PIE-SecondConjugation.htm

Tlazoltéotl
Roman Marble. circa 100 PE

PIE Second Conjugation

by Patrick C. Ryan

currently under construction (06/09/2005) Copyright 2005 Patrick C. Ryan




The PIE first conjugation is seen in the endings of the strangely named 'secondary' athematic endings of the present/aorist. In four persons (1st, 2nd, 3rd sing.; 3rd pl.), the "primary" athematic endings are simply those of the secondary series + -*i.

The secondary thematic endings are similarly based; in four persons (1st, 2nd, 3rd sing.; 2nd pl.), these endings are simply those of the athematic secondary series preceded by *-e/*o-.

The PIE second conjugation is seen in the singular endings of the primary thematic endings, the singular endings of the perfect, the singular intransitive endings of the middle, the singular combined athematic and thematic endings of the subjunctive; and, disregarding the optative formant -*-e/oiH1-, the singular endings of the optative middle.


PRIMARY PERFECT INTRANSITIVE SUBJUNCTIVE OPTATIVE
THEMATIC MIDDLE MIDDLE
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
1. -*oH 1. -*H2e 1. -*H2 1. -*oH 1. -*H2
2. -*H1i 2. -*tH2e 2. -*tH2o 2. -*eH1i 2. -*tH2o/ó
3. -*e 3. -*e 3. -*o 3. -*e 3. -*o/ó



It is immediately apparent that these endings are similarly structured; and, I will argue, that they are all identically based, and only secondarily differentiated.


Third Person


In PIE, no syllable may begin with a vowel.

Therefore, the earliest 3rd p. sing. ending must be restored as -*He or -*Ho.

In three of the pertinent forms, the vowel is -*e; also, it is to be strongly suspected that the middle is a later formation than the remaining three, and only the middle forms have -*o.
H1e (for */?e/).


First Person


In PIE, no syllable may begin with a vowel.

In three of the pertinent forms, -*H2 is a component; in two of which, it is the single component.

For the earliest 1st p. sing., then, we propose -*H2; or, as I prefer to notate it: -*Ha (for */?a/).


Second Person


In two of the pertinent forms, the ending is -*Ø/eH1i.

In the three remaining forms, -*t- is combined with -*H2 + -*e/-*o/-*ó. It is obvious that the final vowel is an Ablaut-type variation, and cannot be used to specify the vowel.

In addition, -*Ø/eH1i shows us that the -*t- has been secondarily added when -*HV was no longer considered sufficient distinctive to differentiate the 2nd p. sing. from the 3rd p. sing., undoubtedly the form in commonest usage, due to Ablaut variations.

It is also certain that -*i cannot have been the original unspecified vowel of 2nd p. sing. -*HV since -*i is not an original vowel but simply an allophone of -*y in an un-stress-accented, avocalic position. If it were a part of the original ending, the ending would have had the form -*HVC, which is in opposition to the otherwise universal pattern of endings for the singular in both the first and second conjugations: -*CV.

We are left with -*HV as the ending of the 2nd p. sing. for the second conjugation.

Since we have reconstructed -*Ha for the 1st p. sing. and -*He for the 3rd p. sing., the only remaining vowel of PIE that could have been employed to distinguish the 2nd p. sing. from them is -*o.

For the earliest 2nd p. sing., then, we propose -*H3; or, as I prefer to notate it: -*Ho (for */?o/).

SECOND
CONJUGATION
* * (singular) * *
1. -*Ha
2. -*Ho
3. -*He




I have focused on the singular only of the second conjugation because it is my belief that, at the time of its formation, a formal distinction between singular and plural did not exist.



For another attempt to establish the validity of the same pattern, some readers may want to take a look at an article I published 15 years ago in Mother Tongue.









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Patrick C. Ryan * 9115 West 34th Street - Little Rock, AR 72204-4441 * (501)227-9947
PROTO-LANGUAGE@msn.com