Tocharian B, an Indo-European language spoken in the first millennium C.E. in western China, is o... more Tocharian B, an Indo-European language spoken in the first millennium C.E. in western China, is of great importance to numerous disciplines, from Indo-European historical linguistics to the study of Central Asia, the Silk Road, and Buddhism. This first-ever textbook in the language makes Tocharian B, hitherto familiar mostly to specialists, readily accessible to a broad audience. In twenty graduated lessons, the student is introduced to all the language's grammar, with translation exercises between English and Tocharian in both directions and numerous passages taken from original texts. The book assumes no familiarity with the scholarly disciplines above, but simultaneously contains much information useful to specialists by virtue of the author's broad knowledge and full familiarity with the most up-to-date literature. A full glossary, together with tables of declensions and conjugations, key to the exercises, and bibliography round out the volume.
The second edition is now available for purchase. This edition is corrected, updated, and expande... more The second edition is now available for purchase. This edition is corrected, updated, and expanded with about 60 more pages.
In this volume, thirty internationally recognized scholars have come together to celebrate the wo... more In this volume, thirty internationally recognized scholars have come together to celebrate the work of the famous Indo-Europeanist Alan J. Nussbaum. The topics range widely from Nussbaum's favorite subject of Indo-European nominal morphology, especially in the Classical languages, to the historical grammars of Tocharian, the stylistics of the Rigveda, Aristophanean philology, and much more. Nussbaum's work is honored with contributions by such renowned experts as Heiner Eichner, Jay Jasanoff, Sergio Neri, Hayden Pelliccia, Richard Thomas, and Michael Weiss. A complete bibliography of Nussbaum's oeuvre is included, and the volume closes with a full word-index.
utline of the Historical and Comparative Grammar of Latin represents an altogether novel approach... more utline of the Historical and Comparative Grammar of Latin represents an altogether novel approach to its subject. Most innovative is the format: instead of technical prose acting as an obstacle to non-specialists, each of the forty-five chapters consists of an outline providing exactly the information essential to the student and simultaneously acting as a ready reference tool. But this is no bare-bones work. Supplementing the outline are numerous penetrating notes with a wealth of additional information and important new observations and ideas. After initial chapters on Indo-European comparative philology, the history of writing in Italy, and the pronunciation of Latin, the book treats the language’s entire historical phonology and morphology in detail, followed by a full and enlightening chapter on syntax—a topic that rarely receives the coverage it deserves. Thousands of textual citations from Roman authors of all periods firmly ground the data in their philological context. The broader linguistic milieu of ancient Italy is also covered, with a whole chapter devoted to Etruscan; and rounding out the book is a rich overview of the later evolution of Latin into the Romance languages. The result is the first truly comprehensive, accessible, and up-to-date history of Latin from its prehistoric beginnings down to its medieval and modern descendants. Clear, thorough, and exhaustively researched, this Outline will be essential reading for students and specialists in Classics and Indo-European studies for many years to come.
The Iguvine Tables (Tabulae Iguvinae) are among the most invaluable documents of Italic linguisti... more The Iguvine Tables (Tabulae Iguvinae) are among the most invaluable documents of Italic linguistics and religion. Seven bronze tablets discovered in 1444 in the Umbrian town of Gubbio (ancient Iguvium), they record the rites and sacral laws of a priestly brotherhood, the Fratres Atiedii, with a degree of detail unparalleled elsewhere in ancient Italy. Taking an interdisciplinary approach that combines philological and linguistic, as well as ritual analysis, Michael Weiss not only addresses the many interpretive cruces that have puzzled scholars for a century and a half, but also constructs a coherent theory of the entire ritual performance described on Tables III and IV. In addition, Weiss sheds light on many questions of Roman ritual practice and places the Iguvine Tables in their broader Italic and Indo-European contexts.
The Method Works: Studies on Language Change in Honor of Don Ringe, 2024
In this paper I try to establish the parameters for defining the first period of Latin which I ca... more In this paper I try to establish the parameters for defining the first period of Latin which I call, following the lead of Warren Cowgill, Very Old Latin. I address four questions: (1) Is a division between VOL and OL justified? (2) What linguistic features distinguish the first from the second period? (3) What date should be assigned to the end of the first period? (4) What is the best name for the first period?
