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F r e d e r i k K o r t l a n d t ( L e i d e n ) 1 . A few y e a r s a g o J. F e r r e l l d i s c u s s e d t h e f o r m a t i o n o f t h e S l a v i c i m p e r f e c t i n some d e t a i l ( 1 9 7 7 ) . S i n c e h i s t r e a t - ment i s i n my view q u i t e u n s a t i s f a c t o r y , t h e r e i s r e a s o n t o r e t u r n t o t h e problem h e r e .2 . The main p o i n t s which r e q u i r e an e x p l a n a t i o n a r e t h e OCS. s u f f i x -Za-, t h e ORu. s u f f i x - j a - , and t h e t h e m a t i c f l e x i o n o f t h e i m p e r f e c t t e n s e . l L i k e many o f h i s p r e d e c e s s o r s , F e r - r e l 1 d e r i v e s -Za- from * - ; j a - , a d d u c i n g nouaago from n o u a j e g o a s a p a r a l 1 e l . z The comparison d o e s n o t h o l d b e c a u s e i t i s t h e f i r s t vowel which d e t e r m i n e s t h e . t i m b r e o f t h e s e c o n d i n t h e l a t t e r i n s t a n c e . I f t h e o r i g i n a l v o c a l i s m o f t h e i m p e r f e c t s u f f i x had been * - & j a - , t h e l o c s o f i n t e r v o c a l i c * j would h a v e y i e l d e d *-ëë- and t h e b a c k i n g o f t h e s e c o n d vowel t o a would remain u n e x p l a i n e d . The s p o r a d i c i n s t a n c e s o f -Za- f o r - ë j e - i n a d j e c t i v a l 1 o c . s g . and p r e s e n t t e n s e forms can h a r d - l y b e u s e d a s e v i d e n c e f o r a p h o n e t i c development. F e r r e l l ' s a d d i t i o n a l argument t h a t i t i s a l m o s t i n c o n c e i u a b l e t h a t t h e t w o low voweZs i n h i a t u s w o u l d h a v e r e s i s t e d f o r s e v e r a Z c e n - t u r i e s t h e n o r m a l p r o c e s s o f c o n t r a c t i o n when n o t s e p a r a t e d b y a p r e f i x o r word b o u n d a r y (1977: 5 3 - 5 4 ) p o i n t s t o t h e c o r - r e c t s o l u t i o n : t h e r e was a boundary which s u b s i s t e d up t o t h e L a t e P r o t o - S l a v i c p e r i o d . A s F e r r e l l r e m a r k s h i m s e l f , t h e con- s t r u c t * - ë j a - o f f e r s c o n s i d e r a b l e d i f f i c u l t i e s f o r E a s t S l a v i c
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These d i f f i c u l t i e s d i s a p p e a r i f we assurne t h a t t h e r e n e v e r was an i n t e r v o c a l i c * j . When t h e boundary was l o s t , con-254 Frederik Kortlandt
t r a c t e d -Za- a p p a r e n t l y merged w i t h t h e d e n a s a l i z e d vowel a from 9 i n E a s t S l a v i c . Note t h a t t h e f o r m a t i v e vowel o f Old P o l i s h w i e d z i e e h
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pZe-t ë a x a a l s o d i f f e r s from t h e c o n t r a c t e d vowel i n Po. s i a é and Lso. s a S from s ë j a t i . I n N o r t h S l a v i c , a s opposed t 0 S o u t h S l a v i c , c o n t r a c t i o n was a p p a r e n t l y e a r l i e r when t h e r e was no i n t e r v e n i n g * j . The development can b e d a t e d b e f o r e t h e r a i s - i n g o f ë i n West S l a v i c and a f t e r t h e d e n a s a l i z a t i o n i n E a s t S l a v i c . 3. While t h e S l a v i c a o r i s t may be t h e m a t i c , s i g m a t i c , o r t h e m a t i c - s i g m a t i c , t h e i m p e r f e c t i s s i g m a t i c - t h e m a t i c , e x c e p t f o r t h e v e r b ' t o b e l . T h i s seems t o e x c l u d e t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f a s e c o n d a r y o r i g i n . I t must b e r e g r e t t e d t h a t F e r r e l l l e a v e s t h e t h e m a t i c f l e x i o n of t h e i m p e r f e c t o u t of c o n s i d e r a - t i o n . A. V a i l l a n t was w e l 1 aware o f t h e d i f f i c u l t y , b u t d i d n o t r e a l l y know what t o do a b o u t i t : h e e x p l i c i t l y r e j e c t s t h e p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t t h e Indo-European t h e m a t i c i m p e r f e c t had been p r e s e r v e d l o n g enough t o have any d i r e c t i n £ l u e n c e upon t h e new f o r m a t i o n (1966: 6 7 ) . Thus, n e i t h e r t h e a o r i s t n o r t h e o r i g i n a l i m p e r f e c t o f f e r s a s u i t a b l e b a s i s f o r t h e d e r i - v a t i o n o f t h e S l a v i c paradigm.
