A Semantic Approach to Vennemann's "Great Puzzle" Author(s): Virgil Strohmeyer Reviewed work(s): Source: Iran & the Caucasus,

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A SEMANTICAPPROACHTO VENNEMANN'S "GREATPUZZLE"

VIRGILSTROHMEYER Yerevan
has (1996),JohnHarkness onceagain Linguistics of volume TheAnnual Armenian of In thelatest although than adequate is of and in of the raised spectre *dw>yerk Armenian, hislongreview theliteraturemore make is Pederson, 20 lrlIIa means- orthatPedersen spelled e.g. in errors thecitations, that somesurprsing to a is article essentially rejoiner Kortlandt's Harkness' material. of his onequestion control theArmenian (1986). to was in which turn a response Vennemann (1989), for solution the a thosethathaveattempted phonological has Thisvexedquestion longtroubled long kplwp/kp1wJL, two wordsmeaning LplIL, fearkrp L A of constellation Armenian PP, Pahlavietymologyfor this word 'rk),birthpains has labor/work tprl (Adjarian a quiteconvincing and heaven earth p4Me tpl / tp nLR, and /prlIpp. perhaps in metathesis of instances resonant common the about rather has solution hovered Thephonological that of the but to Grammont (from Armenian [1918] Harkness), howdoesonemotivate presence theresonant the clearlydisplays (Vaux,Schmitt) of over-view Armenian any Moreover, phonological metathesizes? seem + of all clusters obstuent continuant to *dwshifting #erk; similar of character theI.E.cluster anomalous and with palatalizaion affricatization: outcomes occasional *kw>R,%, 2, obstruent simple to havenormally is segments violated of hierarchy phonological sonority accepted (the considerations most Typological #rkan explanation: initial is the also changes confound phonological of ordering sound and [Blevins]) timely Kortlandt, metathesis (Harkness, the must followed posited epenthesis have the while corrective unlikely, highly etc.). feature is analysis to sufficiently phonologial has devicethat notbeenbrought bear Oneexplanatory the is it. approach to disassemble phonemes of presentation thefactsincludes A possible Hock's although segments the kernels. the to involved discover transformations' Both I.EandArmenian or (allophones phones?) whilethefirstdo not,andthetruly in of segments eachdiffer voicing, the alveolar-velar, second areordered that 'obstruent/continuant' evensuggest thefeatures One on centers +/- continuant. could radical development on still all However, such explanations founder the shoalsof typological metathesis. have undergone system. phonological the within Armenian anomaly and improbability thechange's at the solution onetimeor have and Dumezil Kortlandt all suggested semantic Meillet, Benveniste, (not labor length to and of withtheideas fear, pain, the another, howdoesoneconnect basicideaof duality yet that assumes twohasbeen that Meillet Solta)]: solution and (in [Dumezil and heaven earth mention possibly (9 shift one (4 analogical that seesin Latin &5), Russian & 10), paradigmatc infected three thecommon in by in two,thathasbeenusedas a morpheme the lexeme, (4 andEnglish & 5) andthatit is thetransformed it because is transparently for the willnotdiscuss word 'length' The words. follovying of constructon allof these is of 'twiceas long,'etc. My inclusion the wordfor 'work' very as to connected suchphrases 'doubled,' that evidence it is Iranian. compelling due provisional toAdjarian's are There many with etymologies. meanings cognate divergent correlates solution The semantic semantics: quintessential takingon very surprising wordsbuiltwith numerals of compound examples of elements Greek unparalleled), the science;best,highest, that the (concerning fifthelement underpins four flush that the that players an incomplete [five so four-flusher card-cheater skillful s/hecanconvince other (a a frame a cadre (both picture and figure a or (both a square a four-sided and bore), is cards] complete;cheat rogue), roads; of at the meeting thejuncture three (concerning riff-raff unit), (a Communist squad military trivial cell), by influenced trivia of curriculum), (aconcept basic subjects theMedieval trivium three (the silly,meaningless), of etymology thecommon accepted travel (the of knowledge), andtravail most both theprevious: insignificant [the pains]and'travel' firstis clearly [birth as into borrowed English 'travail' wordsfor 'work,' Romance on word in origin a compound [based in by if to connected thesecond onetravels GreyhoundtheUS]havetheir one-of-auniversity, union, universe, of for and for themorphemes three palings/poles] aninstrumenttorture), the animal; ultimate (a unicorn one-horned go to (the one-up-manship ability always beyond), kind,unique, (the Uniformitaranism boring), clothesof a group; the (of being),uniform one shape; common magical avatar grammatical a/an time), (a purely through change laws that stance physical donotsubstantially scientific etc. utterly), nearly (to decimate destroy (in at (confused),odds conflict), sevens at of thenumeral),sixesand
lEAN &r vole CAUJCASUS, 1, 1997, pp. 181-183 ? International Publication of Iranian Studies

*gw>ll, *gwh>1

t *sw>d,

*9tw>,, andwe,therefore,expect*dw>l4 ratherthanlplp.

