View source for Nasal infix

{{Short description|Proto-Indo-European affix}}
{{Contains special characters|PIE}}
The '''nasal infix''' is a reconstructed [[nasal consonant]] or syllable {{PIE|*⟨n(é)⟩}} that was inserted ([[infix]]ed) into the [[word stem|stem]] or [[Proto-Indo-European root|root]] of a word in the [[Proto-Indo-European language]]. It has [[Linguistic reconstruction#reflex|reflexes]] in several ancient and modern [[Indo-European languages]]. It is one of the [[affix]]es that mark the [[Proto-Indo-European verbs#Present classes|present tense]].
==Proto-Indo-European==
In the [[Proto-Indo-European language]] (PIE), the nasal infix {{PIE|*''⟨n(é)⟩''}} is one of several means to form the [[athematic]] [[present tense]]. It is inserted immediately before the last consonant of the [[Indo-European ablaut|zero-grade]] [[Proto-Indo-European root|root]].
The infix appeared as {{PIE|*''⟨né⟩''}} in the forms where a full-grade stem would be expected, and as {{PIE|*''⟨n⟩''}} in forms where zero-grade would be expected. For example, the PIE root {{PIE|*''weik-''}} "to win" would yield a nasal-infixed present stem {{PIE|*''wi⟨né⟩k-'' ~ *''wi⟨n⟩k-''}}.<ref name="Baldi">{{Harvnb|Baldi|1999|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=gWY7-DBWPW4C&pg=PA372 p. 372]}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Rix|2001|p=670}}</ref>
These presents are called ''nasal infix presents'' or simply ''nasal presents'' and are typically active [[transitivity (grammatical category)|transitive]] verbs,<ref>{{Harvnb|Fortson|2004|p=88}}</ref> often with [[durative aspect]].<ref name="Baldi" />
===Origins===
Since the linguistic ancestor of PIE is not known, there can only be speculations about the origins of the nasal infix. It has been suggested that it arose from a suffix (also related to {{PIE|*''-neH-''}} and {{PIE|*''-neu-''}}) which underwent [[metathesis (linguistics)|metathesis]].<ref name="Baldi" /><ref name="Milizia">{{Harvnb|Milizia|2004}}</ref>
===Other present tense markers===
Besides the nasal infix, PIE employs a number of [[affix]]es to mark the present: {{PIE|*''-u-''}}, {{PIE|*''-neu-''}}, {{PIE|*''-neH-''}}, {{PIE|*''-sḱe-''}}, {{PIE|*''-de-''}}, and others. All in all, PIE has at least 18 ways to form the present tense.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Rix|2001|pp=14–20}}</ref> For many verbs, several of these presents can be reconstructed simultaneously. For example, [[Scottish Gaelic]] {{lang|gd|loisg}} "to burn" goes back to {{PIE|*''l̥h₂p-sḱé-''}}, a {{PIE|''sḱe-''}}present of the root {{PIE|*''leh₂p-''}} which is also the source of Ancient Greek {{lang|grc|λά'''μ'''πειν}} (''lá'''m'''pein'') "to shine" via its nasal present {{PIE|*''l̥h₂⟨n⟩p-''}}.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Rix|2001|p=402}}</ref>
It is not clear why there were so many different types of present forms with no or little discernible differences in meaning. The authors of the ''[[Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben]]'' proposed that they were derived from a number of prior grammatical aspects with distinct (but lost) meanings.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Rix|2001|pp=36–37}}</ref>
==Indo-European languages==
The effects of the nasal infix can be seen in [[Indo-European language]]s like [[Sanskrit]], [[Latin]], [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]], [[Armenian language|Armenian]],<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Hamp|1975}}</ref> [[Ancient Greek]], the [[Goidelic languages]],  and the [[Slavic languages]].