Most modern scholars agree that Lat. uncia "ounce" should be derived from *oinikia and connected ... more Most modern scholars agree that Lat. uncia "ounce" should be derived from *oinikia and connected to the Italic numeral *oinos "one". In fact, as I show, there are insuperable phonological difficulties to this account. Instead we should prefer an idea first put forth by Heron of Alexandria who derived uncia from Greek and connected it with Gk. ὄγκος "mass, volume". The creation of the common Italic system of measurement was a joint production of Italic and Greek speakers.
lyuke wmer ra Indo-European Studies in Honor of Georges-Jean Pinault , 2021
Barley and wheat were the two core grains of the West Eurasian Neolithic transformation. In this ... more Barley and wheat were the two core grains of the West Eurasian Neolithic transformation. In this paper, I examine the morphology and meaning of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European lexeme *ieuos and its variants. I hope to show that the meaning of this form was not specifically ‘barley’, as is often suggested, but a more general term ‘cereal’. I also examine the morphology of the reflexes of this family of forms particularly in Anatolian, Greek, and Tocharian
Eqo : Duenosio: Studi Offerti a Luciano Agostiniani, 2022
This paper discusses a number of etymological and interpretive issues in the series of painted Os... more This paper discusses a number of etymological and interpretive issues in the series of painted Oscan texts from Pompeii known as the eítuns inscriptions, after the key word occurring or restored in all of them. I suggest new derivational and semantic accounts of eítuns, amvíanud, and *mefíro- and offer a few cautionary words about the connection between sarínu and the Italic word for 'salt'.
Ha! Linguistic Studies in Honor of Mark R. Hale, 2022
These are proofs of the paper. Please contact me for a copy of the final version.
In this paper ... more These are proofs of the paper. Please contact me for a copy of the final version.
In this paper I examine the evidence for a sound change *ow > *aw in Venetic. I identify three potential examples, the river name Plavis < *plowis, the Venetic personal name hostihavos and the river name Dravus. I also discuss the river name Savus but conclude it need not be explained by Venetic phonology. I also examine the evidence for apparent retained *ow and suggest that these are the result of a later change of *ewV to owV.
Die italischen Sprachen : Neue linguistische und philologische Aspekte, 2021
In this paper I discuss the nature and function of the Oscan iúvila inscriptions from Capua and s... more In this paper I discuss the nature and function of the Oscan iúvila inscriptions from Capua and some issues of interpretation and etymology raised by the new iúvila discussed by Poccetti 2016. I argue that the phrase suleis bias 'conquests of the sun', i.e. 'winter solstice' can be compared etymologically and thematically with Vedic svàr jayati 'conquers the sun'.
STUDIES IN GENERAL AND HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS Offered to JÓN AXEL HARĐARSON On the Occasion of his 65th Birthday, 2021
The second line of the VOL DVENOS inscription contains a negative protasis introduced by AST. The... more The second line of the VOL DVENOS inscription contains a negative protasis introduced by AST. The negative is NOI(N), the posited ancestor of CL nōn, and the subject of this clause is the feminine nominative singular pronoun SI (cf. OIr. sí, Goth. si). The clause ASTEDNOISIOPET should be translated “But if she doesn’t choose you.”
Loanwords and Substrata edited by Romain Garnier, 2020
There are a few typos in this proof.
The plough is one of the key pieces of pre-modern agricultu... more There are a few typos in this proof.
The plough is one of the key pieces of pre-modern agriculture technology. This paper addresses the following questions: (a) Assuming a bifurcating tree with a node Proto-Northwest-Indo-European (PNWIE) dominating Proto-Germanic (PGmc.) and Proto-Italo-Celtic (PIC), what can be reconstructed, if anything, for the plough lexicon at each node? (b) what innovations can be identified at each stage? (c) what are the sources of these innovations? (d) to what extent, if any, do non-Indo-European substratal languages play a role? The upshot of this analysis will be that the plough terminology is exclusively made up of Indo-European material. The three items of the plough lexicon below the head term *h2erh3trom that it may be possible to reconstruct for PNWIE are (1) *̯uogwhmnis- ‘share’ (Lat. uōmer, ON vangsni, OHG waganso; Gk. ὀφνίς, OPr. wagnis); (2) *gw(e)u̯ so- ‘curved plough pole’ based on the agreement of Lat. būris, būra (← Sabellic) and Gk. γύης, although this item may result from parallel independent specialization; (3) *seg̑hetleh2 ‘plough handle’ (Gk. ἐχέτλη, ModW. haeddel).