VIRGIL STROHMEYER I must ago nere mnat one wore can exhaust the 'meamng'needed to nuance the many points of view no

of in for withinwhicheveryeventis contexualized: is the basicreason the wealth synonyms every this language. languages havewords common All may with meanings; is significant ourpurposes that what for is not of meanings points view,i.e. havecognates.It should and somelanguages havewordswithcommon and or and can manifold one-of-a-kind quintessentialuniforn square have us that within cultural our the surprise which however, is, web manifold anevershifting is semantic witha longmemory, same referentThecultural new strands thewebareconstantly of making links,whilesometimes aptto forgetunderlying connections: and venues, illiterate literate ones. Thus, andhigher-cultural folk retaining snapping previous or the locutions, and of synchronically diachronically. alltake in thedevelopmentmeanings part to of to a Two'canbe usedanalogically signify quite grat amount evil(basically besecnas a lossof primal a head-ache, a talking of bothsidesof one'smouth, splitting out among hostof religions): integrity being pulled double-trouble, a forked splittongue, or one's with self anger, tlking to one's beingbesides self, both etc. ways, dubious, duplicity, (left) from hand can Two's relations evilormisfortune bederived thefirst(right) andthesecond with that the denaturing) so name hand: lefthand often be givena cuphemistic thehope it would magically (with was purpose.A wouldhavea moreneutral, similar but as to weaken malificpower; simpleenumeraton a its thus, her woman ready beara childis oftentwiceas largeas she wasbefore pregnancy: twocanhave to of is to that connected thebasic pangs. Thenumeral part a compound is clearly something do withbirth to is so matrix that coremeaning nowfocused the upon numerical shifts within semantic die notion, which turn in woman about deliver, that to is anguish a different twiceas large a but delivery a great describes pregnant area: andtheword her describing sizecannowentail pain. her in e.g. The pains be easilyaccommodated, doubled-over pain. Greeks can Labor morecommon and the remind of the horrible us by upholstering son's punishments inflicted uponmalefactors the Persians: in sitting thelapof thedead) thesawing twoof in and father (literally judgement withtheskinof a corrupt seat II of with thegreat form execution Mohammedduring conquests his of Jamshid lastwasstill a popular (this acceptdetymologies, have but and English 'twinge' 'twitch' no commonly Constantinople, Albania Italy). and shape. they certainly a suggestive have phonological whether Genesis, or from Earth, in Eventhemyth thesplitting theHeavens the Mesopotamia,in of of of Germanic of to presence 'two' twohalves theshell). (the legend would somecredence thepossible give twinsareoftena mark misfortune: warring the of twinsin has Demonish duality deepfolkroots: et. are with etc. doppclgaengers, Folkfears notunassociated thenotions Rome, andthebeliefinchangelings, ancient associations would of twoness, havebeengristfortheeducatedand All mirrors, reflections. of these The of dualistic records this millof Zoroastrian, and phobias. firstliterary Mchaean, Gnostic late-Platonic in in in in especially hisrecounfing influence theAmenian language would appear Eznik the5thcentury, only of conflicts thetwins within of of and Ahriman Ahwamazda thewomb Zurvan. to for realize that one Theabove are generalizations thebackgroundourstudy; theforeground, must of movements fromthegreatreligio-philosophical influence Armenian vocabulary couldnot haveavoided of into 800 dth written from venture theregion Van(circa B.C.)until first Anatolia Mesopotania theinitial and were as changed theyassimilated records Armenian centuyAD.). Obviously, Armenians intimately in the (5th were the Urartians peoplethoroughly of Mesopotamianized), rulcdby the Medes(the coreethnicity (a and Parthians, Sassanians.If one looksat ourown Persians, Greeks, Romans, Zoroastrian pnesthood), fromtheVictorian, to mention Early the not behavior, willsee vastchanges one locutions organizing moral wereameliorative shifted highly to that pagan concepts Christian. Scholars haveoftenremarked normally the worked samemagic Christian on missionaries and missionaries, Muslim pejorative concepts Christian by of conmcpts, theTrinity theDualNature Christ. e.g. and world: of in early then Myargument closeswiththenature duality a lateMesopotamian, Persianized here the was they particulars because Duality thenexusof all evil. Onedoesnothaveto argue philosophical Persian Greek; or however, in languages, probably discussed Armeniansother by would been have professionally of world-view. weareconcerned thefolkloric consequeices that with at be that a Thisis onlya shortnoteconcerningsubject could(andperhaps should) explored some it words I.E. these an (although underlying Armenian is length Mypurpose notto prove Evil=Two Ideology The an out of wish an seems area I simply topoint thecogency such analysis. Armenian of worthy elaboration); with the wordforbirthpangs seem (although Greek o6ivri is not wrords to be highlyconsonant theGreek analogical Greek mythesis correct) there fulrther if is and are cognate hasundergone or further reshaping within echoes theArmenian Avestan word 'threat' of in (the for These correlations beused may dvae8) andSanskrit. asfurthr of development Greek, and amaong Armenian, Indo-Iranian. evridencea priodof closedialectal grid Armenian, andIranian Greek cognates (after A comparativre phono-semantic of thepossible those displays possible Of typologist the Greenberg) relationships: Joseph the cognate 182

