Bartholomae's law
Encyclopedia
Bartholomae's law is an early Indo-European
(PIE) sound law affecting the Indo-Iranian
family. It states that in a cluster
of two or more obstruents (stops
or the sibilant ), any one of which is a voiced aspirated
stop anywhere in the sequence, the whole cluster becomes voiced and aspirated. Thus to the PIE root "learn, become aware of" the participle "enlightened" loses the aspiration of the first stop (Grassmann's law
) and with the application of Bartholomae's law and regular vowel changes gives Sanskrit
buddha
"enlightened".
and the Iranian
subgroups, further developments partially obscured the operation of the law: Thanks to the falling together of plain voiced and voiced aspirated stops in Iranian, Bartholomae's law appears synchronically
as progressive voicing assimilation after roots that originally ended in voiced aspirates, for example Old Avestan
aogda "he said" from PIE . This is not true for roots with plain voiced stops, for example Old Avestan yuxta "yoked" from , where Bartholomae's law does not apply.
In Indic, voiced *z as resulting from Bartholomae's law was devoiced to s, although there is some evidence from the Rigvedic
language that a voiced aspirate *z once existed in Indic as well: This is shown by forms like gdha "he swallowed" and dudukṣa- "want to give milk" (see below).
representation) presents problems of interpretation. The choice is between a long voiced stop with a specific release feature, aspiration, symbolized in transliteration by -h-, or else a long stop (or stop cluster) with a different phonation
al state, "murmur", whereby the breathy release is an artifact of the phonational state. The latter interpretation is rather favored by such phenomena as the Rigvedic
form gdha "he swallowed," which is morphologically a middle aorist
(more exactly "injunctive
") to the root ghas- "swallow", as follows: ghs-t-a > *gzdha, whence gdha by the regular loss of a sibilant between stops in Indic. While the idea of voicing affecting the whole cluster with the release feature conventionally called aspiration penetrating all the way to the end of the sequence is not entirely unthinkable, the alternative – the spread of a phonational state (but murmur rather than voice) through the whole sequence – involves one less step and therefore via Occam's razor
counts as the better interpretation.
Bartholomae's law intersects with another Indic development, namely what looks like the deaspiration of aspirated stops in clusters with s: descriptively, Proto-Indo-European "you lick" becomes *leyksi, whence Sanskrit lekṣi. However, Grassmann's law, whereby an aspirated stop becomes non-aspirated before another aspirated stop (as in the example of buddha, above), suggests something else. In late Vedic
and later forms of Sanskrit, all forms behave as though aspiration was simply lost in clusters with s, so such forms to the root dugh- "give milk" (etymologically *dhugh-) show the expected devoicing and deaspiration in, say, the desiderative
formation du-dhukṣ-ati (with the root-initial dh- intact, that is, undissimilated). But the earliest passages of the Rigveda show something different: desiderative dudukṣati, aorist dukṣata (for later dhukṣata) and so on. Thus it is apparent that what went into Grassmann's law were forms like *dhugzhata, dhudhugzha- and so on, with aspiration in the sibilant clusters intact. The deaspiration and devoicing of the sibilant clusters were later and entirely separate phenomena (and connected with yet another suite of specifically Indic sound laws, namely a "rule conspiracy" to eliminate all voiced – and murmured – sibilants). Indeed, even the example "swallowed" given above contradicts the usual interpretation of devoicing and deaspiration: by such a sequence, *ghs-to gave, first, *ksto (if the process was already Indo-European) or *ksta (if Indo-Iranian in date), whence Sanskrit *kta, not gdha.
form lectus "couch" and Ancient Greek
léktron "bed" are differently formed but both continue the root "lie" (the English word being from the same root). But because the Latin would otherwise have resulted in a forbidden cluster (**gt), it may well just be a case of voicing assimilation. In similar combinations arising within Greek, the pattern is for the whole cluster to become aspirated, thus **lékhthron. It obviously does not in this formation, which for other reasons as well is likely to be very old. This may be because the consonant cluster is more complex. In the case of Latin lectus, it is significant that the root does not otherwise survive in Latin at all, so that there can be no history of analogical remodeling or other disturbances. It is not completely clear what the result of a sequence would have been in Latin, but other evidence suggests lengthening of the vowel plus simplification, so **lēgus (cf. co-āgulum "rennet" < , tēgula "roofing tile" < ).