Qazzu warrai: Anatolian and Indo-European Studies in Honor of Kazuhiko Yoshida, 2019
This paper offers an account of the paradigm of the word for 'friend' in Avestan. I explain the o... more This paper offers an account of the paradigm of the word for 'friend' in Avestan. I explain the oblique forms as a completely regular development on the assumption that Pinault's Law would have deleted the medial laryngeal before the creation of a voiceless aspirate in Proto-Indo-Iranian.
Matilde Serangeli and Thomas Olander, Dispersal and Diversification: Linguistic and Archaeological Perspectives on the Early Stages of Indo-European , 2020
The first five pages of the proofs of recently published article which Brill does not permit me t... more The first five pages of the proofs of recently published article which Brill does not permit me to post.
In this paper Benjamin Fortson and I examine a two-word Oscan inscription from Pietrabbondante. W... more In this paper Benjamin Fortson and I examine a two-word Oscan inscription from Pietrabbondante. We agree with Poccetti 2013 that kúnsíf deívúz should be compared with Latin dei consentes but we offer new morphological and etymological analyses of the two Oscan words. Our interpretation sheds light on the development of final *-nts in Sabellic, the morphological prehistory of the Latin verb censere, and on the history of the dei consentes.
Priscis Libentius et Liberius Novis lndogermanische und sprachwissenschaftliche Studien/ Festschrift für Gerhard Meise zum 65. Geburtstage, 2018
In this short paper I examine the lexical isoglosses connecting Tocharian, Italic and Celtic, in ... more In this short paper I examine the lexical isoglosses connecting Tocharian, Italic and Celtic, in particular, in the field of legal and religious lexicon. I find that these are largely non-existent. This finding may shed light on the question of supposed archaisms of the legal and religious lexicon preserved uniquely in Italic and/or Celtic in the West and Indo-Iranian in the East.
In this paper I examine the original meaning of Latin ius and argue against a connection with Ved... more In this paper I examine the original meaning of Latin ius and argue against a connection with Ved yóḥ and Aves. yaoš ± 'life force'. Instead ius together with Old Irish uisse 'just' should be compared with Ved. yu- 'join', an old and unrefuted etymology. I draw attention to certain constructions in Vedic which may be illuminating for the prehistory of the Latin word.
Vina Diem Celebrent: Studies in Linguistics and Philology in Honor of Brent Vine, edited by Dieter Gunkel, Stephanie W. Jamison, Angelo Mercado, and Kazuhiko Yoshida, 2018
This paper argues for the existence of a dissimilation of the first of two aspirated consonants i... more This paper argues for the existence of a dissimilation of the first of two aspirated consonants in pre-Latin when the first was immediately followed by r. The examples and potential counterexamples are examined and special attention is given to the case of trahere and its Germanic cognates. The Old Irish verb tráigid and related forms are also examined.
Tocharian B, an Indo-European language spoken in the first millennium C.E. in western China, is o... more Tocharian B, an Indo-European language spoken in the first millennium C.E. in western China, is of great importance to numerous disciplines, from Indo-European historical linguistics to the study of Central Asia, the Silk Road, and Buddhism. This first-ever textbook in the language makes Tocharian B, hitherto familiar mostly to specialists, readily accessible to a broad audience. In twenty graduated lessons, the student is introduced to all the language's grammar, with translation exercises between English and Tocharian in both directions and numerous passages taken from original texts. The book assumes no familiarity with the scholarly disciplines above, but simultaneously contains much information useful to specialists by virtue of the author's broad knowledge and full familiarity with the most up-to-date literature. A full glossary, together with tables of declensions and conjugations, key to the exercises, and bibliography round out the volume.
The second edition is now available for purchase. This edition is corrected, updated, and expande... more The second edition is now available for purchase. This edition is corrected, updated, and expanded with about 60 more pages.