4. The o r i g i n o f t h e S l a v i c i m p e r f e c t h a s e s s e n t i a l l y been c l a r i f i e d by C. S. S t a n g , who was o n l y t o o r e l u c t a n t t o draw t h e f i n a l c o n c l u s i o n from h i s o b s e r v a t i o n s ( 1 9 4 2 : 8 2 - 8 4 ) . He s u g q e s t e d t h e d e r i v a t i o n o f 3 r d s g . -aSe from a p e r f e c t form
*Öse, w i t h B f o r * s u n d e r t h e i n f l u e n c e of t h e a o r i s t , and c a l l e d a t t e n t i o n t o t h e Old I r i s h p r e t e r i t t á i c h
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* t e k - ' f l e e s ' . The l a t t e r f o r m a t i o n i s u n e x p l a i n e d . I t i s r e p r e s e n t e d i n a s m a l 1 c l a s s o f n o n - r e d u p l i c a t e d s u f - f i x l e s s p r e t e r i t s w i t h a l e n g t h e n e d n o n - p a l a t a 1 r o o t vowel. The c a t e g o r y i s a t l e a s t I n s u l a r C e l t i c , c f . Middle Welsh256 F r e d e r i k K o r t l a n d t
s t u d y o f t h e S l a v i c and B a l t i c v e r b S t a n g answered t h i s que- s t i o n i n t h e n e g a t i v e b e c a u s e h e assumed t h a t t h e B a l t i c f o r - m a t i o n s r e f l e c t i n p a r t a n e a r l i e r v o i c e o p p o s i t i o n : d i e
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Stamme w a r e n u r s p r u n g l i c h t r a n s i t i v , wührend d i e S-Stamme z w e i v e r s c h i e d e n e T y p e n u m f a s s e n : 1 . i n t r a n s i t i v e B i l d u n g e n , und2 . a l t e S - P r a t e r i t a o h n e D i a t h e s e b e d e u t u n g , d i e dem s l a v . Ty- p u s Z i d e t a : Zbda e n t s p r e e k e n ( i b i d . ) . By t h e t i m e h e w r o t e h i s c o m p a r a t i v e grammar o f t h e B a l t i c l a n g u a g e s h e had changed h i s mind: h e now d e n i e d t h e n e c e s s i t y o f assuming two d i f f e - r e n t Ü - s u f f i x e s and d a t e d t h e r i s e o f an i m p e r f e c t * v e d ë - t o t h e B a l t o - S l a v i c p e r i o d (1966: 379, 3 8 7 ) . But what i s t h e o r i - g i n o f t h i s Z - p r e t e r i t ? The problem i s t h a t t h e s u f f i x c a n n o t be i d e n t i f i e d w i t h t h e f o r m a t i v e s u f f i x of L i t h . s e d ë t i , OCS. s ë d ë t i , L a t i n s e d ë r e f o r t h r e e r e a s o n s . F i r s t , t h e l a t t e r f o r - mation d e s i g n a t e s a s i t u a t i o n t h a t i s t h e r e s u l t of an e a r - l i e r p r o c e s s , which i s d e n o t e d by t h e r o o t * s e d - . I t t h u s re- sembles t h e p e r f e c t . The B a l t o - S l a v i c i m p e r f e c t , on t h e o t h e r hand, e x p r e s s e d a p r o c e s s i n t h e c o u r s e o f i t s c o m p l e t i o n . I t r a t h e r r e s e m b l e s t h e E n g l i s h p r o g r e s s i v e form. Second, t h e s t e m s é d é - / s ë d Z - i s common t o a l 1 v e r b forms e x c e p t t h e p r e - s e n t t e n s e , whereas t h e i m p e r f e c t f o r m a t i o n i s l i m i t e d t o t h e p r e t e r i t . T h i r d , t h e t o n a l d i £ f e r e n c e between t h e L i t h . circum- f l e x e n d i n g -i and t h e a c u t e f o r m a t i v e s u f £ i x o f
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Zustandsver- b a ' p r e c l u d e s t h e i r i d e n t i f i c a t i o n . I f t h e e n d i n g h a d o r i g i - n a l l y been a c u t e , t h e vowel would have been s h o r t e n e d i n ac- c o r d a n c e w i t h L e s k i e n ' s law. To my s u r p r i s e , I have been un- a b l e t o f i n d t h e l a t t e r , d e c i s i v e o b j e c t i o n i n t h e e x i s t i n g li t e r a t u r e .9 . I t f o l l o w s from t h e f o r e g o i n g t h a t L i t h . v e d i can be i d e n - t i f i e d a s a nomina1 f o r m a t i o n which y i e l d e d t h e S l a v i c imper- f e c t t h r o u g h c o m p o s i t i o n w i t h t h e o r i g i n a l p e r f e c t o f t h e v e r b ' t o b e g . The t y p e can be compared w i t h t h e I n d i c p e r i p h r a s t i c f u t u r e , e . g . cg. 1 . d à t á s m i , 2 . d ä t á s i , 3. d ä t Z o f dä- ' g i v e ' . D e v e r b a l nouns i n -9- a r e found i n L a t i n : c a e d ë s , s ë d ë s , c l ä -
d ë s , v ä t z s , compägZs, ambägZs, p r ö l Z s , s u b ö Z Z s , s t r u z s , Zu&s ( c f . P e d e r s e n 1 9 2 6 : 5 7 - 5 8 ) . The o r i g i n a l d i s t i n c t i o n between nomina a g e n t i s w i t h a s i g m a t i c n o m i n a t i v e and nomina a c t i o n i s w i t h a n a s i g m a t i c n o m i n a t i v e was l o s t , L a t i n g e n e r a l i z i n g t h e
The O r i g i n of t h e S l a v i c I m p e r f e c t 257 form. 3 The c o e x i s t e n c e of s i g m a t i c and a s i q m a t i c n o m i n a t i v e s h a s been p r e s e r v e d i n S a n s k r i t compounds o f r o o t n o u n s , e . g . d r a d d k ú ' t r u s t '
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t r u s t f u l '.
