Comparative-Historical Linguistics of the XXIst Century:
Issues and Perspectives
Moscow, RSUH, 20-21.03.2013
Elena Parina
(Philipps-Universität Marburg /
Institute of Linguistics RAS, Moscow)
Welsh Adjectives for ‘sharp’:
polysemy and etymology
Die semantische Entwicklung
von Adjektiven im Kymrischen
unter diachron-sprachtypologischen Gesichtspunkten
Polysemy and semantic change of adjectives in Welsh from
historical and typological perspective
FB 10: Vergleichende Sprachwissenschaft und Keltologie
Philipps-Universität Marburg
1.09.2012-31.08.2014
Structure of the paper
1. Main adjectives for ‘sharp’ Welsh
from 13th c. to 21st c.
1.1. patterns of polysemy
1.2. system change
2. Etymologies for these adjectives
3. Typological parallels for attested
polysemy patterns and etymologies
3
llym
pre 1500
1500-1850
70
1900-2013
157
Total
279
42
4
llym 1250-1500
weapons and instruments
natural object
swift motion
harsh action
25
11
7
1
5
(1) A guneuthur bagyl ida6 o hayarn llym
megys y gallei llad y dewin a hi. And
make for him a sharp staff of iron, so that
one could kill the magician with it. (NLW
5266. 13 c.)
(2) Llym vym par llachar ygryt. Sharp is
my spear, bright in battle. GwLl 4.11
(3) Llym awel llum brin. Sharp is the wind,
bare the hill. ClAb 2.1
(4) gwae fy llaw llym digones Alas, my
hand, it performed harshly. PenUr
(5) ac odyno yn llym mi a neidaf And from there
I shall jump quickly Pen 5 t96r-c148- ll24 (ca.
1350)
(6) ac otuel a|gyuodes yn llym y|vynyd And
Otuel rose quickly/angrily up Pen 5 t79v-c86ll29 (ca. 1350)
(7) sanguis a wna dyn yn da y ewyllys ac yn hyn
a6s. ac yn araf ac yn llawen [...]
Y colera a|wna|dyn yn llidya6c ac yn
ethrylithus. ac yn llym
Blood makes a person good-willed and kind and
slow and joyful […] Yellow bile makes a person
angry and intelligent and quick Caerdydd
3.242t73-ll4 (c.1375–c.1425)
llym 1500-1850
weapons and instruments
11 (6)
natural object
2
frost, wind, winter
fire
weapon + tongue
analysis
criticism
swift motion / smbd, smth swift
regulation (negatively)
3
1
1
1
1
4
2
8
(8) Y gaiaf aeth yn llym iawn The winter
proved remarkably severe JAUG 37. 9
(1779)
(9) Cyfraith lym a gwaedlyd ydoedd It was
a severe and bloody law. S. Thomas: HB
170 (1718)
(10) Mae’r diafol yn gwybod pryd mae’r
gweinidog yn parottoi pregeth lem, addas
i gyflwr ac eisiau dynion The devil knows
when the minister is preparing a sharp
sermon, meeting conditions and wishes of
people. T.Jones: TOS 140 (1709)
Ellis, N. C., O'Dochartaigh, C., Hicks, W., Morgan, M., & Laporte,
N. (2001). Cronfa Electroneg o Gymraeg (CEG)
weapons and instruments
2
natural object
criticism
regulation
discipline
speech, words
look
tribulation
punishment
voice
pain
1
17
10
5
3
2
1
1
1
1
10
(11) Wrth chwarae pêl-droed [...], cefais ddolur
llym tua gwaelod fy nghefn. While I was playing
football I got a sharp pain in the bottom of my
back. (20 c. corpus)
(12) Mae'n sôn am berson sy'n byw bywyd prysur
"bosys llym, amserlen tynn". It is spoken about
a person leading busy life: “severe bosses, tight
schedule” (20 c. corpus)
(13) Ei gariad at ei genedl a ysgogai'r Athro W J
Gruffydd ei beirniadu mor llym ar brydiau. His
love for his nation caused Professor W.J.
Gruffydd to judge it so strictly sometimes. (20 c.
corpus)
National Assembly of Wales Records
regulation
constraint, cut
criticism
to enforce smth strictly
speech, words
competition
analysis
punishment
to deal harshly, severely, strictly
time
32
12
6
4
2
1
2
2
10
2
12
(15) Teimlwn fy mod wedi cael fy nhrin braidd
yn llym a rhoddodd y profiad negyddol a gefais
wrth fynd drwy’r adran ddiogelwch yn un
brawychus iawn.
I felt that my treatment was rather draconian and
I was shocked by the negative experience that I
had while going through security. (Nat. Assembly of
Wales 2007-2010)
(16) Dyna yr ydym yn ei wneud: yr ydym yn
profi’r canllawiau presennol sy’n ymwneud â
safonau bwyd a maeth llym.
That is what we are doing: we are testing the
current guidelines relating to stringent food and
nutritional standards. . (Nat. Assembly of Wales 20072010)
miniog
1250-1850: 12
weapons (+numeral)
10
weapon
2
1900-2010: 37
weapons, instruments, natural
objects
intellect
12
wind
3
pain
1
speech
5
7
14
Hywel ab Owain Gwynedd
Er fy lladd-i â llafnau deufin
as killing me with two-edged blade (about a girl’s look)
(17) Y seithuet oed dywyll heuyt. ac aruthyr o li6
g6aet. ac yndi megys cledyf ped6ar minnya6c.