In Latin, Ancient Greek and other [[daughter language]]s, the {{PIE|*''n''}} was [[assimilation (linguistics)|assimilated]] to ''m'' before [[labial consonant]]s (''b, p''), and to [[velar nasal|''ŋ'']], spelled ''n'' in Latin and γ in Ancient Greek, before [[velar consonant]]s (''g, k, qu'').<ref name="Smyth">{{Harvnb|Smyth|1920|loc=[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0007:smythp=523 §523]}}</ref> Latin {{lang|la|rūpit}} "has broken" / {{lang|la|ru'''m'''pit}} "breaks", from {{PIE|*''rup-'' / *''ru⟨n⟩p-''}}, is an example of the first case.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Petschenig|1971|p=435}}</ref><ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Rix|2001|pp=510–511}}</ref>
===Indo-Aryan===
{{See also|Sanskrit verbs#Building blocks}}
The phenomenon of nasal-infixing as inherited from Proto-Indo-European is found in [[Vedic Sanskrit|Sanskrit]] with the greatest morphological transparency, and is taken as a guide to examining the feature in kindred languages.<ref name=SzInf>Szemerényi,  §9.4.1.3.</ref><ref>Burrow, p. 289.</ref>
Three of the ten classes identified by [[Sanskrit grammar#Grammatical tradition|traditional Sanskrit grammarians]] have nasal infix of some kind, which are higher-grade and accent-bearing in the strong forms, and reduced-grade in the weak forms. The behaviour{{efn|3rd-person singular and plural}} of the class-7 root ''√yuj-''{{efn|'join'}} class-5 ''√śru-''{{efn|'hear'}} and class-9 ''krī-''{{efn|'buy'}} can be seen thus:<ref name=SzInf/><ref>Burrow, §7.8.</ref>
* yu·ná·k·ti ↔ yu·ñj·ánti (''-na-'' vs ''-n-'')
* śṛ·ṇó·ti ↔ śṛ·ṇv·ánti  (''-no-'' vs ''-nu-'')
* krī·ṇā́·ti ↔ krī·ṇ·ánti (''-nā-'' vs ''-n-'')
While these were seen as 3 separate classes by the ancient Sanskrit grammarians, [[Ferdinand Saussure]] demonstrated, as part of his landmark work in postulating the [[Laryngeal theory]], that these were slightly different manifestations of the same nasal infix.<ref>Fortson (2010), §4.18.</ref>
===Greek===
Greek has some verbs that show a nasal infix in the present as opposed to other forms of the verb:
* λαμβάνω (''lambánō'' "to take, receive, get") against [[aorist]] ἔλᾰβον (''élabon'')
* λανθάνω (''lanthánō'' "to escape notice, cause to forget") against alternative λήθω (''lḗthō''; compare ''[[Lethe|lḗthē]]'' and ''[[aletheia|alḗtheia]]'')
* τυγχάνω (''tunkhánō'' "to happen to do sth., to succeed") against aorist ἔτυχον (''étukhon'')
===Latin===
Latin has a number of verbs with an ''n'' in the present stem which is missing in the [[perfect (grammar)|perfect]] stem:<ref>{{Harvnb|Petschenig|1971|pp=138, 442, 533}}</ref>
*{{lang|la|vīcit}} "has won" / {{lang|la|vi'''n'''cit}} "wins" (from the PIE verb above)
*{{lang|la|contudit}} "has crushed" / {{lang|la|contu'''n'''dit}} "crushes"
*{{lang|la|scidit}} "has cut" / {{lang|la|sci'''n'''dit}} "cuts"
====Latin loanwords====
English and the other [[Germanic languages]] show only vestiges of the nasal infix. The only certain remaining example is English ''stand'', with the past tense ''stood'' lacking the n.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Ringe|2006|pp=78}}</ref> However, it can still be seen in some pairs of Latin [[loanwords]]:<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Rix|2001|pp=670, 547–548, 510–511}}</ref>
*[[wikt:confuse|confuse]] – [[wikt:confound|confou'''n'''d]] (Latin {{lang|la|confundō}})<ref>{{Dictionary.com|confound}}</ref>
*[[wikt:impact|impact]] – [[wikt:impinge|impi'''n'''ge]] (Latin {{lang|la|impingō}}, from {{lang|la|in- + pangō}})<ref>{{OEtymD|impact}}</ref>
*[[wikt:conviction|conviction]] – [[wikt:convince|convi'''n'''ce]] (Latin {{lang|la|con-vincō}})<ref>{{OEtymD|convince}}</ref>