In this volume, thirty internationally recognized scholars have come together to celebrate the wo... more In this volume, thirty internationally recognized scholars have come together to celebrate the work of the famous Indo-Europeanist Alan J. Nussbaum. The topics range widely from Nussbaum's favorite subject of Indo-European nominal morphology, especially in the Classical languages, to the historical grammars of Tocharian, the stylistics of the Rigveda, Aristophanean philology, and much more. Nussbaum's work is honored with contributions by such renowned experts as Heiner Eichner, Jay Jasanoff, Sergio Neri, Hayden Pelliccia, Richard Thomas, and Michael Weiss. A complete bibliography of Nussbaum's oeuvre is included, and the volume closes with a full word-index.
utline of the Historical and Comparative Grammar of Latin represents an altogether novel approach... more utline of the Historical and Comparative Grammar of Latin represents an altogether novel approach to its subject. Most innovative is the format: instead of technical prose acting as an obstacle to non-specialists, each of the forty-five chapters consists of an outline providing exactly the information essential to the student and simultaneously acting as a ready reference tool. But this is no bare-bones work. Supplementing the outline are numerous penetrating notes with a wealth of additional information and important new observations and ideas. After initial chapters on Indo-European comparative philology, the history of writing in Italy, and the pronunciation of Latin, the book treats the language’s entire historical phonology and morphology in detail, followed by a full and enlightening chapter on syntax—a topic that rarely receives the coverage it deserves. Thousands of textual citations from Roman authors of all periods firmly ground the data in their philological context. The broader linguistic milieu of ancient Italy is also covered, with a whole chapter devoted to Etruscan; and rounding out the book is a rich overview of the later evolution of Latin into the Romance languages. The result is the first truly comprehensive, accessible, and up-to-date history of Latin from its prehistoric beginnings down to its medieval and modern descendants. Clear, thorough, and exhaustively researched, this Outline will be essential reading for students and specialists in Classics and Indo-European studies for many years to come.
The Iguvine Tables (Tabulae Iguvinae) are among the most invaluable documents of Italic linguisti... more The Iguvine Tables (Tabulae Iguvinae) are among the most invaluable documents of Italic linguistics and religion. Seven bronze tablets discovered in 1444 in the Umbrian town of Gubbio (ancient Iguvium), they record the rites and sacral laws of a priestly brotherhood, the Fratres Atiedii, with a degree of detail unparalleled elsewhere in ancient Italy. Taking an interdisciplinary approach that combines philological and linguistic, as well as ritual analysis, Michael Weiss not only addresses the many interpretive cruces that have puzzled scholars for a century and a half, but also constructs a coherent theory of the entire ritual performance described on Tables III and IV. In addition, Weiss sheds light on many questions of Roman ritual practice and places the Iguvine Tables in their broader Italic and Indo-European contexts.
The Method Works: Studies on Language Change in Honor of Don Ringe, 2024
In this paper I try to establish the parameters for defining the first period of Latin which I ca... more In this paper I try to establish the parameters for defining the first period of Latin which I call, following the lead of Warren Cowgill, Very Old Latin. I address four questions: (1) Is a division between VOL and OL justified? (2) What linguistic features distinguish the first from the second period? (3) What date should be assigned to the end of the first period? (4) What is the best name for the first period?
Most modern scholars agree that Lat. uncia "ounce" should be derived from *oinikia and connected ... more Most modern scholars agree that Lat. uncia "ounce" should be derived from *oinikia and connected to the Italic numeral *oinos "one". In fact, as I show, there are insuperable phonological difficulties to this account. Instead we should prefer an idea first put forth by Heron of Alexandria who derived uncia from Greek and connected it with Gk. ὄγκος "mass, volume". The creation of the common Italic system of measurement was a joint production of Italic and Greek speakers.
lyuke wmer ra Indo-European Studies in Honor of Georges-Jean Pinault , 2021
Barley and wheat were the two core grains of the West Eurasian Neolithic transformation. In this ... more Barley and wheat were the two core grains of the West Eurasian Neolithic transformation. In this paper, I examine the morphology and meaning of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European lexeme *ieuos and its variants. I hope to show that the meaning of this form was not specifically ‘barley’, as is often suggested, but a more general term ‘cereal’. I also examine the morphology of the reflexes of this family of forms particularly in Anatolian, Greek, and Tocharian
Eqo : Duenosio: Studi Offerti a Luciano Agostiniani, 2022
This paper discusses a number of etymological and interpretive issues in the series of painted Os... more This paper discusses a number of etymological and interpretive issues in the series of painted Oscan texts from Pompeii known as the eítuns inscriptions, after the key word occurring or restored in all of them. I suggest new derivational and semantic accounts of eítuns, amvíanud, and *mefíro- and offer a few cautionary words about the connection between sarínu and the Italic word for 'salt'.
