Proto-Indo-European derivation and stem-suppletion

Jan Bičovský

Over the last few decades, several important discoveries have been made in PIE linguistics: the recognition of the so-called Ablaut-classes, the workings of internal derivation as shift from one Ablaut-class to another, and the position of the so-called collective as a derivation replacing the nom-acc.pl. neuters. These three areas overlap on the problem of PIE stem-suppleting r/n-stems: it is the communis opinio that even mass-noun neuters of this stem formed collectives by internal derivation, moreover, the resulting derivation is expected to have retained the suppletive character of the basis. The first view has been challenged recently, with the analysis of morphological „collectives“ to mass nouns as „delibatives“, the derivative parallel to the partitive case. Starting from this point, I intend to present a competing account of the prehistory of such singular suppletive paradigms as Greek ὕδωρὕδατος „water“ as the result of paradigm merger. In this way, the current counterintuitive scenario can be disposed of.

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