===Celtic===
In Celtic, the Indo-European nasal infix presents split into two categories: ones originally derived from laryngeal-final roots (i.e. ''seṭ'' roots in Sanskrit), and ones that were not (i.e. from ''aniṭ'' roots). In ''seṭ'' verbs, the nasal appears at the end of the present stem, while in ''aniṭ''-derived verbs the nasal was followed by a root-final stop (generally ''-g-'' in Old Irish). The nasal presents are readily apparent in [[Old Irish]], where the nasal infix is not present outside of the present stem, like in other old Indo-European languages.<ref>McCone (1991)</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Old Irish nasal-infix present verbs (nasal infixes in bold)
|-
! Meaning !! Root type !! Present !! Preterite !! Future !! Subjunctive
|-
| "to support" || ''aniṭ'' || {{lang|sga|fo·loi'''n'''g}} (independent) <br />{{lang|sga|·fulai'''n'''g}} (dependent) || {{lang|sga|fo·lolaig}} || {{lang|sga|fo·lil}} || {{lang|sga|fo·ló}}
|-
| "to buy" || ''seṭ'' || {{lang|sga|cre'''n'''aid}} (independent) <br />{{lang|sga|·cre'''n'''}} (dependent) || {{lang|sga|cíuir}} || {{lang|sga|*-cíuri}} || {{lang|sga|-cria}}
|}
The ''seṭ'' nasal presents' final nasal, ultimately from the nasal infix, was generalized to become suffixed onto all verbs in modern [[Irish language|Irish]] as the present analytic suffix ''-(e)ann'', remaining productive into modern times.<ref>McCone (1997:206–207)</ref>
===Slavic languages===
Only vestiges are left, like [[Russian language|Russian]] ''лечь ({{transl|mis|*legti}} [root "leg"]) (to lie down) : лягу (*lęgǫ) (I will lie down)'', ''сесть (*sĕsti [root "sĕd"]) (to sit down) : сяду (*sędǫ) (I will sit down)'' (both e:en).<ref>{{Harvnb|Reformatskij|1996}}{{pages needed|date=January 2015}}</ref>{{Clarify|reason=There is no nasal in the given examples. Are we to understand that the vowel alternation ĕ:ę presupposes a lost nasal? Is there not an example in OCS that would show this better?|date=July 2024}}
===Examples===
This table shows some examples of PIE root [[aorist]]s (without an infix), their infixed present forms and the reflexes (corresponding forms) in an [[attested language|attested]] daughter language.
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|-
! colspan="2" | PIE<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Rix|2001|pp=179, 406–407, 566, 316}}</ref>
! colspan="4" | Reflexes in daughter languages (3rd person singular)
|-
! Aorist
! Present
! Language
! Aorist/perfect<sup>†</sup>
! Present
! Translation (present)
|-
| {{PIE|*''y(e)ug-''}}
| {{PIE|*''yu⟨n(e)⟩g-''}}
| Sanskrit
| á·yuj·at
| yu·ná·k·ti
| joins<ref>Whitney, §683-692.</ref>
|-
| {{PIE|*''ǵʰ(e)ud-''}}
| {{PIE|*''ǵʰu⟨n(e)⟩d-''}}
| Latin
| {{lang|la|fūdit}}
| {{lang|la|fu'''n'''dit}}
| pours<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Petschenig|1971|p=227}}</ref>
|-
| {{PIE|*''l(e)ikʷ-''}}
| {{PIE|*''li⟨n(e)⟩kʷ-''}}
| Latin
| {{lang|la|līquit}} [ˈliːkʷit]
| {{lang|la|li'''n'''quit}} [ˈli'''ŋ'''kʷit]
| leaves, quits<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Petschenig|1971|p=298}}</ref>
|-
| {{PIE|*''sl(e)h₂gʷ-''}}
| {{PIE|*''slh₂⟨n(e)⟩gʷ-''}} (?<sup>‡</sup>)
| Ancient Greek
| {{lang|grc|ἔ-λαβε}} (''é-labe'')
| {{lang|grc|λα'''μ'''βάνει}} (''la'''m'''bánei'')
| takes<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Schäfer|Zimmermann|1990|p=271}}</ref><ref name="Smyth" />
|}
<sup>†</sup>The Latin reflexes of the PIE aorist came to be used as the perfect.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Fortson|2004|p=250}}</ref>
<sup>‡</sup>It is uncertain whether {{PIE|*''sleh₂gʷ-''}} had a nasal infix already in PIE, since Greek {{lang|grc|λαμβάνω}} is only attested after [[Homer]].
