Fwd: Re: Pre-Basque Phonology

[Vartan and Nairy Matiossian]

[ moderator re-formatted ]

Larry Trask wrote:
> I can claim no credit here, but I do endorse Gavel's and Michelena's
> suggestions.  But note that, for lack of compelling evidence, Michelena
> did not regard the reconstruction *<bade> as secure, but only as a
> plausible suggestion.  This reconstruction is nothing like as secure as
> some others, like *<ardano> `wine'.

> Incidentally, this last word might intrigue the IEists on the list.
> Basque is unusual among European languages in showing no trace of the
> widespread `wine' word.  Its *<ardano> (with a number of regional
> reflexes in the modern language) has often been compared with Albanian
> <ardhi> and Armenian <ort>, both `wine', the suggestion being that the
> `wine' word spread across Europe, displacing an older widespread word
> from all but these three languages.  Don't know if there's anything in
> this.

I would like to make a correction. Armenian <ort'> (not <ort>) doesn't
mean 'wine', but 'grapevine, grape'. There are two plausible hypotheses
regarding its IE origins, by Pedersen and Ajarian. The latter adds that
Albanian <ard, ardhi> is unrelated to the Arm. term. Incidentally,
"wine" is "gini" in Armenian, both English and Armenian terms coming
from a common PIE source, seemingly borrowed from Proto-Semitic
(according to V. Illyich-Svidich).

Vartan Matiossian
Casilla de Correo 2, Sucursal 53
1453 Buenos Aires
Argentina