Papers by Birgit Rasmussen (Olsen)
A series of nominal derivatives in Indo-European are characterized by suffixes whose consonantal ... more A series of nominal derivatives in Indo-European are characterized by suffixes whose consonantal skeleton may conveniently be rendered as *-TL-: first a dental stop, alternating between a plain voiceless *-tand an aspirate for which it seems justified to reconstruct a voiceless *-t hrather than the traditionally assumed voiced *-d h -, 1 secondly a liquid, *-lor *-r-(sometimes alternating with *-n-or *-nt-in the weak cases). The potential historical connection between the specific derivational types, covering a broad variety of semantic specializations, is still in need of clarification, and at least we shall have to take up the following three basic categories for further inspection: 1) Heteroclitic verbal nouns in *-ter-/-ten-2) Agent nouns in *-ter-/-tor-and *-tel-/-tol-3) Secondary derivatives in *-tlo-/-tlah2-, *-t h lo-/-t h lah2-, *-tro-/-trah2-and *-t h ro-/-t h rah2-, in most cases neuter or feminine substantives with the function of instrument or local nouns, but occasionally also verbal abstracts, adjectives or even masculine agent nouns. 1 Cf. on this question Olsen 1988, 1994 and 2003, Rasmussen 1992, and section 3.2.2. below. Neuter heteroclitics in *-ter-/-ten-2 occur with the function of verbal abstracts or nomina rei actae. An important example is the word for 'way, road', derived from the root *h1e -'go, walk' as attested in Lat. iter, itineris, Hitt. itar (n.), 3 Toch.A. ytār, B. ytārye. 4 Presumably the original paradigm was of the proterodynamic type, nom.acc. *h1é -trʘ , gen. *h1i-tén-s, loc. *h1i-tén(i) beside *h1i-tér(i), 5 with a corresponding collective *h1é -tōr, later levelled to *h1i-tōr > Toch.A. ytār. 6 The derivational basis originally constists of a verbal root as seen from infinitives in Ved. (loc.inf.) -tári, YAv. (dat.inf.) -ϑne (aiβi-xšʖ ōiϑne 'to 2
The following preliminary historical-comparative investigation of the Indo-European terminology p... more The following preliminary historical-comparative investigation of the Indo-European terminology pertaining to dairy products leads to the conclusion that while the words for the 'cow' and the process of 'milking' belong to the basic vocabulary, a common word for the substance 'milk' cannot be safely demonstrated. On the other hand, at least Core Indo-European possessed a rich and subtle vocabulary for the processing of milk into curds, butter and cheese. The lack of a widespread designation for 'animal milk', which must surely have existed by the time of the proto-language, is rather puzzling. Even though missing evidence is certainly no proof in itself one might hypothesize that the reason why the word for such an important element of a pastoralist society was not faithfully preserved as part of the stable common cultural vocabulary like, e.g., 'cow', 'sheep' or 'wool' was a restricted use of unprocessed milk for human consumption in the oldest period. At least recent archaeobiological observations suggest that lactose tolerance only developed gradually after the disintegration of the Indo-European unity. 1
This article deals with the identity and characteristics of the consort of Father Sky, *di u s ph... more This article deals with the identity and characteristics of the consort of Father Sky, *di u s ph 2 t r. While the pair Sky and Earth is often referred to as Bull and Cow, *diu o-h 3 n(h 2 )-íh 2 -"Mrs. Sky" is typically represented by a divine spring. It is claimed that Greek and Vedic ur cì, from a proto-form *h 1 u r hu-h 3 k wíh 2 -'wide-eyed', is an old epithet of the Divine Cow = the Earth, and further that the springs are the receivers of the rain/semen from Father Sky/the Heavenly Bull. 1 In his meticulous treatment of the subject, suggested a segmentation *diu -n-ah 2 -where he rejected an interpretation of the suffix *-nas individualizing on semantic grounds. Neither is *-n-, according to Dunkel, identical with the "Hoffmann suffix", since a meaning "mit *di eu -versehen" would be incompatible with a patriarchal society: "die Frau gehört ja ihrem Mann, nicht umgekehrt". Consequently, the n-stem suffix is identified as a feminine marker and *-ah 2 -is assumed to be redundant. However, for an n-suffix marking the feminine, a reference