The seventh (sun) was also dark and terrible, of
colour of blood, and in it as if a four-edged
sword. (Llyfr Coch Hergest t139r-c571b-ll3
c.1375–c.1425)
(19) Ac Escrifena at Angel Eglwys Pergamus,
Hyn ymay ef yny Ddwedyd y sydd ar cleddey
llym day vinioc. And to the angel of the church
in Pergamos write; These things saith he which
hath the sharp sword with two edges (TN Huet
Dat. 2 12: 1567)
(21) Dannedd miniog y llygoden yw unig
allwedd i'r gist. The sharp teeth of the mouse
are the only key to the chest (20 c. corpus)
(22) dyma nhw'n gofyn i mi fynd â'u hoffer di-fin
nhw i lawr at y gof i'w hogi, a dod â'r rhai
miniog i fyny'n ôl. so they asked me to bring
their blunt instruments down to the smith to
sharpen them and to bring them the sharp ones
(20 c. corpus)
(23) Fel y gwyr pob diabetig, cael nodwydd
finiog yw'r gyfrinach. As every diabetic knows,
the secret is to find a sharp needle. (Y
gwyddonydd - Cyf. 4, Rhif 1 Mawrth 1966)
(24) gwaywffon finiog a thanllyd honed fiery
spear http://www.gutorglyn.net
(25) Cofiwn yr ymdrech gynnar yn erbyn
gwynt anarferol o finiog I could
remember the early struggle with the
unusually strong wind (20 c. corpus)
(26) Gyda'ch meddwl miniog, fe gofiwch
yn syth imi ofyn y cwestiwn hwnnw
gyntaf ar 24 Tachwedd
With your razor-sharp mind , you will
instantly recall that I first asked that
question on 24 November (Nat. Assembly
of Wales 2007-2010)
System change
weapon,
instruments
Middle and
Early Modern
Welsh
Contemporary
Welsh
abstract
llym
llym
[miniog]
miniog
llym
miniog
19
miniog – etymology
GPC 2462: [min + -iog]
2460 min ‘edge, border, mouth’
[MCo. myn ‘face, lip, mouth; tip, edge,
border’, MBr. and ModBr. min ‘face;
mouth; lip’; ?cf. Gwydd. C. mēn
‘mouth’]
LEIA M – “en somme rien de sûr”
llym – etymology
GPC 2269 MCo. lym, MBr. and ModBr. lemm,
OIr. slim ‘smooth, sleek’: possibly <
*slibsmos, from IE *(s)leib-, extension of
the root *(s)lei- ‘muddy, dirty;, slymy’, see
llyfn]
llyfn 2254 – ModCo. leven ‘smooth, even,
slippery’, OBr. limn gl. lentum, ModBr.
levn, Oir. slemon ‘smooth, polished, sleek,
slippery’, ModIr. sleamhain ‘sleek, slippery,
smooth; treacherous’: ? Clt. *sli-m-no
‘slippery’ from the root *(s)lei- ‘muddy,
slimy’, cf. S. slime, OHG. slīm ‘mud, slime’
and may be Lat. līma ‘file’ (напильник)
llym – etymology
Matasović 2009: 239 *lim-ā- ‘sharpen, polish’ [Vb]
GOID: Mir. límaid ‘shaprens, polishes’; limsat [3p Pret.]
W: MW llymhau ‘sharpen, whet, quicken’
BRET: OBret. lemhaam gl. acuo, MBret. lemaff,
MoBret. lemmañ
ETYM: These words are most probably related to Lat.
līma ‘carpenter's file’, OHG slīm ‘mud, slime’,
slīman ‘make smooth’, etc. The PIE root would be
*(s)ley- (IEW 663), with the suffix *-mo- in Italic,
Germanic, and Celtic. However, the length in Olr.
límaid is unexpected (but cf. the short vowel in 3 pl.
Pret. limsat).
REF: GPC II: 2271, DGVB 239, Deshayes 2003: 458.
DATABASE of semantic shifts in the
languages of the world
Zalizniak, Anna A., Bulakh, M., Ganenkov, D.,
Gruntov, I., Maisak, T., Russo. M.
http://semshifts.iling-ran.ru/
Zalizniak, Anna A., Bulakh, M., Ganenkov, D.,
Gruntov, I., Maisak, T., Russo. M. The
Catalogue of semantic shifts as a database for
lexical semantic Typology // M. KoptjevskajaTamm, M. Vanhove (eds.) New directions in
lexical typology. A special issue of Linguistics,
2012, vol. 50, No. 3, P. 633 - 669
23
Anna Zaliznjak et al. 2012: 640
Archi sːob 'mouth' — 'tip, end (rope),
bank'
Hausa baki 'mouth' — 'edge, border'
Avar k'al 'mouth' — 'beginning, end (e.g.
of a rope, field, ), part (e.g. front part of
a military brigade)'
Hausa baki 'mouth' — 'knife blade'
Geez ʔaf 'mouth' — 'border, edge'
Turkish ağız 'mouth' — 'blade (knife);
start (road)'
26
Database of Semantic Shifts
meaning
source
target
big, large
14 (13)
8 (3)
little, small
11 (9)
5 (2)
cold
15 (9)
2 (1)
warm
4 (1)
1
dry
16 (8)
0
full
2 (1)
0
good
5 (4)
14 (8)
long
4 (3)
1
short
4 (3)
0
new
2 (2)
2 (1)
round
2 (2)
0
heavy
15 (10)
0
thin
16 (11)
2 (1)
Diolch am roi gwrandawiad imi!
Danke für Ihre Aufmerksamkeit !
Thank you for your attention!
Спасибо за внимание!
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