Ha! Linguistic Studies in Honor of Mark R. Hale, 2022
These are proofs of the paper. Please contact me for a copy of the final version.
In this paper ... more These are proofs of the paper. Please contact me for a copy of the final version.
In this paper I examine the evidence for a sound change *ow > *aw in Venetic. I identify three potential examples, the river name Plavis < *plowis, the Venetic personal name hostihavos and the river name Dravus. I also discuss the river name Savus but conclude it need not be explained by Venetic phonology. I also examine the evidence for apparent retained *ow and suggest that these are the result of a later change of *ewV to owV.
Die italischen Sprachen : Neue linguistische und philologische Aspekte, 2021
In this paper I discuss the nature and function of the Oscan iúvila inscriptions from Capua and s... more In this paper I discuss the nature and function of the Oscan iúvila inscriptions from Capua and some issues of interpretation and etymology raised by the new iúvila discussed by Poccetti 2016. I argue that the phrase suleis bias 'conquests of the sun', i.e. 'winter solstice' can be compared etymologically and thematically with Vedic svàr jayati 'conquers the sun'.
STUDIES IN GENERAL AND HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS Offered to JÓN AXEL HARĐARSON On the Occasion of his 65th Birthday, 2021
The second line of the VOL DVENOS inscription contains a negative protasis introduced by AST. The... more The second line of the VOL DVENOS inscription contains a negative protasis introduced by AST. The negative is NOI(N), the posited ancestor of CL nōn, and the subject of this clause is the feminine nominative singular pronoun SI (cf. OIr. sí, Goth. si). The clause ASTEDNOISIOPET should be translated “But if she doesn’t choose you.”
Loanwords and Substrata edited by Romain Garnier, 2020
There are a few typos in this proof.
The plough is one of the key pieces of pre-modern agricultu... more There are a few typos in this proof.
The plough is one of the key pieces of pre-modern agriculture technology. This paper addresses the following questions: (a) Assuming a bifurcating tree with a node Proto-Northwest-Indo-European (PNWIE) dominating Proto-Germanic (PGmc.) and Proto-Italo-Celtic (PIC), what can be reconstructed, if anything, for the plough lexicon at each node? (b) what innovations can be identified at each stage? (c) what are the sources of these innovations? (d) to what extent, if any, do non-Indo-European substratal languages play a role? The upshot of this analysis will be that the plough terminology is exclusively made up of Indo-European material. The three items of the plough lexicon below the head term *h2erh3trom that it may be possible to reconstruct for PNWIE are (1) *̯uogwhmnis- ‘share’ (Lat. uōmer, ON vangsni, OHG waganso; Gk. ὀφνίς, OPr. wagnis); (2) *gw(e)u̯ so- ‘curved plough pole’ based on the agreement of Lat. būris, būra (← Sabellic) and Gk. γύης, although this item may result from parallel independent specialization; (3) *seg̑hetleh2 ‘plough handle’ (Gk. ἐχέτλη, ModW. haeddel).
Qazzu warrai: Anatolian and Indo-European Studies in Honor of Kazuhiko Yoshida, 2019
This paper offers an account of the paradigm of the word for 'friend' in Avestan. I explain the o... more This paper offers an account of the paradigm of the word for 'friend' in Avestan. I explain the oblique forms as a completely regular development on the assumption that Pinault's Law would have deleted the medial laryngeal before the creation of a voiceless aspirate in Proto-Indo-Iranian.
Matilde Serangeli and Thomas Olander, Dispersal and Diversification: Linguistic and Archaeological Perspectives on the Early Stages of Indo-European , 2020
The first five pages of the proofs of recently published article which Brill does not permit me t... more The first five pages of the proofs of recently published article which Brill does not permit me to post.
In this paper Benjamin Fortson and I examine a two-word Oscan inscription from Pietrabbondante. W... more In this paper Benjamin Fortson and I examine a two-word Oscan inscription from Pietrabbondante. We agree with Poccetti 2013 that kúnsíf deívúz should be compared with Latin dei consentes but we offer new morphological and etymological analyses of the two Oscan words. Our interpretation sheds light on the development of final *-nts in Sabellic, the morphological prehistory of the Latin verb censere, and on the history of the dei consentes.
