Q: symbols and abbreviations

Roger Wright Roger.Wright at liverpool.ac.uk
Fri Jun 5 15:16:04 UTC 1998


----------------------------Original message----------------------------
 
 
 
Larry, this is a most useful list.
A comment or two below:
 
>
>angle bracket `<' or `>': shows direction of an etymology
 
It's often used for a sound change within a single language (which is
usually not covered by the idea of etymology): could you rephrase it as
"the direction of a sound change"?
 
>asterisk `*': (1) (also `+') marks reconstructed form (double asterisk
>sometimes used to mark reconstruction based on reconstructions); (2)
>marks "expected" but unattested form; (3) marks form as impossible
>(double asterisk occasionally used here)
 
As you know, I have long been arguing for the use of "*" [plus phonetic
script] for postulating reconstructable spoken forms, and "**" for denying
the form's existence (your point 3); could you enter "**" as a separate
entry?
 
>capital letter: represents generic segment in reconstructed form, such
>as N for `unspecified nasal' or V for `unspecified vowel'
 
Would you be able to give a complete list?
 
>plus sign `+': (1) in an etymology, indicates sequence of forms
>themselves otherwise explained; (2) = asterisk (sense 1)
 
Do you mean "sequence of morphemes in a lexical item"? Sometimes both:
an asterisk attached to two morphemes (or more) joined by the
"+" (or sometimes, joined by the "-") indicates the proposed
reconstructable but unattested juncture of two otherwise attested
morphemes (as used by Harri Meier, for example).
 
>swung dash (tilde) `~' (also slash): separates variant forms
 
Only if printed at waist-height; the actual tilde, which, to be a
tilde, appears above the written letter, indicates nasality. Not all
printers can be trusted to get the height right, in my experience (I
mean the machines, not the human beings).
 
>hapax (legomenon): word or form recorded only once
 
Say  "recorded in writing"?
 
>lectio difficilior: that one of several variants which is hardest to
>account for.
 
        Yes, and which is therefore more likely to be *right* (since
scribes are less likely to have corrected towards it).
 
                                        RW



More information about the Histling mailing list