Slavonic imperfect; IE subjunctive

[Jens Elmegaard Rasmussen]

On Sun, 11 Apr 1999, Miguel Carrasquer Vidal wrote:

[...]
> Unlikely.  Meillet apparently suggested that -e^ax- derives from
> the copula (j)es- cliticized to the verbal root (cf. the Latin
> imperfect with *bhu-a:-).  But in view of the association of the
> optative with the imperfect in Tocharian, Armenian, Iranian and
> maybe Celtic, I would favour a derivation from the optative
> *-oih1- > e^, followed by -ax- < *-eh2-s-.  In other words, a
> "past optative". [...]

You have overlooked that the Slavic imperfect caused first palatalization,
not second as a derivation of the jat' from *-oi- would demand: tec^aaxU
'I was running' must have once begun with *tek-e:-. I take this to be the
thematic present stem *tek-e- with renewed endings, 3sg *-et as also in
the old root aorist where 3sg *H2nek^-t > *nes was embellished to nes-e.
That enables the identification of the Sl. ipf. with the Lith. prt., e.g.
Sl. vede^-axU, -as^e : Lith. vede. (second e dotted); the underlying
circumflex of the Lith. -e.- will reflect the encounter of the two e's of
the preform *vede-et.

Jens