Explaining the history of some forms of Latin by multicausality

Authors

  • Evgeny G. Filimonov St. Petersburg State University

Abstract

Some changes in the course of the language history are better explained as caused by more than one factor, usually by one driving force and one (or more) catalyst. It is proposed that some combinations of factors (vowel deletion in puere > puer and the analogical influence of the type pater, mater, soror) are likely to occur simultaneously whereas others (the suffix -u- в mortuus explained due to the analogy with its antonymous adjective vivus or due to the contamination of two different suffixes t and v) are logically non compatible with each other. In some cases it is hard to decide which force was leading (e.g. the difference in the forms of Dat. Sg. IVNONE SEISPITEI MATRI can be accounted both — for the different frequency of those nouns and for a personal stylistic choice by the writer deciding between different coexisting reflexes).

Keywords:

Historical grammar of Latin, language change

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Литература

1. Дресслер В. Об объяснительной силе естественной морфологии // Вопросы языкознания. 1986. № 5. C. 33–46.

2. Нидерман М. Историческая фонетика латинского языка. М.: Издательство иностранной литературы, 1949. 188 с.

3. Откупщиков Ю. В. Лат. mortuus, др.-рус. мьртвъ // Colloquia classica et indoeuropeica II. СПб., 2000.

4. Топоров В. Н. Исследования по этимологии и семантике. Т. 1. М.: Языки славянской культуры, 2005. 816 с.

5. Тронский И. М. Историческая грамматика латинского языка. Общеиндоевропейское языковое состояние (вопросы реконструкции). 2-е изд., доп. М.: Индрик, 2001. 591 с.

6. Файер В. В., Наумова Е. С. Латинский язык М.: Академия, 2007. 384 c.

7. Эрну А. Историческая морфология латинского языка. М.: Издательство иностранной литературы, 1950. 319 с.

8. Aitchison J. Language Change. Progress or Decay? 3rd ed. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001. XI, 312 p.

9. Baldi P. The Foundations of Latin. Berlin; New York: M. de Gruyter, 2002. XXVII, 534 p.

10. Campbell L. Historical Linguistics: An Introduction. Cambridge, Masachussets: The MIT Press, 2006. 448 p.

11. Anttila R. An Introduction to Historical and Comparative Linguistics. Amsterdam; Philadelphia: Benjamins, 1989. XV, 462 p.

12. Schmalstieg W. R. Indo-European Linguistics: A New Synthesis. University Park and London: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1980. 211 p.

References

1. Dressler V. Ob ob”iasnitel’noi sile estestvennoi morfologii [On explanatory potential of natural morphology. Voprosy iazykoznaniia [Issues of Linguistics]. 1986. № 5. S. 33–46.

2. Niderman M. Istoricheskaia fonetika latinskogo iazyka [Historical Phonetics of Latin]. Moscow, Izdatel’stvo inostrannoi literatury, 1949. 188 s.

3. Otkupshchikov Iu. V. Lat. mortuus, dr.-rus. мьртвъ [Lat. mortuus, Old Rus. мьртвъ]. Colloquia classica et indoeuropeica II. Saint Petersburg, 2000.

4. Toporov V.N. Issledovaniia po etimologii i semantike [Studies in Etymology and Semantics]. T. 1. Moscow, Iazyki slavianskoi kul’tury Publ., 2005. 816 s.

5. Tronskii I.M. Istoricheskaia grammatika latinskogo iazyka. Obshcheindoevropeiskoe iazykovoe sostoianie (voprosy rekonstruktsii) [Historical Grammar of Latin. Proto-Indo-European Language Situation: Issues of Reconstruction]. 2-e izd., dop. [2nd revised ed.]. Moscow, Indrik Publ., 2001. 591 s.

6. Faier V.V., Naumova E.S. Latinskii iazyk [Latin]. Moscow, Academia, 2007. 384 s.

7. Ernu A. Istoricheskaia morfologiia latinskogo iazyka [Historical Morphology of Latin]. Moscow, Izdatel’stvo inostrannoi literatury, 1950. 319 s.

8. Aitchison J. Language Change. Progress or Decay? 3rd ed. Cambridge; New York, Cambridge University Press, 2001. XI, 312 p.

9. Baldi P. The Foundations of Latin. Berlin; New York, M. de Gruyter, 2002. XXVII, 534 p.

10. Campbell L. Historical Linguistics. An Introduction. Cambridge, Masachussets, The MIT Press, 2006. 448 p.

11. Anttila R. An Introduction to Historical and Comparative Linguistics. Amsterdam; Philadelphia, Benjamins, 1989. XV, 462 p.

12. Schmalstieg W.R. Indo-European Linguistics: A New Synthesis. University Park and London, The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1980. 211 p.

Downloads

Published

2014-12-31

How to Cite

Filimonov, E. G. . (2014). Explaining the history of some forms of Latin by multicausality. Philologia Classica, 9, 323–333. Retrieved from https://philclass.spbu.ru/article/view/7716

Issue

Vol. 9 (2014)

Section

II. Latin Language and Literature

License

Articles of "Philologia Classica" are open access distributed under the terms of the License Agreement with Saint Petersburg State University, which permits to the authors unrestricted distribution and self-archiving free of charge.