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
(PIE) sound law affecting the Indo-Iranian
Indo-Iranian languages
The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages. It consists of three language groups: the Indo-Aryan, Iranian and Nuristani...
family. It states that in a cluster
Consonant cluster
In linguistics, a consonant cluster is a group of consonants which have no intervening vowel. In English, for example, the groups and are consonant clusters in the word splits....
of two or more obstruents (stops
Stop consonant
In phonetics, a plosive, also known as an occlusive or an oral stop, is a stop consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases. The occlusion may be done with the tongue , lips , and &...
or the sibilant ), any one of which is a voiced aspirated
Aspiration (phonetics)
In phonetics, aspiration is the strong burst of air that accompanies either the release or, in the case of preaspiration, the closure of some obstruents. To feel or see the difference between aspirated and unaspirated sounds, one can put a hand or a lit candle in front of one's mouth, and say pin ...
stop anywhere in the sequence, the whole cluster becomes voiced and aspirated. Thus to the PIE root "learn, become aware of" the participle "enlightened" loses the aspiration of the first stop (Grassmann's law
Grassmann's Law
Grassmann's law, named after its discoverer Hermann Grassmann, is a dissimilatory phonological process in Ancient Greek and Sanskrit which states that if an aspirated consonant is followed by another aspirated consonant in the next syllable, the first one loses the aspiration...
) and with the application of Bartholomae's law and regular vowel changes gives Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
buddha
Buddha
In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...
"enlightened".
Further developments
In both the IndicIndo-Aryan languages
The Indo-Aryan languages constitutes a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, itself a branch of the Indo-European language family...
and the Iranian
Iranian languages
The Iranian languages form a subfamily of the Indo-Iranian languages which in turn is a subgroup of Indo-European language family. They have been and are spoken by Iranian peoples....
subgroups, further developments partially obscured the operation of the law: Thanks to the falling together of plain voiced and voiced aspirated stops in Iranian, Bartholomae's law appears synchronically
Synchronic analysis
In linguistics, a synchronic analysis is one that views linguistic phenomena only at one point in time, usually the present, though a synchronic analysis of a historical language form is also possible. This may be distinguished from diachronics, which regards a phenomenon in terms of developments...
as progressive voicing assimilation after roots that originally ended in voiced aspirates, for example Old Avestan
Avestan language
Avestan is an East Iranian language known only from its use as the language of Zoroastrian scripture, i.e. the Avesta, from which it derives its name...
aogda "he said" from PIE . This is not true for roots with plain voiced stops, for example Old Avestan yuxta "yoked" from , where Bartholomae's law does not apply.
In Indic, voiced *z as resulting from Bartholomae's law was devoiced to s, although there is some evidence from the Rigvedic
Rigveda
The Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns...
language that a voiced aspirate *z once existed in Indic as well: This is shown by forms like gdha "he swallowed" and dudukṣa- "want to give milk" (see below).
Interpretation
A written form such as -ddh- (a literal rendition of the devanāgarīDevanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
representation) presents problems of interpretation. The choice is between a long voiced stop with a specific release feature, aspiration, symbolized in transliteration by -h-, or else a long stop (or stop cluster) with a different phonation
Phonation
Phonation has slightly different meanings depending on the subfield of phonetics. Among some phoneticians, phonation is the process by which the vocal folds produce certain sounds through quasi-periodic vibration. This is the definition used among those who study laryngeal anatomy and physiology...
al state, "murmur", whereby the breathy release is an artifact of the phonational state. The latter interpretation is rather favored by such phenomena as the Rigvedic
Rigveda
The Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns...
form gdha "he swallowed," which is morphologically a middle aorist
Aorist
Aorist is a philological term originally from Indo-European studies, referring to verb forms of various languages that are not necessarily related or similar in meaning...