YENNEANN'S

'GREAT PUZ'

Arm L Lp4A

Greek 8u'O WFc'6w

6Fa'pov/8Fa'v

Indo-Iranian

Germanic/
Latin

LP4LrL/qtP41f\EI ktP4wP/bp4wJI kt41AP 4n/tLI j' E Ii>IbpIrA

asuva

dvatwo Adrelduel dyaiei dura dvalatwinge/twitch dvanman dvanfly?) (Av.

'dire' 'bellum<dwellumc.f duel] also from *Latin and [war, may derive ultimately 'two.' I suggest that posited in then the be The sound change *dw>yerkArmenian re-evaluated. actual because therarity phonological of of combinadon is *dw-(it of *dwin ArmenianIg;however, outcome is in infection found realization numeral the basically inthe ofthe two), subsequent paradigmatic of two' 'three' by
of the Armenian allowed has to linguists assume change *dw>tp4.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
vols. H. Dictionary, Armenian) 1 &2, Yerevan. (in Acharyan, (1971)AmenianRoot Strassburg. Bartholomac (1904)Altrnisches Woerterbuck 7he of Theory,' Handbook Phonoloi in Blevina,J. (1995)The Syllable Phonological pp Blackwells 245-306. ed. heory, J. Goldsmith, of Synoym in the PrcipLIndo-Eupean Buck,C. D. (1949),A Dictionary Selected Lawuages,Chicago. Amenianand Greek RelaonshipBetween COmakson, James (1994)TheLnguistic Blackwells. Annualof Puzzle,"' to Approach the 'GreatArmenian Harkness,J. (1996)"Another vol. Armenian Lnguistics, 17 pp 11-20. Olms. Georg Grammatik. H. Huebschmann, (1972)Annenische (in of History theAr7enian of Language Jahukyan,G. B. (1967)A Sketch thePre-Lterary Yerevan. Russian), of and (1983)A Sketch theComprativ Jahukyan,G. B., LA. Sarajeva, T. R Arutyunyan, Yerevan. (in Le-cology of theArmenian Language Russian), vol. of Annual Armenian nguistics, 10 pp 43of F. Kortlandt, (1989).'TheMaking a Puzzle," 52. vol Annual Arnenian of Linguistics, 14 *-wKortlandt,F. (1993)."Intervocalic in Armenian," pp 9-13. mit des Schmitt, R. (1981)Gramunatik Klassisch-ArmenischenSprachvergleihenden Innsbruck. Erkautenungen, and Gramnr of Greek LatI Oxford. Sibler,A. (1995)NewComparative der im Sprachen, des Solta, G. R (1960)DieStellung Armnisdcen Kreise Indogermanische Wien. Company Mifflin Language, (1992) Houghton of Dictionary theEnglish Heritage TheAmerfccw Harvard. dissertation), Vaux,Bert,(1994)AmenianPhonology.(unpublished Annl of in SoundChanges Early Armenian," Venema, T. (1986)"Syllable-Based Luistics, vol.7 pp 27-43. Armenian
(1988),The H. W. WilsonCompany. BamhartDictonaryof Etymology, T'he

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