Buchbesprechung

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DIE SPRACHE - Zeitschrift fur Sprachwissenschaft, 39 (1997) 2

1m Auftrag der Wiener Sprachgesellschaft herausgegeben von Heiner Eichner unter Mitwirkung von Hans Christian Luschutzky, Robert Nedoma, Oskar E. Pfeiffer, Klaus T. Schmidt, Chlodwig H. Werba und unter redaktioneller Mitar beit von Melanie Malzahn.

Anschrift: Institut fur Sprachwissenschaft der Universitat Wien, Luegerring 1, A-lOW Wien, Osterreich

Inhalt A. Aufsatzs

I. Balles, Reduktionsformen in langen Wortformen als Ursprung mor

phologischer Doppelformen 141

R. N edoma, Die althochdeutsche Fassung des Ersten Bcseler Rezepts 168

B. Kurzaufsatzo

D. Schurr, Lydisches IV: Zur Grammatik der Inschrift Nr. 22 . . . .. 201 D. Stifter, Celtiberian -unei, Luguei . . . .. 213 C. Rezensionsaufsatz

Kritische Bemerkungen zu den Editionen der Tocharischen Sprachreste

(K.T.Schmidt) 224

D. Rezensionen . . . ., .. 239 Register zu Band 39 (H. D. Pohl) . . . .. 247

Aile redaktionelle Korrespondenz, Manuskripte und Bucher sind an den Heraus geber (Anschrift wie oben) zu richten. Fur unverlangt eingesandte Bucher kann weder eine Besprechung noch Rucksendung garantiert werden.

Die Aufnahme von Repliken und personlichen Erklarungen wird prinzipiell abge lehnt; die Mitarbeiter sind ihrerseits zu einer streng sachlichen Formulierung angehalten.

Autoren erhalten fur Aufsatzs 25, fur Rezensionen 10, fur kleine Anzeigen 5 Son derdrucke.

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Printed in Germany ISSN 0376-401X

D. REZENSIONEN

Vaclav B I a

z

e k : Numerals. Comparative-etymological analyses of numeral systems and their implications.Brno, Masarykova univerzita, 1999, 339 p., paperback (ISBN 80-210-2070-9).

The present monograph collects nineteen essays on the numerical systems of several African and Eurasian languages; most of these essays have already been published as separate studies in various journals of linguistics. The articles have been gathered in the present book which serves as the author's 'Ha bilitationsschrift' at Brno university. B.divides his subject into three parts: A. Non Indo-European numeral systems (viz. the Saharan numerals, the Nubian numerals, the Egyptian numerals, the Berber numerals, the Kartvelian numerals, the Uralic numerals, and the Altaic numerals, p. 1-140), B. the Indo-European numerals (p. 141-324), and C. Patterns of creating numerals (p. 325-337). The Indo-European family thus forms the central part of the book, and its numerals are discussed in separate subchapters dealing with 'I', '2', '3', '4', '5', '6', '7', '8', '9', '10', '100' and '1000'.

After every chapter and subchapter of the book, we find a separate bibliography of the works cited in that chapter. Since many of the works cited are mentioned in more than one (sub)chapter, the book could have numbered a few pages less if all the references had simply been given once, at the beginning or at the end of the book. The present repetition of references is probably due to the fact that many of these (sub)chapters have appeared in print before, and the reader cannot help but get the impression that the separate essays have been lumped together without much of a final redaction. This impression is strengthened by the lack of any introduction to the subject of numerals. The two-pages introduction (p. III-IV)which precedes the 'contents' does not discuss the history of scholarship in this field, nor does it give a satisfactory outline of the premises on which B. bases his analyses of the numerals. For instance, it appears from his discussion at various points that B.adheres to the Nostratic theory, but this is not made explicit in the Introduction. Another point in question are the typological observations which we can make when comparing the different ways in which the world's languages form their numerals. Throughout the book, B. mainly relies on two (well-attested) ways to form numerals, viz. the derivation from body parts, and the derivation from other numerals by means of simple arithmetic operations. Nobody will deny that these are the two most important origins of numerals cross-linguistically, but B. becomes explicit about them only in his very final chapter (see below); especially for students of Indo-European languages, where numerals have a notoriously unclear etymology, this would have been a welcome theme for an introductory chapter.

