The Finnic ‘secondary e-stems’ and Proto-Uralic vocalism
It is well-known that in the Finnic languages there is group of Uralic word-roots which appear to have undergone an unexplained vowel shift in the first and second syllables: e.g., Finnish sarvi : sarve- ‘antler’ (< Proto-Uralic *śorwa) and talvi : talve- ‘winter’ (< Proto-Uralic *tälwä). Thes...
| Published in: | Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Aikakauskirja |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
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Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura
2015
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| Online Access: | https://journal.fi/susa/article/view/82642 https://doi.org/10.33340/susa.82642 |
| Summary: | It is well-known that in the Finnic languages there is group of Uralic word-roots which appear to have undergone an unexplained vowel shift in the first and second syllables: e.g., Finnish sarvi : sarve- ‘antler’ (< Proto-Uralic *śorwa) and talvi : talve- ‘winter’ (< Proto-Uralic *tälwä). These words have been referred to as ‘secondary e-stems’, as the shape of their cognates outside Finnic suggests a proto-form with the stem vowel *a or *ä. This paper proposes a solution which provides a regular phonological account of the development of this class of word roots. The solution involves the revision of certain aspects of the theory of historical vocalism in Saami and Mordvin. |
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