On the etymology of the Latvian comparative vaĩrs, vaĩrâk
On the etymology of the Latvian comparative vaĩrs, vaĩrâk
Author(s): Daniel PetitSubject(s): Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: etymology; diachrony; language contact; areal linguistics; linguistic history
Summary/Abstract: Latvian is the only Baltic language that presents a suppletive variation between a positive and a comparative: adverb daũdz ‘much’ / vaĩrs or vaĩrâk ‘more’. The question arises whether this composite paradigm is an innovative feature of the Latvian language or could be traced back to Proto-Baltic, and any answer to this question is strongly dependent on how we explain the origin of the Latvian comparative vaĩrs, vaĩrâk. The aim of this paper is to propose a new etymology for vaĩrs and to shed some light on the prehistory of this suppletive variation that appears to be unique in the Baltic languages
Journal: Studia Etymologica Cracoviensia (SEC)
- Issue Year: 16/2011
- Issue No: 1
- Page Range: 103-118
- Page Count: 16
- Language: English