The fate of the neuter o-stems in Balto-Slavic1

RICK DERKSEN

1. Introduction: Illi-Svity 1963 In his monograph on nominal accentuation in Baltic and Slavic (1963), Illi-Svity tried to explain why so many PIE neuter o-stems appear to have become masculine in Slavic, an observation which was first made by Hirt (1893). A comparison with accentual data from Baltic, Greek, Sanskrit and Germanic led Illi-Svity to conclude that PIE barytone neuter o-stems correspond with Slavic masculine o-stems belonging to the barytone class in the case of long roots and to the oxytone class in the case of short roots (in Stangs terminology to accent paradigms a and b, respectively). In originally masculine o-stems with a non-acute root, accentual mobility has been generalized (Illi-Svitys law). Thus, Slavic masculine o-stems belonging to AP (b) in principle continue old neuters.

According to Illi-Svity, PIE oxytone neuter o-stems remain neuter in Slavic. The majority of the Slavic neuter o-stems belong to the oxytone class (AP b). Mobile neuter o-stems (AP c) contain, as a rule, a historically long root or have a $o-suffix. Furthermore, the retraction generally known as Hirts law has generated a class of neuter o-stems with fixed root stress (AP a). PSl. *tl (a) back of the head, back (e.g. Ru. tyl, -a, Cz. tl) < *tHlom, cf.

Skt. tumacronacutela- n. tuft, reed, panicle. PSl. *dvr (b) courtyard, door (e.g. ak. dvr, Cz. dvr) < *dCurom, cf.

Skt. dv?ra- n. door, gate, passage. PSl. *zb (c) tooth (e.g. ak. zb, Sln. zb) < *mbCos, cf. Skt. jmbha- m.

tooth, Gk. pin, nail, Lith. abas sharp edge 2/4. PSl. *jto (a) flock, herd (e.g. SCr. jto) < *$Hto < *$eh2td

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PSl. *mso (c) meat, flesh (e.g. SCr. mso, Pl. miso) < *mms < *mmsd

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common origin. Since I do not believe that *-om ever yields Balto-Slavic *-o, the best option would be to assume that in Balto-Slavic the ending *-om was replaced by *-od in oxytone neuters. In that case one would expect Old Prussian neuter o-stems to correspond to Slavic neuter o-stems and end-stressed neuters in other Indo-European languages. The evidence seems indeed to point in that direction, e.g. (cf. Kortlandt 1983: 183): OPr. dalptan punch, instrument for making holes : PSl. *dolt (b), *delt

(b) chisel, e.g. Ru. dolot, SCr. dlijto, Cz. dlto. OPr. creslan easy chair : PSl. *krslo (a), cf. Lith. kr6slas 1/3, Latv. krsls. OPr. lunkan bast : PSl. *lko (a), e.g. SCr. lko, cf. Lith. lnkas 1, Latv. lks. OPr. piwamaltan2 malt : PSl. *molt (b), e.g. Cz. Slk. mlto draff. OPr. prassan millet : PSl. *prso (c) id., e.g. Ru. prso, SCr. prso. OPr. schutuan thread: Ru. dial. itv needlework. OPr. assaran lake : PSl. *zero (c) id., e.g. SCr. jzero, NApl. jezra. OPr. kelan wheel: OIc. hvel n. id., cf. PSl. *kolo (s-st.) id.. OPr. pedan ploughshare : Skt. pad- n. step, trace. OPr. maldian foal, eristian lamb, wolistian [wosistian] kid: Gk.

little child, manikin < *-im.

The following nouns require additional comments: OPr. piuclan sickle, spertlan ball of the toe and sasintinklo rabbit-snares

contain a suffix corresponding with PSl. *-dlo. There are indications that this suffix was always stressed in Late PBSl., except in those cases where Hirts law applied (Derksen 1996: 105-113).

OPr. pirsten finger is in agreement with Skt. prqh- n. back, mountain ridge, but not with PSl. *p"rst (b) finger. The accentuation of Lith. pirtas 2 does not necessarily corroborate the Slavic barytone accent because the root stress may originate from the East Baltic retraction from *-. I suspect that in Slavic *-o was replaced analogically by *- at a stage when barytone masculine o-stems continuing old neuters still had a NApl. in *-aH and may have shown neuter agreement (Derksen 2008: 428-429, 2009: 18).

OPr. staytan [scaytan] shield and largasaytan stirrup-leather do not agree with PSl. *t (b) shield and *st (b) twining, e.g. OCz. st (cf. OHG seid cord < PGmc. *sia), but the suffix -tan seems to have become productive, cf. anctan butter, baytan [saytan?] sieve, buttan house, meltan flour, mettan year, saltan bacon, spanstan [spaustan?] mill-spindle. Lith. skitas 2 reed (of a loom) may reflect *skitom (but cf. OHG skt log < *sk), while sitas 2/4 tie, leash vs. satas 2 id. may reflect

2 If not a borrowing from German, cf. Smoczyski 2000: 55.

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accentual variants *sitom (or *sita) and *soit, cf. Latv. sata, sate cord, leash with metatony.

