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  4. i-stem adjectives in Indo-European

i-stem adjectives in Indo-European

File(s)
Drigo_cornellgrad_0058F_14352.pdf (944.13 KB)
Permanent Link(s)
https://doi.org/10.7298/cp9k-j207
https://hdl.handle.net/1813/116436
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Cornell Theses and Dissertations
Author
Drigo, Jasmim
Abstract

Scholars have been dubious about about reconstructing i-stem adjectives for Proto-Indo-European because it is not possible to reconstruct many word equations among IE branches, but we have good evidence for the derivational processes that were used to create secondary i-stem adjectives already in the proto-language. The most productive derivational process for i-stem adjectives is the nominalization and readjectivalization of o-stems. The first step of this formation is the creation of i-stem nominalizations of o-stem adjectives, and the second step is the readjectivalization of the i-stem substantivization, e.g. Gr. argós 'bright’ vs. Gr. argi- 'white’, 'brightness’, Hitt. harki- 'white’.The other possible fashion of creating i-stem adjectives is by vrddhi derivation, genitivals formed with the insertion of an increased ablaut grade in the root, e.g. Gr. akro- 'topmost’ vs. Lat. ācer 'sharp’. I have collected simplex i-stem adjectives of several IE branches and performed a morphological and etymological analysis of each one of these adjectives. I have focused on the branches that have the most cases of i-stem adjectives, such as Celtic, Italic, and Anatolian; and I also discuss cases from IE branches with less cases, such as Vedic, Avestan, and Ancient Greek. In the Celtic branch, I focus on Old and Middle Irish, where i-stem adjectives are the third most productive class of adjectives, e.g. maith 'good’, áith 'sharp’. In the Italic branch, I focus more on Latin, where we can find many simplex i-stem adjectives, e.g. dulcis 'sweet’. In the Anatolian branch, I focus on Hittite, which has cases like nakkī- 'important’, and šalli- 'big’. Indo-Iranian and Greek have less i-stem adjectives, but we can still find cases like Ved. hári- 'golden yellow’ and Av. zairi- 'tawny’. My research shows that the process of the nominalization and readjectivalization of o-stems into i-stems is the most productive process to create secondary i-stem adjectives in Indo-European. Most languages, except for Greek, also preserve a few cases of i-vrddhis, a much rarer derivation process.

Description
225 pages
Date Issued
2024-08
Keywords
Historical Linguistics
•
i-stem adjectives
•
Indo-European
•
Nominal morphology
Committee Chair
Weiss, Michael
Committee Member
Nussbaum, Alan
Despic, Miloje
Degree Discipline
Linguistics
Degree Name
Ph. D., Linguistics
Degree Level
Doctor of Philosophy
Type
dissertation or thesis
Link(s) to Catalog Record
https://newcatalog.library.cornell.edu/catalog/16611752

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