Philip Baldi

Indo-European Languages

In this article the criteria for establishing language families are reviewed, and are then applied to a diagnostic set of morphological and phonological data from the Indo-European family of languages. Each of the 11 subgroups of attested Indo-European languages is outlined, with essential dates and earliest monuments mentioned for each group. An outline of the phonological system of the protolanguage is provided, as well as sample information on its morphological and syntactic systems.

Typology and the Indo-European Prepositions

In recent years a new approach to historical reconstruction has achieved prominence in diachronic studies. This new approach is, of course, typological syntax*. Typological syntax is itself principally an outgrowth of Greenbergs landmark Basic Word Order typology study of universale (1963), and it has been embraced by a fair number of linguists working in the field of syntactic change. This support and enthusiasm for typology by historical syntacticians is not surprising: after all, syntax has always been the stepchild of historical-comparative grammar. Up to the time when the Basic Word Order typology was first adopted by diachronic linguists, there was in essence no unified model even remotely adequate for the treatment of the mechanisms and principles of syntactic change. The best accounts by far, at least for the Indo-European languages, were framed in the format of traditional grammar. However these early handbooks, most of which have never been surpassed in pure scholarship and devotion to detail, lack the theoretical perspective necessary for a unified treatment of syntactic change. And in the lengthy period between the appearance of the great Indo-European handbooks and the late 1960s, it appears that trends and developments in synchronic syntactic theory had a minimum overall effect on historical syntactic theory. European structuralism had little impact; and American structuralism, with its emphasis on discovery procedures, especially for phonemics, was even less helpful in matters relating to syntax. The impact of generative grammar on historical linguistics is a familiar topic, and I will take no time reviewing it here. But

Patterns of change, change of patterns : linguistic change and reconstruction methodology

Find the secret to improve the quality of life by reading this patterns of change change of patterns linguistic change and reconstruction methodology. This is a kind of book that you need now. Besides, it can be your favorite book to read after having this book. Do you ask why? Well, this is a book that has different characteristic with others. You may not need to know who the author is, how well-known the work is. As wise word, never judge the words from who speaks, but make the words as your good value to your life.

A Structural Ambiguity in Latin

this theory there is no longer any foundation for the assumption made by several historians that the JuLO0os &KKX7OLaoTrLK6S only compensated the Athenian citizens in some measure for loss of working time,6 and we can reject the view that the poorer citizens even in the fourth century may have been debarred from attending the ecclesia. On the other hand, assuming that an ecclesia usually did not fill more than part of the day enables us to give a simple explanation of the higher rate for an &KKX7OT1a KVPIca. It is apparent from the Constitution of Athens (43. 3-6) that there were more items on the agenda for an (KKX7Ta KVPLa than for other meetings of the assembly. Such a meeting was probably more time-consuming, and consequently the subvention paid for attendance had to be raised in order to provide full compensation for the working hours lost. The thesis suggested in this article is based on a study of the scanty sources. I conclude my argument by anticipating an a priori objection which will doubtless be raised against my reconstruction: that it is impossible for six thousand participants, all of whom have the right to speak, to discuss and vote on a dozen decrees within a few hours. My answer is that it is possible: it happens in Switzerland today. In a few of the smaller cantons, magistrates are still elected and laws are still passed by the Landsgemeinde, which in Glarus, for example, is attended by about five thousand citizens who vote on all proposals by a show of hands. Every citizen is entitled to address the assembly, and the number of items on the agenda is comparable to the description found in the Constitution of Athens (43. 3-6). Nevertheless, such meetings last for no more than two to four hours.7

MORPHO-SYNTAX AND THE LATIN GENITIVE

1.0 There is a commonly held be l ie f among ph i lo log i s t s and p h i l o l o g i c a l l y oriented l i n g u i s t s that one of the more notable characteristics of L a t i n grammar is its re la t ive lack of uncondi t ioned case-alternation. W h i l e i t is probably true that the reputat ion wh ich La t in has acquired for r i g i d ity and inf l e x i b i l ity is due in large measure to the school -grammar t r ad i t i on 1 , the fact remains that the cases of La t i n , e spec ia l ly when compared to those of Sanskri t , have more or less independent and discrete func t ions . 2

Possessive expressions in Oscan and Umbrian

Abstract This paper investigates the status of possessive expressions in Oscan and Umbrian in an attempt to determine whether these languages are “be-languages” like the conservative Hittite or Latvian, or “have-languages” like the innovating Latin or German. The inquiry is carried out by examining approximately thirty tokens of the “have” verb from the Oscan Tabula Bantina and the Umbrian Iguvine Tables. Based entirely on this evidence, the conclusion is that Umbrian has changed from the inherited mihi est type with be to the have type, while Oscan remains a be-language without a fully developed verb of possession.

Complex sentences, grammaticalization, typology

New Perspectives on Historical Latin Syntax: Complex Sentences, Grammaticalization, Typology is the fourth in a set of four volumes dealing with the long-term evolution of Latin syntax, roughly from the 4th century BCE up to the 6th century CE. As in the other volumes, the non-technical style and extensive illustration with classical examples makes the content readable and immediately useful to the widest audience.