The neuter gender of OPr. caulan bone finds no support elsewhere (see also Petit 2001: 40), cf. Gk. stem, pole, Lat. caulis stem, plant, Latv. kals bone, stem instead of *kals (but cf. tits).

It is uncertain if OPr. laygnan cheek is cognate with PSl. *lce (b) face.

Of course, the above-mentioned hypothesis implies that the Old Prussian ending *-an is secondary (note that *-om would yield -on in Old Prussian), cf. Schmalstieg 2003.

4. Balto-Slavic and East Baltic stress retractions According to Kortlandt (1975: 4-7), the stress was retracted from final open syllables (in disyllabic forms) unless the preceding syllable was closed by an obstruent.3 This Late Balto-Slavic retraction, which plays a role in explaining the curve of the mobile paradigm, accounts for the accentual difference between pil drank (f. sg.) and plo drank (n. sg.) on the one hand and between plo and nesl carried (n. sg) on the other. As I pointed out in my dissertation, the conditions of the law imply that in the Late Balto-Slavic neuter o-stems there must have existed an oxytone paradigm besides the regular immobile and the mobile paradigms. The reconstruction of an oxytone paradigm offers a solution for the apparent metatony in certain Slavic neuter o-stems belonging to AP (b): here the laryngeal was lost in pretonic position. In East Baltic, etyma which may be assumed to have belonged to the oxytone paradigm characteristically have root stress and metatony. For this reason, I posited an East Baltic retraction from *-. The retraction sheds new light on Nieminens (and Kuryowiczs) observation that there are comparatively many neuters among Baltic o-stems belonging to AP 2. My hypothesis also has consequences for the interpretation of the material in Illi-Svitys study. Balto-Slavic 1. *-m >> *-d 2. *-om > *-um 3. Hirts law: the stress was retracted to an immediately preceding syllable

containing a vocalic element followed by a laryngeal. 4. *-od > *-o 5. Retraction of the stress from final open syllables in disyllabic forms unless

the preceding syllable was closed by an obstruent.

3 In early publications by Kortlandt and other Leiden accentologists this development is referred to as Ebelings law, cf. Ebeling 1967.

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Slavic 1. Loss of the laryngeals in pretonic position. The laryngeals were analogically

eliminated from barytone forms in mobile paradigms (Kortlandts interpretation of Meillets law).

2. Illi-Svitys law: generalization of mobile accentuation in masculine o-stems with a non-acute root.

3. Dybos law: rising vowels (at this stage non-acute, non-falling vowels) lost the stress to the following syllable.

East Baltic 1. The stress was retracted from stressed a in absolute auslaut. As a

consequence, the mobile and oxytone paradigms merged. 2. In Lithuanian, the metatony and fixed stress on the root were generalized

throughout the paradigm. Latvian neuter o-stems with fixed root stress became mobile.

3. In Latvian, one of the tones was generalized in roots displaying a tonal alternation within the paradigm. In paradigms showing an alternation between sustained tone and broken tone the broken tone was generalized. In paradigms in which a (metatonical) sustained tone alternated with a falling tone the sustained tone was generalized. In paradigms in which a (metatonical) falling tone alternated with a broken tone the falling tone was generalized.

5. Survey of the evidence A. PIE barytona PIE CC-om : CC-eh2 > PBSl. CC-um : CC-aH Though the bifurcation which eventually led to the barytone neuter o-stems becoming masculine may be Balto-Slavic, suppletive neuter plurals may have existed both in Baltic and Slavic. For Slavic, I even see no other way to make Illi-Svitys law work. The existence of suppletive neuter plurals may also explain why we find so much vacillation between neuter and masculine o-stems belonging to (b) PSl. *l"n (b) flax : OPr. lynno id.. PSl. *bb (b) bean : OPr. babo beans. PSl. *vrta (b) gate : OPr. warto, Lith. vartai 2 id..

B. PIE oxytona PIE CVC-m : CVC-h2 >> PBSl. CVC-d : CVC-h2 > PBSl. CVC- : CVC-H

B1. CVHC- : CVHC-H > CHC-o : CHC-aH

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Hirts law generated new barytone neuters: Lith. tltas 1, Latv. tits bridge : Skt. trth- n. passage, ford, stairs for

landing or for descent into a river, cf. Fi. silta bridge. Lith. setas 1/3, Latv. sits, OPr. baytan [saytan], PSl. sto (a) sieve. Lith. lnkas 1, Latv. lks, OPr. lunkan, PSl. *lko bast, cf. Fi. lunka

remnants of bark.