Priscis Libentius et Liberius Novis lndogermanische und sprachwissenschaftliche Studien/ Festschrift für Gerhard Meise zum 65. Geburtstage, 2018
In this short paper I examine the lexical isoglosses connecting Tocharian, Italic and Celtic, in ... more In this short paper I examine the lexical isoglosses connecting Tocharian, Italic and Celtic, in particular, in the field of legal and religious lexicon. I find that these are largely non-existent. This finding may shed light on the question of supposed archaisms of the legal and religious lexicon preserved uniquely in Italic and/or Celtic in the West and Indo-Iranian in the East.
In this paper I examine the original meaning of Latin ius and argue against a connection with Ved... more In this paper I examine the original meaning of Latin ius and argue against a connection with Ved yóḥ and Aves. yaoš ± 'life force'. Instead ius together with Old Irish uisse 'just' should be compared with Ved. yu- 'join', an old and unrefuted etymology. I draw attention to certain constructions in Vedic which may be illuminating for the prehistory of the Latin word.
Vina Diem Celebrent: Studies in Linguistics and Philology in Honor of Brent Vine, edited by Dieter Gunkel, Stephanie W. Jamison, Angelo Mercado, and Kazuhiko Yoshida, 2018
This paper argues for the existence of a dissimilation of the first of two aspirated consonants i... more This paper argues for the existence of a dissimilation of the first of two aspirated consonants in pre-Latin when the first was immediately followed by r. The examples and potential counterexamples are examined and special attention is given to the case of trahere and its Germanic cognates. The Old Irish verb tráigid and related forms are also examined.
Farnah:: Indo-Iranian and Indo-European Studies in Honor of Sasha Lubotsky, 2018
An examination of the the tribal name *wenet(o)-, which is attributed to a number of different pe... more An examination of the the tribal name *wenet(o)-, which is attributed to a number of different peoples of ancient Europe. I argue that in Venetic, Celtic (indirectly through the evidence of Latin) and Germanic the most archaic form can be shown to have been an athematic -t-stem. This -t-stem can be identified with *vanat- which occurs as the first part of Iranian compounds.
The shadowy Roman god Sēmō and the plural group Sēmōnēs have long been associated with sēmen ‘see... more The shadowy Roman god Sēmō and the plural group Sēmōnēs have long been associated with sēmen ‘seed.’ But the evidence that Sēmō or the Sēmōnēs have anything to do with seeds is lacking. The Sēmōnēs first appear in the Carmen Arvale: here they constitute Mars’s retinue.The Sabellic evidence also puts Semo firmly in the Martial sphere. The form Semo appears, in addition, as part of the Semo Sancus Dius Fidius complex. These divinities are connected with the sanctity (sancīre) of treaties (foedus, fidēs) and oaths. In “Dumézilian” terms Semo is a god of the first (priestly) and second (warrior) function, but not a god of the third (agricultural) function, precisely the opposite of what the standard etymology predicts. New evidence from Oscan allows us to reject conclusively the connection between sēmen and Sēmō. In an inscription from Pietrabbondante the god’s name is spelled seemuneí (dat. sg.) and this spelling with ee is not the expected one. If the Oscan form were a derivative of the root seen in sēmen, the spelling would have to have been †síímuneí. The spelling ee shows that the Oscan form, and its Latin cognate, must have a different origin. The only plausible source is *seγVmōn-. A form that matches reconstructed *seγVmōn- exactly is Gaulish Segomoni and Ogham Irish SEGAMANAS. The Gaulish god is identified with Mars. The Celtic and Italic forms continue a Proto-Italo-Celtic *seĝhomōn- ‘strong one,’ ‘strongman,’ which is a derivative of a noun *seĝhom ‘strength.’ The root *seĝh- (Gk. ἔχω etc.) had the original meaning ‘hold firmly’ and this developed to ‘be strong,’ ‘conquer’ in Indo-Iranian and Western Indo-European. The god *seĝhomōn- is the sole example of a divine name that perhaps can be considered a unique and innovative feature of the ancient Proto-Italo-Celtic speech community.
