21.2604, Disc: Latin Etymology

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LINGUIST List: Vol-21-2604. Tue Jun 15 2010. ISSN: 1068 - 4875.

Subject: 21.2604, Disc: Latin Etymology

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1)
Date: 15-Jun-2010
From: Lynn Guindon < lguindon at windstream.net >
Subject: Latin Etymology
 

	
-------------------------Message 1 ---------------------------------- 
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 2010 14:49:16
From: Lynn Guindon [lguindon at windstream.net]
Subject: Latin Etymology

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It is basic to comparative Indo-European linguistics that one use the
oldest attested forms from any language family to establish relatedness
between languages and units from those languages, such as words. 
Therefore, the evidence one wants when discussing Latin derivatives of
Indo-European is written evidence from the oldest states of languages
related to Latin.  Rather than using Modern English words, for instance,
Gothic is preferred to demonstrate the relationship between Latin (or
rather the Italic branch of IE) and the Germanic family.  The reasons one
uses the oldest attested forms are various, but one reason is that it is
best to compare languages of similar antiquity, and another is that using
the oldest forms available avoids needless complications to comparisons
created by analogical and sociological changes, so that one can focus as
much as possible on what are clearly purely phonological changes. 


Linguistic Field(s): Historical Linguistics

Subject Language(s): Latin (lat)

Language Family(ies): Indo-European




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