For HISTLING, "Origin of nominal morphology"

[krasukh]

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
        Dear friends!
     The question about etymology of affixes,  mentioned by Guy Deuts-
cher, is very important.  One can remember, that Franz Bopp has estab-
lished the  agglutination  theory.  According Bopp,  any affix is from
origin a word:  aorist suffix *-S- is the verb *ES- "be",  flexion  of
Nominative *-S is demonstrative pronoun usf.  But lingustics could ne-
ither reiect nor approve this these. I can say, that the verbal ending
of 1 sg. *-M has the same origin, as the personal pronoun *ME, and en-
dings of 3 sg *-T (Injunctive),  *-TI Present),  *-TU (Imperative) are
identical with  the nominal suffixes *-T,  *-TI,  *-TU (Laroche 1975).
But not each suffix or flexion has so apparent etymology.  The  trans-
formation of  separate  word  in  the  connective  word  and  then  in
the grammatical affix is good attested in Germanic and Romance langua-
ges: Fr. CHEZ (< CASA), -MENT, German -LICH (Eng. -LY), -HEIT (-HOOD),
-TUM (-DOM). But Proto-Language doesn't allow to find the clear atymo-
logy for each soffix or desinence.  We cannot say exactly: Is the suf-
fix of verbal nouns *-TER-,  *-MEN- of the same origin,  as root *TER-
"move", *MEN- "think,  remember"? But we haven't the necessity to find
their origin.  More important is the circumstance, that the full grade
athematic variants  of  these suffixes builds the Nomina agentis,  and
Nomina concreta,  zero grade athematics - Nomina actionis  and  Nomina
abstracta, and thematic variants means verbal adjectives,  - inactives
and/ or modal (more exactly - Krasuchin to appear in Akten der Arbeit-
stagung der  Indogermanischen  Gesellschaft "Indogermanisches Nomen").
Thus we can describe the programm of research of desinences and  gram-
matical affihes: "Not etymology, but etiology".
About the suffix of Perfect Participle *-UOS-. I think, that it is connec-
ted with adjectives in *-U-, meant the result of action: OInd TAUTI "grow"
- Greek TAUS MEGAS (Hes.)"great < grown".
     Sincerely, Konstantin Krasukhin
     Professor of General and Comparative Linguistics,
     Institute of Linguistics,
     B.Kislovsky per, 1/12,
     125009, Moscow, Russia,
     fax (7 095)290-05-28,
     e-mail krasukh at iling.msk.su