Old Irish inherited the PIE root noun *doms ~ dm̥-'home', which is reflected chiefly in the fixed... more Old Irish inherited the PIE root noun *doms ~ dm̥-'home', which is reflected chiefly in the fixed locution [Verb of motion] dia daim '(go) to (one's) home'. From the remnants of this ablauting, feminine root noun speakers created a somewhat anomalous i-stem, doim, doma. In addition Old Irish probably inherited a thematic masculine *domos continued mainly in the collocation dom/dam liac 'house of stone, cathedral', though the possibility of a Latin loan cannot be entirely excluded. A further trace of the root noun *dom-~ *dm̥-is seen in déis 'clientele', which continues *dm̥-sth 2 i-'located in the house'. This proto-form, suggested by de Bernardo Stempel (NWÄI), has a close formal match in Lith. dimstis 'courtyard' and is reminiscent of Lat. domesticus 'of the household'. This Latin form is shown to be of prehistoric origin despite its relatively late date of attestation. The possibility is explored that domesticus may be a remodeled reflex of the same compound inherited by Old Irish and Lithuanian, although domesticus may also be an inner-Latin formation.
The word for king in Inner-Indo-European *h3rḗĝs was originally a verbal abstract 'rule', reinter... more The word for king in Inner-Indo-European *h3rḗĝs was originally a verbal abstract 'rule', reinterpreted as a personal noun specifically in a "formula of ruling" which finds direct reflexes in Vedic and Old Irish. The n-stem word for king is an internal derivative of a delocutive neuter n-stem *h3rēĝ-én 'in the rule' (Ved. rājáni). The relationship between the masculine *h3rḗĝs and the feminine *h3rḗĝnih2 derived from the n-stem was the basis for the creation of the feminine suffix *-nih2 and thus wherever we have evidence for this morpheme we must suppose that the pair *h3rḗĝs : *h3rḗĝnih2 once existed
Lat. caelum 'heaven' makes a masc. pl. caeli. This gender heteroclisis can be explained on the hy... more Lat. caelum 'heaven' makes a masc. pl. caeli. This gender heteroclisis can be explained on the hypothesis that the unmarked non-singular of caelum was originally a neuter thematic dual ending in *-oih1. The original meaning of caelum was 'division, part' and the dual was perhaps used as an elliptical dual to refer to heaven and earth, i.e. the two elemental halves of the universe.
The basic idea of this paper is that Pre-PIE had implosives (as already suggested by Haider 1985... more The basic idea of this paper is that Pre-PIE had implosives (as already suggested by Haider 1985), plain voiced stops, and voiceless stops. This system then underwent a shift whereby the voiced stops became voiced aspirates and the implosives became plain voiced stops.This is a pdf of a powerpoint I gave back in 2009. The Cornell link has disappeared so I thought I'd post it here. I no longer feel confident about many of the strong positions taken in this talk, but some people have found it interesting, so here it is.
A Handout for a talk given at the University of Copenhagen's Conference Power, Gender and Mobilit... more A Handout for a talk given at the University of Copenhagen's Conference Power, Gender and Mobility: Features of Indo-European Society in which I try to show that Émile Benveniste's Le vocabulaire des institutions indo-européennes, though still an irreplaceable work, is methodologically deeply flawed.
Susanne Zeilfelder, Exercises for Indo-European Phonology, 2012
This is is my translation of Susanne Zeilfelder's Übungsheft zur indogermanischen Lautlehre which... more This is is my translation of Susanne Zeilfelder's Übungsheft zur indogermanischen Lautlehre which was originally composed in German in 2012. My translation into English is intended to make this excellent tool available to a wider audience and is posted with the permission of the author.
Making the leap from learning the grammars and histories of the IE languages to writing original ... more Making the leap from learning the grammars and histories of the IE languages to writing original research papers is the most difficult transition that a grad student makes in their education. I've put together a few tips that are based on experience, tips that I have often not followed myself, much to the detriment of my papers. It might help to keep these in mind when you are writing something or teaching others how to write.
Handout for a proseminar for Medievalists and Classicists. I try to show why Historical Linguist... more Handout for a proseminar for Medievalists and Classicists. I try to show why Historical Linguistics might be interesting or important for the general Classicist or Medievalist. Examples drawn from Classical and Medieval European languages. No original work.
A sketch of the origin and diffusion of the label RUKI for the well known change affect PIE *s af... more A sketch of the origin and diffusion of the label RUKI for the well known change affect PIE *s after i, u, r, and k in Indo-Iranian and Slavic.
