Browsing by discipline "Indo-European Studies"

English Abstract In the graduation thesis I examine the vocabulary descending from Proto-Indo-European *dʰi̯éh₂- *dʰéi̯h₂- *dʰíh₂-, with a view to the morphology and semantics of the descent vocabulary in Sanskrit, Old Greek and Old Norse. In addition to the undisputed vocabulary descending from *dʰi̯éh₂- *dʰéi̯h₂- *dʰíh₂-, Sanskrit word dhíṣṇya- (m.) ‘altar’, fireplace, ‘hypostasis for twin god Nā́satyā’ is brought up for closer investigation, particularly in terms of noun’s root reconstruction and semantic interpretation. In traditional etymologies (Pokorny, Mayrhofer, Frisk), the reconstruction of the noun dhíṣṇya to the root *dʰḗh₁- (Pokorny I:259) is poorly argued. In addition, the prevalent reconstruction includes inconsistencies in the treatment of root ablaut and suffix morphology. Vedic scholars have disagreed about the semantic value and interpretation of the noun in Rigveda. The thesis argues that the current reconstruction of the Sanskrit dhíṣṇya to the root *dʰḗh₁- by Pokorny, Mayrhofer, Frisk (and Grassmann), is incorrect. Instead, the morphology is based on the root dʰéi̭h₂ > *dʰíh₂ with a rare suffix -sni̭o that can be identified form Indo-Iranian, Baltic and Slavic languages. In the new reconstruction, dhíṣṇya is derived from the /0-grade root *dʰíh₂ (Pokorny I:243). By the updated root reconstruction, the semantics and context of the word dhíṣṇya becomes clarified in Vedic poetry and aligned with the etymologically correlating vocabulary in Homeric and Old Norse diction. Overall, the phraseology and narrative in the three Indo-European poetic traditions are in support of common etymology for the Sanskrit dhíṣṇya, Old Norse dís, and (the -i̭é- grade derivative) Homeric sēma. In the second and third part of the thesis, I seek to demonstrate by means of comparative poetics the consistent phraseological treatment of vocabulary inherited from the root *dʰi̯éh₂- *dʰéi̯h₂- *dʰíh₂ in the three mentioned poetry traditions. Being orally transmitted, the poetry traditions relied on fixed keywords and key phrases as memorizing technique and in conveying the tradition’s core ideology expressed in the diction. The part focusing on textual comparison applies Gregory Nagy’s reductive method for identifying these key keywords from the diction. The concurrent semantic registers of the key vocabulary are discussed for they are essential for understanding the subtle semantics of the vocabulary. From the conducted investigation it can be concluded that the vocabulary descending from the root *dʰi̯éh₂- *dʰéi̯h₂- *dʰíh₂- conveyed two clearly delimited meanings in all three poetic traditions in scope: - The vocabulary produced by the root *dʰi̯éh₂- *dʰéi̯h₂- *dʰíh₂- was applied to describe the acquisition and memorizing technique of oral poetry as well as its situational presentation and transmission among the band of poets. - The vocabulary produced by the root *dʰi̯éh₂- *dʰéi̯h₂- *dʰíh₂- was applied to describe the consecrated spaces, buildings and objects associated to the Indo-European ancestor cult, such as fire-altars, graves, and surrounding buildings. In addition, the noun denoted anthropomorphic spirit that was thought to guard these consecrated spaces, buildings and altars. Resulting from the morphological examination of the vocabulary and from the comparative study of the traditions of diction in scope, the following vocabulary and phraseology could be reconstructed to descent from Proto-Indo-European: Nouns produced by the /0-ablaut *dʰíh₂-: - *dʰíh₂-sni̯o Ved. dhíṣṇya; *dʰih₂-sé-no Ved. dhiṣáṇā; *dʰíh₂-sn̥- ON dís, (pl. dísir) Compounds and phrases: - [*dʰíh₂-sni̯o *séd-os / *dʰih₂-séno *séd-os / *dʰíh₂-sn̥ *séd-lo] [*stéh₂-]: Ved. dhíṣṇya-sadas / dhiṣáṇā-sádas … upa√sthā-; ON á (stallhelgum) stað … i dísarsal - [*dʰíh₂-sni̯o / *dʰíh₂-sn̥ *ḱoph₂-ó] [*stéh₂-]: Ved. dhíṣṇya- śapha-… práti√sthā-; ON Loga dís at lopti hof; ON *dísar-hof… (í þeim stað) … stóðu. - [*dʰi̯éh₂- *dʰéi̯h₂- *dʰíh₂-] [*ph₂tḗr] [*men-]: Hom. σῆμα… Πατρόκλοιο ... μνῆμ᾽ ἔμμεναι; Ved. cákṣuṣaḥ pitā́ mánasā hí dhīro; ON (dísa)blota ... svá at föðurleifð hafi (ok) ǫll muni orð. The reconstructions are summarized in the concluding chapter V of the thesis. The phraseology from the diction in support of the reconstruction is collected with source references in Appendix 2.