B2. CVC1C2- : CVC1C2-H > CVC1C2- : CVC1C2-H (where C1 is an obstruent)

PSl. (b): *bgn (?), *bedr, *sl, *dsn, *dpl, *dn (< *dbn), *jdr, *jtr, *krdl, *lekt, *(vn)tr, *ptr, *prgl, *pk()l, *rebr, *rxl, sdl, *stegn, *stbl, *stkl, *skn, *st, *vesl, *vdr, *volkn, *erdl, *ezl. Lith. tiklas 2/4 net, Latv. tkls id., cf. Fi. siula Seitennetz < *sikla

(Liukkonen 1999: 63). Fixed stress as a result of the East Baltic retraction from *- rather than old barytone accentuation. Illi-Svity reconstructs a barytone neuter on the basis of Skt. tntra- n. loom.

Lith. kerslas 2/4 chisel, cutter, PSl. *ersl (b) ploughshare. Here, too, Illi-Svity reconstructs a barytone neuter, which leaves the neuter gender of the Slavic form unexplained. I assume that the (older) Lithuanian variant with AP 2 results from a retraction of the ictus.

PSl. *gnzd (b) nest : Skt. n- m./n. nest, lair, OHG nest n. Lith. lzdas 4 does not have the expected AP 2.

Examples of *-to preceded by an obstruent: OPr. dalptan, PSl. *dolt (b). Lith. gratas 2 gnawed off piece, sstas 2 (sstas 1) throne, plastas 2

(plustas 1) ferry (grati gnaw, s6sti sit down, plusti wash, bathe), cf. Fi. lautta ferry, raft (Liukkonen 1999: 34).

As one would expect, *-sto- is frequently accompanied by fixed stress and metatony: Lith. kastas 2 pile, Latv. de"sts plant, grusts hut (klti forge, hammer in,

dstt plant, grat destroy, grt collapse).

The suffix *-t apparently spread to roots which did not end in an obstruent. According to Nikolaev (1989: 78-91), metatony in derivatives in -tas is particularly frequent after recessive roots, which suggests a redistribution of stressed and unstressed *-to.

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PSl. *plt (b) flotsam (e.g. SCr. dial. plut, NApl. plut), Lith. platai 2 bath shelf, ferry, raft, Latv. pluts2 shelf, cf. Fi. lauta bath shelf.4

Lith. sttas build 2, dtas 2 gift (stti stand, doti give).

B3. CVC- : CVC-H > CC-o : CVC-H PSl. (b): *el, *erv, *grn, *lc, *lo, *melk, *pletj, *ptj, *rn, *sel, *tl, *vn. PSl. (c): *bdo, *blgo, *bxo, *rvo (secondary s-st.?), *drvo, *ge, *jro, *jgo, *krsno, *ldo, *mso, *me, *pvo, *pe, *prso, *sno, *tsto, *zlto. PSl. *per (< *pro) feather, NApl. *per (b) : Gk. feather, wing. PSl. *jje egg, NApl. jj (c) : Gk. id.. PSl. *vno (c) bride-price (e.g. Ru. vno, Cz. vno) : Gk. bride-

price. In view of the cluster *-dn-, one would expect this etymon to belong to AP (b). We do actually find SCr. (arch. dial.) vijno wedding, bride price, but, as was pointed out by Eric Hamp (1968), this form may have been influenced by vijnac wreath, wedding.

PSl. *sto (c) hundred, Lith. itas 2/4 id. : Skt. at- n. id.

Leiden

REFERENCES

Bonfante, Guido 1931 Una nuova formulazione della legge de F. de Saussure. Studi Baltici 1, 63-91.

Derksen, Rick 1996 Metatony in Baltic. AmsterdamAtlanta. 2oo8 Etymological dictionary of the Slavic inherited lexicon. AmsterdamBoston. 2oo9 Slavic evidence for Balto-Slavic oxytona. In: Thomas Olander and Jenny

Helena Larsson (eds.), Stressing the past. Papers on Baltic and Slavic accentology (Studies in Slavic and General Linguistics 35), 15-19. AmsterdamNew York.

Ebeling, Carl 1967 Historical laws of Slavic accentuation. In: To honor Roman Jakobson: Essays

on the occasion of his 70th birthday, 577-593. The Hague-Paris. Hamp, Eric P.

1968 Vno, vijno. Zbornik za filologiju i lingvistiku 13, 255-256. Hirt. Hermann

1893 Zu den slavischen Auslautgesetzen. Indogermanische Forschungen 2, 337-364.

4 For the words meaning shelf the relationship with pluti wash, bathe, overflow is uncertain (pace Illi-Svity, who reconstructs a PIE barytone neuter *plutom floating object, board).

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Petit, Daniel 2001 Quelques observations sur les substantifs de genre neutre en vieux prussien.

Baltistica 35(1) 2000, 29-43. Schmalstieg, William R.

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