to *pót-n-ih 2 -'mistress' beside *pot-i-'master' seems unsatisfactory. Apart from the fact that *-n-in *pótnih 2 -for original *potih 2 -is secondarily introduced after *h 3 r nih 2 -'queen', 3 a clear justification for the variation in the ablaut patterns is missing. About a decade later (Dunkel 2001: 12), Dunkel himself proposed that the suffix of Hoffmann formations originated in a grammaticalized root noun *-h 3 on-, also continued in e.g. Lat. onus 'burden', so that we would be dealing with old possessive compounds, e.g. "Celtic *ab-n 'river' < *H 2 ep-H 3 on-s … "whose load is … animate water"". The same idea has been elaborated on several occasions by the present author (especially Olsen 2004 and 2010), adjusting the reconstruction to *-h 3 onh 2 -4 and suggesting a broad basic meaning 'charge'. On this background, it is now possible to analyze "*diu n " as a feminine derivative of a masculine Hoffmann-type compound along the following lines (cf. Olsen 2010: 160-61): from *di eu -'sky (god)' a regular thematic derivative with accented thematic vowel and zero grade in the root, *diu ówould have the meaning 'of the sky (god), heavenly'; 5 a Hoffmann compound based on this stem, *diu óh 3 on(h 2 )would mean someone 'having heavenly charge, authority'; and finally a feminine derivative in *-ih 2 -(or *-ah 2 -) of this compound must indicate the female belonging to the heavenly ruler: 3 Cf. TochB obl.sg. epetso 'wife' < *h 1 n -poti eh 2 -'co-mistress' (Pinault 2017: 342-43). 4 The root-final laryngeal is suggested by Gk. μ 'blame', Hom. , and Hitt. ann(a)-'contend (against), sue'. 5 Cf. e.g. Ved. br had-divá-< *-diu ó-'of the highest heaven'.
Germanic n-stem abstracts consist of four formally and historically distinct subtypes: 1) an-stem... more Germanic n-stem abstracts consist of four formally and historically distinct subtypes: 1) an-stem verbal/root abstracts, originally derived from zero-grade root nouns and fed by n-stem extensions of a-stem nouns, 2) o\ n-stem verbal abstracts, originally n-stem extensions of o\stems, 3) an-stem adjective abstracts, based on a nucleus of substantivizations of stative participles, and 4) o\ n-stem adjective abstracts derived from Hoffmann-formations. 0.0 The Germanic n-stems constitute an exceptionally flourishing and varied group within the nominal system, but, while deeply rooted in the common Indo-European past, they have been subjected to such a degree of productivity, phonological merger and analogical restructuring that the way from Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic and further on to the individual Germanic languages is sometimes confusing. It is the aim of the following pages to point out some possible lines of development. 1.0 What is conventionally united under the headline of Indo-European n-stems covers at the very least two large subgroups: 1) the suffixal nstems, closely connected with the nt-stems in an original complementary distribution and with the primary function of determination, specification or individualization, and 2) the Hoffmann formations, originating as grammaticalized compounds whose final member is the root *-H 3 onH 2 -'burden, load, charge' as in the Latin s-stem onus (thus Dunkel 2001:12, reconstructing *-H 3 on-, and Olsen 2004:229-224; cf. also Pinault 2000). 1 1 We may perhaps add a minor category of n-stems isolated from original heteroclitics already by the time of the protolanguage. The existence of n-stems containing a suffix *-H 1 en-is more doubtful, since all the good examples appear to be thematic stems in 1.1 When an n-stem of the first category is derived from a verbal root or stem, the result is an agent noun, e.g. Av. spasan-'somebody watching', Lat. bibo\ 'somebody drinking, a drunkard', or Skt. r a\ : ja\ 'somebody ruling, a ruler'; this type is closely related to the active ntparticiple. When the derivational basis is an adjective, we arrive at the individualizing or definite type, e.g. Lat. Ru\ fo\ 'Redhead', Gk. Strãbvn 'Squinter', Goth. weiha 'a holy one, a priest', or the Germanic weak adjective. The corresponding nt-stems are particularly well attested in Hittite "stigmatizing" adjectives like marlant-'foolish', wargant-'fat' (cf. Oettinger 1997:205). 