S i m i l a r l y , t h e d i f f e r - e n c e between Old E n g l i s h w ö p ' s o n g ' and wöd 'mad', which c o r - r e s p o n d s w i t h t h e d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n Welsh gwawd'
s o n g ' and I r i s h f á i t h ' p o e t ' ( L a t i n v ä t ë s ) , p o i n t s t o t h e c o e x i s t e n c e of a p r o t e r o d y n a m i c and a h y s t e r o d y n a m i c f l e x i o n of t h e Same word. 10. The c i r c u m f l e x t o n e o f t h e L i t h . p r e t e r i t e n d i n g -o must h a v e been t a k e n f r o m t h e c o r r e l a t i n g e n d i n g - 6 . The o r i q i n a l a c u t e i s p r e s e r v e d i n S e r b o - C r o a t , e . 9 . n a p i s a , n a p i t a ( c f . S t a n g 1957: 1 3 1 ) . The l o n g vowel o f o k o v ä , where t h e s t r e s s b e t r a y s t h a t i t b e l o n q s t o t h e t y p e w i t h m o b i l e a c c e n t u a t i o n , i s u n d o u b t e d l y o f s e c o n d a r y o r i q i n . The o n l y a t h e m a t i c imper- f e c t h a s a c u t e t o n e i n S c r . b j ê h ' I w a s ' . The a b s e n c e o f t h e e n d i n g - a x a i n t h i s word can be e x p l a i n e d from t h e meaninq o f t h e v e r b . The a c u t e t o n e shows t h a t t h e f o r m a t i o n h a s a p u r e - l y v e r b a 1 o r i q i n and s u g g e s t s a c o m p a r i s o n w i t h t h e " Z u s t a n d s - v e r b a " i n - ë t i . The r i s e o f t h e s t e m bB- can be d a t e d t o t h e B a l t o - S l a v i c p e r i o d i n view of t h e Old P r u s s i a n c o g n a t e b é i'
( h e ) was'
,
which r e p r e s e n t s an e x t e n s i o n o f t h e Same s t e m , and t h e L i t h . p r e f i x b e - , e . g . b e v á Z g a n t ' w h i l e e a t i n q ' , betr6i- k o 'was l a c k i n g o n l y ' . The compound form o f t h e l a t t e r example i s s t r o n g l y r e m i n i s c e n t o f t h e S l a v i c i m p e r f e c t .258 F r e d e r i k K o r t l a n d t R E F E R E N C E S
FERRELL, J. 1977: The h i s t o r y of t h e S l a v i c i m p e r f e c t t e n s e . [ i n : ] WdSl 19-20, p.37-63.
PEDERSEN, H. 1926: La cinquième d é c l i n a i s o n l a t i n e . KObenhavn.
POHL, H. D. 1975: Das s l a v i s c h e I m p e r f e k t a u f -Bax- und -aar-. [ i n : ] ZslPh 3 8 , p.349-360.
SADNIK, L. 1960: Das s l a v i s c h e I m p e r f e k t . [ i n : ] WdSl 5 , p.19-30. STANG, C . S. 1942: Das s l a v i s c h e und b a l t i s c h e Verbum. O s l o . STANG, C. S . 1957: S l a v o n i c a c c e n t u a t i o n . Oslo.
STANG, C. S. 1966: V e r g l e i c h e n d e Grammatik d e r b a l t i s c h e n S p r a c h e n . O s l o . VAILLANT, A. 1966: Grammaire comparée d e s l a n g u e s c l a v e s . 111: Le v e r b e .
