The aim of this article is to trace the origin and the evolution of a group of Khotanese nouns whose historical analysis has always been a matter of debate. These nouns are well represented in Old Khotanese texts. They are masculine in gender and display an inflection partially merging with that of the masculine a-stems with the relevant exception of the nominative-accusative plural, which ends in -e. This ending is at odds with the regular nominative-accusative plural -a of the a-declension. Similarly, the secondary aa- and ua-declensions also have a few words showing the deviating ending -e in the nominative-accusative plural. Through a new collection of the members of these inflectional classes and an etymological recognition of the relevant endings and forms, it is argued that four Old Iranian stem-types merged their inflections in pre-Khotanese: (i) the Old Iranian thematic neuter (neuter a-stems), (ii) a few Old Iranian thematic masculine nouns (masculine a-stems), (iii) the Old Iranian masculine i-stems, and, possibly, (iv) the Old Iranian masculine u-stems.

Avestan -ā ̊ ŋhō, Young Avestan -ā ̊ , Old Khotanese -e and the development of the Old Iranian i- and u-stems in Khotanese / Del Tomba, Alessandro. - In: STUDI E SAGGI LINGUISTICI. - ISSN 2281-9142. - 1:60(2022), pp. 111-171. [10.4454/ssl.v60i1.315]

Avestan -ā ̊ ŋhō, Young Avestan -ā ̊ , Old Khotanese -e and the development of the Old Iranian i- and u-stems in Khotanese

Del Tomba, Alessandro
2022

Abstract

The aim of this article is to trace the origin and the evolution of a group of Khotanese nouns whose historical analysis has always been a matter of debate. These nouns are well represented in Old Khotanese texts. They are masculine in gender and display an inflection partially merging with that of the masculine a-stems with the relevant exception of the nominative-accusative plural, which ends in -e. This ending is at odds with the regular nominative-accusative plural -a of the a-declension. Similarly, the secondary aa- and ua-declensions also have a few words showing the deviating ending -e in the nominative-accusative plural. Through a new collection of the members of these inflectional classes and an etymological recognition of the relevant endings and forms, it is argued that four Old Iranian stem-types merged their inflections in pre-Khotanese: (i) the Old Iranian thematic neuter (neuter a-stems), (ii) a few Old Iranian thematic masculine nouns (masculine a-stems), (iii) the Old Iranian masculine i-stems, and, possibly, (iv) the Old Iranian masculine u-stems.
2022
Khotanese; Avestan; Middle Iranian; nominal morphology; inflectional morphology.
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Avestan -ā ̊ ŋhō, Young Avestan -ā ̊ , Old Khotanese -e and the development of the Old Iranian i- and u-stems in Khotanese / Del Tomba, Alessandro. - In: STUDI E SAGGI LINGUISTICI. - ISSN 2281-9142. - 1:60(2022), pp. 111-171. [10.4454/ssl.v60i1.315]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/1651464
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