I suggest a new etymology for Lat. lībra, Greek λίτρα. The proposal is that the original meaning... more I suggest a new etymology for Lat. lībra, Greek λίτρα. The proposal is that the original meaning is an ingot (aes rude) and the root is *leihx- 'pour'. *lihxdhreh2 was a result noun, 'a pour', and referred originally to the poured metal that formed the ingot.
Not by me, but by my father, Nathan Weiss (1922-2013) when he was county historian for Sullivan C... more Not by me, but by my father, Nathan Weiss (1922-2013) when he was county historian for Sullivan County, NY back in the 1950s. I have no idea what the sources are, but in case someone is interested in the local history Sullivan County, I thought I would post this sketch which I found in my files.
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of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European lexeme *ieuos and its variants. I hope to show that the meaning of this form was not specifically ‘barley’, as is often suggested, but a more general term ‘cereal’. I also examine the morphology of the reflexes of this family of forms particularly in Anatolian, Greek, and Tocharian
In this paper I examine the evidence for a sound change *ow > *aw in Venetic. I identify three potential examples, the river name Plavis < *plowis, the Venetic personal name hostihavos and the river name Dravus. I also discuss the river name Savus but conclude it need not be explained by Venetic phonology. I also examine the evidence for apparent retained *ow and suggest that these are the result of a later change of *ewV to owV.
The plough is one of the key pieces of pre-modern agriculture technology. This paper addresses the following questions: (a) Assuming a bifurcating tree with a node Proto-Northwest-Indo-European (PNWIE) dominating Proto-Germanic (PGmc.) and Proto-Italo-Celtic (PIC), what can be reconstructed, if anything, for the plough lexicon at each node? (b) what innovations can be identified at each stage? (c) what are the sources of these innovations? (d) to what extent, if any, do non-Indo-European substratal languages play a role? The upshot of this analysis will be that the plough terminology is exclusively made up of Indo-European material. The three items of the plough lexicon below the head term *h2erh3trom that it may be possible to reconstruct for PNWIE are (1) *̯uogwhmnis- ‘share’ (Lat. uōmer, ON vangsni, OHG waganso; Gk. ὀφνίς, OPr. wagnis); (2) *gw(e)u̯ so- ‘curved plough pole’ based on the agreement of Lat. būris, būra (← Sabellic) and Gk. γύης, although this item may result from parallel independent specialization; (3) *seg̑hetleh2 ‘plough handle’ (Gk. ἐχέτλη, ModW. haeddel).
of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European lexeme *ieuos and its variants. I hope to show that the meaning of this form was not specifically ‘barley’, as is often suggested, but a more general term ‘cereal’. I also examine the morphology of the reflexes of this family of forms particularly in Anatolian, Greek, and Tocharian
In this paper I examine the evidence for a sound change *ow > *aw in Venetic. I identify three potential examples, the river name Plavis < *plowis, the Venetic personal name hostihavos and the river name Dravus. I also discuss the river name Savus but conclude it need not be explained by Venetic phonology. I also examine the evidence for apparent retained *ow and suggest that these are the result of a later change of *ewV to owV.
The plough is one of the key pieces of pre-modern agriculture technology. This paper addresses the following questions: (a) Assuming a bifurcating tree with a node Proto-Northwest-Indo-European (PNWIE) dominating Proto-Germanic (PGmc.) and Proto-Italo-Celtic (PIC), what can be reconstructed, if anything, for the plough lexicon at each node? (b) what innovations can be identified at each stage? (c) what are the sources of these innovations? (d) to what extent, if any, do non-Indo-European substratal languages play a role? The upshot of this analysis will be that the plough terminology is exclusively made up of Indo-European material. The three items of the plough lexicon below the head term *h2erh3trom that it may be possible to reconstruct for PNWIE are (1) *̯uogwhmnis- ‘share’ (Lat. uōmer, ON vangsni, OHG waganso; Gk. ὀφνίς, OPr. wagnis); (2) *gw(e)u̯ so- ‘curved plough pole’ based on the agreement of Lat. būris, būra (← Sabellic) and Gk. γύης, although this item may result from parallel independent specialization; (3) *seg̑hetleh2 ‘plough handle’ (Gk. ἐχέτλη, ModW. haeddel).