Long vowels in Balto-Slavic (original) (raw)

According to the traditional doctrine, Ihere are three types of long vowels in Indo-European languages: (1) Full-grade long vowels. These have acute tone in Lithuanian, and also in Greek final syllables, e. g. alga 'salary', άλφή 'gain'. (2) Contracted long vowels. These have circumflex tone in Lithuanian, and also in Greek final syllables, e. g. gen, sg. algös, άλφής. (3) Lengthened grade vowels. These have acute tone in Greek final syllables, e. g. ποιμ,ήν 'shepherd'. It is usually assumed that the circumflex tone of the Lithuanian cognate piemuo is the result of a secondary development. This point of view is not supported by the material. In the following I intend to show that circumflex tone is regulär on lengthened grade vowels in Balto-Slavic. The origin of the lengthened grade has largely been clarified by J. Wackernagel in his Old Indic Grammar [1896, 66-68]. He distinguishes [three categories with seven subdivisions: (a) Secondary nominal derivatives. Wackernagel accepts Streitberg's Suggestion [1894, 380] that lengthened grade in this category arose from analogical extension of lengthened grade in monosyllabic word forms. (b) Roots in monosyllabic nouns, before primary suffixes, in the singular of athematic presents, and in the active s-aorist, e. g.-härd-, härdi 'heart', märsti 'wipes', ajaisam 'conquered'. The long root vowel of these words originated from phonetic lengthening in monosyllabic word forms, e. g. *härd, *jais. (c) Final syllables of nom. sg. and loc. sg. forms of nominal stems in a resonant, e. g. sakhä 'friend', agna 'in fire', both with loss of the formative *-z. Here I assume phonetic lengthening before a word-final resonant and subsequent loss of the resonant. If we want to establish the tonal reflex of lengthened grade in Balto-Slavic, we have to examine what has remained of these categories in Lithuanian, Latvian, and Serbo-Croatian. I think that the following evidence is relevant.