==Tolkien==
In [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s [[constructed language]]s [[Quenya]] and [[Sindarin]] spoken by the [[Elf (Tolkien)|Elves]], the nasal infix forms the [[past tense]] of many verbs. These are most clear in Quenya which shows the nasal infix in the past-tense forms ending in any [[consonant]] besides ''-m, -n,'' or ''-r''. Thus, ''cen-'' "to see" has the past tense ''cen-në'', but ''mat-'' "to eat" has not ''*mat-në'' but the [[metathesis (linguistics)|metathesised]] ''ma(n)t-ë''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Fauskanger|2003}}</ref> The infix is more obscured in related Sindarin due to further sound changes but can be observed in verbs such as ''pedi'' "to speak" has the form ''pe'''n'''nin'' "I spoke" which shows the nasal infix (in bold) and the ''-d-'' of ''pedi'' and assimilated to ''-n-'' following the infix.
==Notes==
{{notelist|30em}}
==References==
{{reflist|15em}}
==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |last=Fortson |first=Benjamin W. IV |year=2004 |title=Indo-European Language and Culture |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |isbn=1-4051-0316-7 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Fortson |first1=Benjamin W |title=Indo-European Language and Culture |date=2010 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |isbn=978-1-4051-8895-1 |edition=2010}}
* {{cite book |last1=Szemerényi |first1=Oswald JL |title=Introduction to Indo-European Linguistics |date=1996 |publisher=Clarendon Oxford |location=Great Britain |isbn=0-19-824015-5}}
*{{cite book | last=McCone | first=Kim| title=The Indo-European Origins of the Old Irish Nasal Presents, Subjunctives and Futures | publisher=IBS-Vertrieb | series=Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft | year=1991 | isbn=978-3-85124-617-9}}
*{{cite book|last=McCone|first=Kim|title=The Early Irish Verb|location=Maynooth|publisher=An Sagart|year=1997|edition=2nd|series=Maynooth Monographs 1 |isbn=1-870684-76-1}}
*{{cite journal |last=Milizia |first=Paolo |year=2004 |title=Proto-Indo-European Nasal Infixation Rule |periodical=Journal of Indo-European Studies |volume=32 |issue=3&4 |pages=337–359}}
* {{cite book |last1=Whitney |first1=William Dwight |title=Sanskrit Grammar |date=January 2008 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0620-7 |edition=2000}}
* {{cite book |last1=Burrow |first1=T |title=The Sanskrit Language |date=2001 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=81-208-1767-2 |edition=2001}}
*{{cite book |last=Petschenig |first=Michael |title=Der kleine Stowasser |publisher=Oldenbourg Schulbuchverlag |location=Vienna |year=1971 |language=German }}
*{{cite book |last=Reformatskij |first=A | year=1996 |trans-title=An introduction to linguistics |title=Введение в языкознание |language=ru |location=Moscow }}
*{{cite book |last1=Ringe |first1=Don |author1-link=Donald Ringe |title=A Linguistic History of English part 1: From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic |year=2006 }}
*{{cite journal |last1=Hamp |first1=Eric |title=On the nasal presents of Armenian |journal=Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung |date=1975 |volume=89 |issue=1 |pages=100–109}}
*{{cite book |last=Rix |first=Helmut |author-link=Helmut Rix|year=2001 |title=Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben |publisher=Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag |language=German |isbn=3-89500-219-4 }}
*{{cite book |last1=Schäfer |first1=Karl-Heinz |last2=Zimmermann |first2=Bernhard |title=Taschenwörterbuch Altgriechisch |publisher=Langenscheidt |location=Munich |edition=3 |year=1990 |language=German |isbn=3-468-10031-0 }}
*{{cite book |last=Baldi |first=Philip |author-link=Philip Baldi |date=22 January 1999 |title=The Foundations of Latin |series=Trends in Linguistics |publisher=Mouton de Gruyter |isbn=3-11-016294-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gWY7-DBWPW4C }}
*{{cite web |last=Fauskanger |first=Helge Kåre |author-link=Helge Fauskanger |date=February 2003 |title=lesson 6 |url=http://folk.uib.no/hnohf/qcourse.htm |website=Quenya Course }}
*{{cite book |author-link=Herbert Weir Smyth |last=Smyth |first=Herbert Weir |date=1920 |title=A Greek Grammar for Colleges |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0007 |via=[[Perseus Project]] |access-date=5 January 2014 }}
{{Proto-Indo-European language}}
[[Category:Proto-Indo-European language]]
[[Category:Infixes]]