Über die Herkunft der langvokalischen Konjunktive des Typs hom. ἐθέλωμι, ἐθέλῃσθα, ἐθέλῃσι

Journal article

This article examines whether (a) subjunctive forms of the type 1st sg. ἐθέλωμι, 2nd sg. ἐθέλῃσθα, 3rd sg. ἐθέλῃσι as found in the Homeric epics really reflect originally thematic long-vowel subjunctives of the type 3rd sg. πίησι as found in an early Ionic inscription or instantiated by word-forms such as the Vedic Sansksrit 3rd sg. pátāti and are thus inherited from Proto-Indo-European (PIE), as is commonly held, or (b) whether they should be considered secondary formations. Following a discussion showing that both thematic long-vowel and athematic short-vowel subjunctives inherited from PIE are retained in Greek in one form or another, the arguments in favour of the view that subjunctives of the type ἐθέλωμι, ἐθέλῃσθα, ἐθέλῃσι are inherited are revoked, and it is demonstrated that such forms are rather of secondary origin. It is argued on the basis of morphological and phonological considerations that they stem from the Aeolic layer of the Homeric language, where forms like ἐθέλῃσθα, ἐθέλῃσι emerged by analogy with subjunctives like 3rd sg. ἐθέλῃ following the pattern of the athematic reduplicated presents, and forms like ἐθέλωμι were created by analogy with subjunctives like 1st pl. ἐθέλωμεν following the pattern of the indicative of the ο-thematic verba contracta.

Authors: Fries, S

• Alternative title: About the Origin of the long vowel Subjunctive of the Type hom
• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
• Journal: Glotta
• Volume: 98
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 148-173
• Publication date: 2022-03-01
• Acceptance date: 2021-03-30
• DOI: 10.13109/glot.2022.98.1.148
• EISSN: 2196-9043
• ISSN: 0017-1298
• Language: German
• Keywords: Greek historical morphology; Ancient Greek dialects; epic Greek; Aeolic Greek; subjunctive; analogy; Indo-European linguistics