2 The basic type of Hoffmann-compounds consists of possessives with the meaning 'having a load or charge of that which is expressed by the first member of the compound', e.g. Skt. yúva\ n-'having a lot of vitality, young', Av. maí θra\ n-'someone in charge of the mantras', Lat. Na\ so\ 'Bignose', Gk. Gãstrvn 'Potbelly'. However, following the principle of contrastive accent, it is also possible to create genuine, endocentric substantives meaning 'a load of, a lot of', e.g. W afon 'a mass of water, a river' < *H 2 ap-H 3 onH 2 -(cf. Hamp 1972) or Gk. gai≈n 'a heap of earth'. *-H 1 no-, e.g. Lith. kalnhnas 'mountaineer' from kálnas 'hill', or diminutives like Lith. varnhnas 'small crow', Latv. vilçe\ ns 'wolf cub ' (cf. Rasmussen 1990/91:130). The nucleus of this type may have been hypostatic formations containing the postposition *-H 1 (e)n-, i.e. a kalnhnas would in principle be someone in the mountains and a vilcç e\ ns < *u÷ l… k w e-H 1 n-o-perhaps a creature in the wolf-pack (or even inside the she-wolf) or something similar. 2 Cf. Olsen (2004:219-229) for further discussion, and see also ; and 2001. An important feature of the complementary distribution between *n and *nt is the distinction between word final *-n in the position after a vowel (alternating with zero if the vowel is long) and *-ntintervocalically. 3 The initial laryngeal of the Hoffmann "suffix", identified by as *-H 3 -on the basis of W afon with IE *-b-vs. Palaic ha-ap-pa-na-with *-p-, does not depend on this isolated example as implied by Schrijver 2004 (cf. also Schrijver 1991:322). Corroborative evidence is found in the clusters *-don-< *-t-H 3 onH 2 -and *-g (w) on-< *-k (w) -H 3 onH 2 -/*-H 2 -H 3 onH 2 -(cf. and 2004 and Pinault 2001), so a reconstruction *-H 1 on-with an initial non-voicing *-H 1 -is inadequate. The vocalism of Lat. iuvenis is hardly a serious problem in this connection: if it does not reflect a protoform *H 2 i÷ uH 3 onH 2 -or *H 2 i÷ uH 3 n(H 2 )V-(> *iu\ n-), it may have been influenced by iuvencus ('young creature' →) 'heifer' with potential support from the e-vocalism of sen-'old'; iuvencus = Skt. yuvas; á-'youthful', Goth. juggs 'young', is surely an old formation,
Watkins' identification (1969) of the basic stem of Latin vespilló 'undertaker for the poorest cl... more Watkins' identification (1969) of the basic stem of Latin vespilló 'undertaker for the poorest classes' with Hittite waspa-'clothing', in particular 'shroud', has a number of unacknowledged phonetic, morphological and semantic implications: 1) the derivational basis is not, as originally assumed, *(h)ues-'dress' with an enigmatic extension, but rather *uob h-s-> *uops-> metathesized *uosp-, originally from the root *ueb h-'weave' with the same specialized meaning 'wrap, envelop' as in the word for 'wasp'; 2) a morphological analysis suggests a derivation of vespilló from a compound *uospo-tl(h 2)o-'shroud-holder' or 'shroud-snatcher'; the development of *-tl->-ll-after short vowels as opposed to *c(u)l-after long vowels, as e.g. póculum 'cup' < *poh 3 tlom, is regular; 3) the practice of wrapping the dead is possibly a feature of PIE culture.
Abducting women and 'becoming a wolf ' 2 Restrictions on sexual pairings and the levirate marriag... more Abducting women and 'becoming a wolf ' 2 Restrictions on sexual pairings and the levirate marriage 3 Concluding remarks: Anatolian and Indo-European marriage 3.1
The Indo-European Language Family
Münchener Studien zur Sprachwissenschaft 66/2 (2012), pp. 201-220, Jan 2013
The origin of the Armenian nominal suffix -agin is disputed. KLINGENSCHMITT (1982: 95) considers ... more The origin of the Armenian nominal suffix -agin is disputed. KLINGENSCHMITT (1982: 95) considers it as inherited and assumes that it is based on opaque possessive compounds in *-gini- < *-gheh1-ni- ‘the going (Gehen)’, GREPPIN (1974: 14) suggests a derivation from an unspecified substrate, while SCHMITT (2001: 85) dismisses a link to the Middle Iranian suffix -gēn on formal grounds without suggesting an alternative solution. This paper investigates the hypothesis that -agin is a borrowing from Iranian in spite of the formal difficulties. This idea has already been advocated by JAHUKYAN (1993: 262f.), who derives -agin via “-gēn (and -gīn?)” from *-k-aina-, identifying it with Arm. -kēn (likewise borrowed from Iranian), but does not venture to explain how -agin came to exist besides expected -kēn.
