among words that probably
continue a PIE lengthened grade.
41

Ares the Ripper: From Stang’s Law to long-diphthong roots
Andreas Willi, Oxford University
In response to a recent - and a priori rather attractive - derivation, by T. Barnes, of the Greek
theonym Ἄρης from a root *h 2 reh 1 -, the present paper will start by highlighting some formal
problems arising from this view, in particular the need to postulate an inversion of (the effects
of) Stang’s Law in order to explain the Aeolic form of Ares’ name, Ἄρευς. These difficulties,
it will be argued, can be avoided if the theonym directly instantiates Stang’s Law, and if an
original nom. *h 2 reu-s (as preserved in Aeolic) is posited next to acc. *h 2 reu-m > *h 2 rēm >
Ἄρην. In pre-Mycenaean times already (cf. Myc. dat. a-re etc.), Ἄρευς was then regularised
as Ἄρης, with the nominative following the accusative because the onomastic use is
secondary. The root involved must be the one posited in LIV (s.v.) as *reu̯ H- ‘aufreissen’
(despite aniṭ evidence in Sanskrit): cf. Latin ruere ‘rip (up/down)’, Ved. rav- ‘wound’ (and,
from *(H)reu-s-, OCS rušǫ ‘destroy’).
Independent support for this proposal comes from the Old Latin carmen Arvale, in
which Ares’ Roman counterpart Mars is addressed with the phrase ne uelue rue(m) ‘do not
roll upon (us) ruem’. The hitherto obscure acc. rue(m) surfacing here can be equated with the
Homeric acc. ἀρήν ‘destruction’, and be taken to reflect the Proto-Latin paradigm of *h 2 reu-s,
viz. nom. *rous, acc. *rēm, gen. (*h 2 rw-es >) *rues, etc., whence ruēm by analogical
transformation of the irregular accusative *rēm.
In a last, more speculative, part, the paper will briefly explore if the root *h 2 reu- ‘to rip
(apart)’ may not ultimately be connected with *h 2 erh 3 - ‘to plough’. Admitting Schwebeablaut,
a pair *h 2 reh 3 - ~ *h 2 reu-, if conceived as *h 2 reh 3 (u̯ )-, resembles ‘long-diphthong roots’ of the
shape *CeH(u̯ )-, and it more specifically evokes the case of *deh 3 - ~ *deu- ‘to give’ (i.e.
notional *deh 3 (u̯ )-).
42

Some Notes on the 3rd Person Future Forms in Lithuanian
Yoko Yamazaki, University of Stockholm
In Lithuanian or in Balto-Slavic, a phenomenon known as the Monosyllabic Circumflexion
(MC) has been reported. MC is a phenomenon in which long vowels in monosyllabic words
exhibit a circumflex tone instead of the expected acute, e.g., Lith. tiẽ ‘those (m.pl.nom.),’ cf.
geríeji ‘the good...’ (def. m.pl.nom.). This is also observed in some root nouns: Latv. gùovs
‘cow’ (← *g w ōu̯ s /*g w ōm < *g w ou-s /*g w ou-m).
The 3rd person future forms with monosyllabic long stems are often said to represent the
instances of MC, e.g., dúoti – duõs ‘to give.’ However, there are several exceptions, e.g., lýti
– lìs ‘to rain,’ as listed by Senn (1966) and Petit (2002). Yet, the condition of the exceptions
has not been fully analyzed in the context of the verbal system involving other tense
paradigms.
My close examination on Senn’s and Petit’s lists has revealed a clear tendency: those
verbs whose 3rd person future forms are shortened have nasal presents as their present
paradigms (and thematic aorists as their preterit paradigms), while those whose 3rd person
future forms exhibit MC do not. In this paper, I will present a possible interpretation of the
relationship between the shortened future forms in the 3rd person and their nasal present
paradigms, by proposing an analogical process at the stage before the loss of the nasal
preceding a resonant or a sibilant took place in pre-Lithuanian:
present future infinitive
3p. liñsa (> lį̃sa ) : lìs lìsti ‘to fall apart’
= 3p. sluñga : X1 slū́ gti ‘to subside’ (pret. slū́ go)
= 3p. *liñja (> lỹja ) : X2 lýti ‘to rain’
X1 = slùgs, X2 = lìs
I will claim that this approach enables us to comprehend the condition of the shortening in 3rd
person future forms and its morphological motivation.
Bibliography:
Petit, D. 2002. “Abrègement et métatonie dans le futur lituanien: pour une reformulation de
la loi de Leskien” Bulletin de la Société de Linguistique de Paris, IIIC(I), 245–282.
Senn, A. 1966. Handbuch der litauischen Sprache. Carl Winter Universitätsverlag,
Heidelberg.
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Topics for the Round table discussion
Consider the following statements:
The Indo-European lengthened grade vowels originated as a result of:
(a) phonetic lengthening in monosyllables;
(b) phonetic lengthening before certain consonants;
(c) compensatory lengthening before lost consonants;
(d) morphological developments;
(e) other Indo-European developments;
(f) pre-Proto-Indo-European developments.
Which of these do you regard to be applicable in the case of the following seven categories of
Sanskrit examples (taken from Wackernagel 1896: 66-7)?
(1) root-nouns, e.g. su-hā́ rd-, dur-hā́ rd-.
(2) primary derivatives, e.g. spārhá-, hā́ rdi, kā́ rṣin-, śráuṣṭī, cyautná-, kā́ rṣman-,
bhā́ rman-.
(3) the singular of certain presents, e.g. kṣṇáumi, mārṣṭi, yáumi.
(4) the active of the s-aorist, e.g. ajaiṣam, abhārṣam.
(5) nom.sg. dyáus, gáus, acc.sg. dyā́ m, gā́ m.
(6) nom.sg. forms, e.g. sákhā, pitā́ , dātā́ .
(7) loc.sg. forms, e.g. agnā́ , aktáu.
Literature:
Wackernagel, Jacob 1896: Altindische Grammatik I: Lautlehre. Göttingen.
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