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240 Rezensionen

numeral systems in selected language families; (b)to formulate some general rules of creation of numerals in confrontation with the 'transparent' numeral systems." What is behind this second aim only becomes clear when we read the final chapter calIed 'Patterns of creating numerals', which provides a short overview of different counting systems which exist in the world's languages. B. concludes this chapter with the observation (p. 336) that "the primary semantic motivation of numerals was based on body part names." This implies the counting of 1,2, 3, etc. by means of fingers etc., as can be observed in different languages all over the world. B. proceeds with the assumption that "the higher numerals originate by means of elementary arithmetic operations combining them." This is another well-attested formation type of numerals, as in Latin duodevtginti'lb', undevrginti'19', vtgintt '20', literally 'two-from-twenty', 'one-from-twenty', 'twenty'.

It is obviously B.'s main aim to show that the Indo-European numerals have also been formed by the two processes mentioned, viz. the use of body part names to start counting, and application of arithmetics to derive other numerals from the former. For the numerals 4-6 and 8-10 (7' is regarded as a loan from Semitic), B. offers the following etymologies: '4' *k~etyor'set of fingers' or *k~et-l).

'span', derived from *k~et-'to stretch'; '5' *penk~e 'keeps (hand in fist ?)' from a" verbal root *penk~-'to handle' or 'to gather'; '6' *KSl).eks (K indicating an unspecifiable velar) <*g"s-l).eks from *g"es-'hand' +*l).eks-'grow' = 'overgrowing hand'; '8' *h2okto-hj 'set of points' (= dual of 'fingers or knuckles of hand'); '9' *hjnel) adv., orig. ace. 'in lack'; '10' *dekIp & *dektadv., orig. ace. 'in the end' & participle 'reaching'. We can see that not only body parts and arithmetics are involved.

In itself, the idea that the PIE numerals, which lack an etymology, can or must be explained from general numerical formation patterns is nothing new. Yet the lack of agreement which has hitherto existed on this subject is not accidental: it is simply very difficult to find an internal IE etymology for those numerals, and the suggested connections with non-Indo-European languages alI suffer from phonological deficiencies. In order to fit the IE numerals into their supposed etymological motivation, it seems to me that B. stretches the evidence too far in more than one case. Although he has diligently gathered the many previous analyses of IE numerals from the literature, and follows the authority of previous scholars rather thancoming up with many new interpretations, B.'sown conclusions are often open to great doubts. As for '5', a verbal root *penk~-is simply unattested in Indo-European. Of course, "penkie '5' could theoreticalIy be a remnant of an otherwise lost root *penk~-, but we simply cannot prove it. The suggested connection with Hittite psnku- 'total; community' is impaired by expected development of PIE <enk-to Hit. -ink- (Melchert 1994: 139), which is absent from psnku-; for this reason, the connection of the latter with Skt. belui 'much, many' must be retained. In the case of '6' (p. 242), the alleged compound *g"s-l).eks does not conform to any known PIE composition type. As Viredaz (1997) has recently shown, the PIE word for '6' was *sl).ekswithout an initial velar, so that all reconstructions which depart from

*

Ks-must be given up. PIE '9' should be reconstructed with final *-n as *hjnelW, which makes its reconstruction as the acc.sg. of a supposed noun *hjenu- impossible.

Rezensionen 241

For '8' (p. 269),B.relies on Henning's interpretation (1942: 235)of Av. a~ti-as 'the breadth of four fingers' (which he derived from PIE *h_2ok- 'pointed') and his subsequent derivation of PIE *h2oktohj as the dual of the PIE preform of Av. a~ti (Henning 1948). Yet the meaning 'breadth of four fingers' is not secured for Av. esti-. The form only occurs in the compound esti.msseb- 'as large as an a~tf, which the Pahlavr translation of NIrangestan 66 and VIdevdad 13.30 does not specify any further, and in uz-ssti- 'breadth of eight fingers' (Frahang-i otm 734). The latter form appears in an enumeration of length measures: F 731ptIoam '16 fingers' (as per Henning 1942: 236, footnote 2), F 732 vitesti '12 fingers', F 733 disti '10 fingers', F 734 uzesti '8 fingers'. Since vitssti and disti represent regular verbal abstracts in *-ti-from the respective PIEroots "tens-'to stretch' and *deik- 'to show', uz-esti- may well contain a derivative *h2{1k-ti-to the root *h;zIIek- 'to reach', corresponding to Skt.

