Palaic shows consistent geminate spelling in certain words. Although the phonetic realization of geminate spelling is commonly reconstructed as a long consonant, little consensus is found...Show morePalaic shows consistent geminate spelling in certain words. Although the phonetic realization of geminate spelling is commonly reconstructed as a long consonant, little consensus is found concerning the other Anatolian languages. This thesis analyzes the evidence found in Palaic texts and concludes that a difference in length is more probable than a difference in voice, as is often suggested.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
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It has been observed that pre-PIE *d sometimes turns into PIE *h₁, also referred to as the Kortlandt effect, but much is still unclear about the occurrence and nature of this change. In this thesis...Show moreIt has been observed that pre-PIE *d sometimes turns into PIE *h₁, also referred to as the Kortlandt effect, but much is still unclear about the occurrence and nature of this change. In this thesis, I provide an elaborate discussion aimed at establishing the conditions and a phonetic explanation for the development. All words that have thus far been proposed as instances of the *d > *h₁ change will be investigated more closely, leading to the conclusion that the Kortlandt effect is a type of debuccalisation due to dental dissimilation when *d is followed by a consonant. Typological parallels for this type of change, as well as evidence from IE daughter languages, enable us to identify it as a shift from pre-glottalised voiceless stop to glottal stop.Show less
The Hittite verbal system has two inflections: There is a division in active and medio-passive verbal forms. Although most Hittite verbs either contain forms of both inflections with a clear...Show moreThe Hittite verbal system has two inflections: There is a division in active and medio-passive verbal forms. Although most Hittite verbs either contain forms of both inflections with a clear distinction between them in function, or they are activa or media tantum, the forms of the verb paḫš-a(ri)/i however occur in both inflections and seem to lack a clear distinction between these two inflections. Many scholars have stumbled over this verb and the statements about it in the dictionaries vary widely. Puhvel states in his Hittite Etymological Dictionary (1984) that there are some old traces of old vassal treaties attested, but the sources he names as examples are from the youngest period of Hittite. Besides, it is still strange that some forms are always inflected in the active inflection, while some forms are always in the medio-passive inflection and never in the active one. In this MA thesis I will try to answer the question what exactly determines whether an active or a medio-passive form of paḫš-a(ri)/i is used, after providing a more general introduction to inflections and their functions in Indo-European and in Hittite. To be able to find an answer, it is necessary to first investigate which forms of paḫš-a(ri)/i are attested in different text periods of Hittite, after having designate the usable data. It is important to look whether the active and medio-passive forms occur in all Hittite periods or whether there is a chronological division visible. Secondly, I will look whether there are Hittite texts found in which both active and medio-passive forms of paḫš-a(ri)/i occur and look at the context to see whether I could assign a distinction in function between the two inflections.Show less