(more exactly "injunctive
Injunctive mood
The injunctive mood was a mood in Sanskrit characterized by secondary endings but no augment, and usually looked like an augmentless aorist or imperfect. It typically stood in a main clause and had a subjunctive or imperative meaning; for example, it could indicate intention, e.g. "Indra's heroic...
") to the root ghas- "swallow", as follows: ghs-t-a > *gzdha, whence gdha by the regular loss of a sibilant between stops in Indic. While the idea of voicing affecting the whole cluster with the release feature conventionally called aspiration penetrating all the way to the end of the sequence is not entirely unthinkable, the alternative – the spread of a phonational state (but murmur rather than voice) through the whole sequence – involves one less step and therefore via Occam's razor
Occam's razor
Occam's razor, also known as Ockham's razor, and sometimes expressed in Latin as lex parsimoniae , is a principle that generally recommends from among competing hypotheses selecting the one that makes the fewest new assumptions.-Overview:The principle is often summarized as "simpler explanations...
counts as the better interpretation.
Bartholomae's law intersects with another Indic development, namely what looks like the deaspiration of aspirated stops in clusters with s: descriptively, Proto-Indo-European "you lick" becomes *leyksi, whence Sanskrit lekṣi. However, Grassmann's law, whereby an aspirated stop becomes non-aspirated before another aspirated stop (as in the example of buddha, above), suggests something else. In late Vedic
Vedic
Vedic may refer to:* the Vedas, the oldest preserved Indic texts** Vedic Sanskrit, the language of these texts** Vedic period, during which these texts were produced** Vedic pantheon of gods mentioned in Vedas/vedic period...
and later forms of Sanskrit, all forms behave as though aspiration was simply lost in clusters with s, so such forms to the root dugh- "give milk" (etymologically *dhugh-) show the expected devoicing and deaspiration in, say, the desiderative
Desiderative
In linguistics, a desiderative form is one that has the meaning of "wanting to X". Desiderative forms are often verbs, derived from a more basic verb through a process of morphological derivation.-Sanskrit:...
formation du-dhukṣ-ati (with the root-initial dh- intact, that is, undissimilated). But the earliest passages of the Rigveda show something different: desiderative dudukṣati, aorist dukṣata (for later dhukṣata) and so on. Thus it is apparent that what went into Grassmann's law were forms like *dhugzhata, dhudhugzha- and so on, with aspiration in the sibilant clusters intact. The deaspiration and devoicing of the sibilant clusters were later and entirely separate phenomena (and connected with yet another suite of specifically Indic sound laws, namely a "rule conspiracy" to eliminate all voiced – and murmured – sibilants). Indeed, even the example "swallowed" given above contradicts the usual interpretation of devoicing and deaspiration: by such a sequence, *ghs-to gave, first, *ksto (if the process was already Indo-European) or *ksta (if Indo-Iranian in date), whence Sanskrit *kta, not gdha.
Age
There is no evidence that Bartholomae's law predated Indo-Iranian, that is, that it was a feature of Proto-Indo-European. The LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
form lectus "couch" and Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
léktron "bed" are differently formed but both continue the root "lie" (the English word being from the same root). But because the Latin would otherwise have resulted in a forbidden cluster (**gt), it may well just be a case of voicing assimilation. In similar combinations arising within Greek, the pattern is for the whole cluster to become aspirated, thus **lékhthron. It obviously does not in this formation, which for other reasons as well is likely to be very old. This may be because the consonant cluster is more complex. In the case of Latin lectus, it is significant that the root does not otherwise survive in Latin at all, so that there can be no history of analogical remodeling or other disturbances. It is not completely clear what the result of a sequence would have been in Latin, but other evidence suggests lengthening of the vowel plus simplification, so **lēgus (cf. co-āgulum "rennet" < , tēgula "roofing tile" < ).
External links
- William H. Bennett The Germanic Evidence for Bartholomae's Law Language, Vol. 42, No. 4 (Dec., 1966), pp. 733–737