a$p-

f. 'reaching'. The semantic motivation is obvious: vitssti is the space between a stretched out thumb and little finger, disti- are the ten fingers which we use for indicating, and we can accordingly translate a~ti-as 'stretching', which is the position of (twice) the four fingers of a hand without the thumb. Av. uz-ssti- can be interpreted in two ways: either with uz- 'out, up' as 'stretching upwards' (d. KIingenschmitt 1968: 239 "die Handspitzen nach oben habend"), or with uz- 'beyond' as 'more than an a~tl (d. Henning 1942:235"super

a~ti'), as in us-aya- 'very bad' to aya- 'bad'. The latter interpretation would save Hennings translation of a~ti-as 'the breadth of four fingers', which he posits on comparison of the Avestan measures with the ancient Greek measures. Within the Avestan system of length measures, the connection of a~ti-with Skt.

a$p-

seems to me far more plausible than the unspecified connection with the PIE root for 'pointed' which Henning suggests. 'The breadth of four fingers' is then Simply 'the stretching of the four fingers of a hand'. These considerations remove alI indications that the root *h2ok-'pointed' supplied a word for 'four', of which Henning 1948 and B. suggest that it provided the basis for the derivation of *h2oktohj '8'.

Leaving aside the criticism on details, B.'s book shows the merit of bringing together an enormous amount of evidence on numerals, their relations and developments in many languages. These data, rather than suggesting unwarranted reconstructions, inspire one to ponder about the different possibilities that languages have with numerals, and how the different numeral systems came about. It must be regretted that B.does not elaborate more on this theme, which apparently was his main interest (p. 336 "The creation of numerals confirms more than any other human activity that man is a measure of himself.") B. has some very interesting remarks about the distribution of the vigesimal counting system in Indo-European languages, which automatically leads one to the question why different languages have different systems such as binary, ternary, quaternary,

quinary, decimal, or vigesimal.

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242 Rezensionen

English; but unintentionally, its frequent occurrence never tires of reminding us that it is not the cognate which is hopeful, but only the author.

Michiel d e V a a n References:

Henning, W.B.

1942: An astronomical chapter of the Bundahishn, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 229-248.

1948: Okto(u), Transactions of the Philological Society, 69. Klingenschrnitt, G.

1968: Farhang-iDim. Edition und Kommentar, unpublished doctoral dissertation Erlangen-Numberg,

Melchert, C.

1994: Ana tolian historical phonology, Amsterdam - Atlanta. Viredaz,R.

1997: 'Six' en indo-europeen, Indogermanische Forschungen 102, 112-150.

Werner Sun d e r man n , Iranian Manichaean Turfan texts in earlypublications (1904-1934). Photo Edition. Corpus Inscriptionum Iran-icarum, Supplementary Series Volume III, London, School of Oriental and African Studies 1996. 51 p. + 192 plates. ISBN 0 7286 0259 7. Preis: £ 60.

Hierrnit werden die SchwarzweiBaufnahmen samtlicher bis anno 1934 veroffent lichten Manichaica der Berliner Turfansammlung und der Peters burger Krotkov-, Koxanovski- und von Oldenburg-Sammlungen vorgelegt und zum ersten Mal seit Salemann' in kontrollierbarer Form gesammelt. Die Auswahl ist sinnvoll und homogen: Sundermanns Photo Edition enthalt mit wenigen Ausnahmerf mittel persische und parthische Fragmente im manichaischen Alphabet. AuBerhalb der gewahlten Grenzen stehen zwei Gruppen von Fragmenten: (1) die "Londoner Hymnenrolle", die zwei parthische Hymnen in chinesischer Transkription ent

1 Manichaeische Studien I, Memoires de l'Acedemie Imperiale des Scien

ces de St.-Petersbourg, VlIIe serie, VIII:10,Saint-Petersbourg 1908.

2 Fragmente in: 50ghdisch (M14,Ml15, M133,M583,5018120,MIK III 4981a und f; 54, L73, L74, L75, L77, L117), 50ghdisch und Parthisch (M132a, M259c), Mittelpersisch und 50ghdisch (M309a),50ghdisch und Uigurisch (5014411), Mittel persisch, 50ghdisch und Turkisch (Ml72), Parthisch im soghdischen Alphabet (5018120), Mittelpersisch in tiirkischer Runenschrift (Mainz 172, 402a und b).

Die Sprache 39/2 (1997),239-245