Editorial work by Birgit Rasmussen (Olsen)
Whitehead, BN, Olander, TK, Rasmussen (Olsen), BA & Rasmussen, JE (eds) 2012, The sound of Indo-E... more Whitehead, BN, Olander, TK, Rasmussen (Olsen), BA & Rasmussen, JE (eds) 2012, The sound of Indo-European: Phonetics, phonemics, and morphophonemics. Museum Tusculanum, Copenhagen. Copenhagen Studies in Indo-European, vol. 4
Conference and Workshop Presentations by Birgit Rasmussen (Olsen)
Books by Birgit Rasmussen (Olsen)
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Papers by Birgit Rasmussen (Olsen)
Editorial work by Birgit Rasmussen (Olsen)
Conference and Workshop Presentations by Birgit Rasmussen (Olsen)
Books by Birgit Rasmussen (Olsen)
Combining perspectives from linguistics, archaeology, anthropology, and history of religion, the books seeks to explore the dynamics of power, gender, and mobility – three concepts that are essential for a profound understanding of the historically attested Indo-European–speaking societies and of the prehistoric society reflected by Proto-Indo-European.
The topics range from gender roles and female onomastics to power structures and the role of poets as social brokers, from Indo-European legal language and initiation rites to matrimonial practices and age-based social hierarchies.
It provides fresh interpretations and new approaches to known material as well as novel explorations and unprecedented analyses of new data.
Table of Contents:
- Preface
Part I: Gender, Power, and Language
- How (not) to name a woman in Indo-European. The evidence of female onomastics for the status of women in Indo-European societies (Ulla Remmer)
- Gender in Indo-European. A synopsis (Stefan Höfler)
- Pan, Pūṣan and their matrimonial functions (Jil Schermutzki)
- The Charioteer Athena as goddess of warriors. Constellations and their role in the prehistory of Greek religion (Michael Janda)
- Quaecumque a Benveniste dicta essent, commenticia esse (Michael Weiss)
Part II: Power, Mobility, and Conflict
- The wolf, the lamb, and the dog. An Aesopian guide to Indo-European sociology (Peter Jackson Rova)
- On the prehistory of legal language and procedure. Repairing a misdeed in Proto-Indo-European and in Core Indo-European (José Luis García Ramón)
- Indo-European patrons vs. clients, and the role of poets as social brokers. ‘Leaders’ vs. ‘friends’, and intelligent speakers in the mythologies of Scandinavia, India, and Rome (Riccardo Ginevra)
- The violent Indo-Europeans. Some general thoughts on the martial influence of the Corded Ware on Neolithic societies (Rune Iversen)
Part III: Mobility, Gender, and Social Structure
- An update on the Corded Ware culture. Formation and spread, social aspects, human–canid relations, and tooth and shell status items (Mikkel Nørtoft)
- In-laws and outlaws in Indo-European societies. The master of the house and his circles of interest (Birgit Anette Olsen)
- Indo-European initiation. The Greek contribution (Jan N. Bremmer)
- (Proto-)Indo-European age-based male social hierarchies and groupings. Age-grades, sodalities, coevals, age-sets and the origins of Rome’s curiae (including the curia ‘senate-house’) (Kim McCone)
The volume is situated at the intersection of diverse but complementary approaches to the investigation of prehistoric culture and society: combining perspectives from linguistics, archaeology, anthropology, and history of religion, it seeks to explore the dynamics of power, gender, and mobility – three concepts that are essential for a profound understanding of the historically attested Indo-European– speaking societies and of the prehistoric society reflected by Proto-Indo-European.
The book offers a comprehensive analysis of topics ranging from gender roles and female onomastics to power structures and the role of poets as social brokers, from Indo-European legal language and initiation rites to matrimonial practices and age-based social hierarchies. It provides fresh interpretations and new approaches to known material as well as novel explorations and unprecedented analyses of new data.
Contributors: Jan N. Bremmer, José Luis García Ramón, Riccardo Ginevra, Stefan Höfler, Rune Iversen, Peter Jackson Rova, Michael Janda, Kim McCone, Mikkel Nørtoft, Birgit Anette Olsen, Ulla Remmer, Jil Schermutzki, and Michael Weiss.