Taranis
Elite member
Following this thread on the relationship between the Celtic and Pre-Germanic languages, I would like to focus on a different but kind of similar linguistic question: when was Proto-Slavic (or "Common Slavic", if you will) spoken?
In Common Balto-Slavic, Proto-Indo-European Initial *g´ becomes *z. This must clearly be an innovation that occured in Balto-Slavic, because it is well-attested in both the Baltic family and the Slavic family, many cognates exist with Germanic. What I previously already picked are the words for "silver" and "gold" (the latter is also a word that obeys to the *g´ -> *z rule).
English - Silver - Gold
German - Silber - Gold
Danish - Sølv - Guld
Gothic - Silubr - Gulth
Lithuanian - Sidabras - (Auksas)
Latvian - Sudabra - Zelta
Bulgarian - Srebro - Zlato
Czech - Stribrna - Zlato
Russian - Serebra - Zolota
However, there is a few words in the Slavic languages that are clearly cognates with Germanic, but do not obey to Balto-Slavic sound laws. This is very interesting because it means that these words must have entered into Slavic vocabulary in the Common Slavic stage (after Baltic and Slavic separated, but before the Slavic languages split up), primarily because they are attested in all branches of Slavic:
English - Goose - Garden
German - Gans - Garten
Swedish - Gås - Gård (actually rather "courtyard", "enclosure")
Gothic - Gansu - Gards ("courtyard")
Polish - Ges - Gród ("city")
Czech - Husa - Hrad (actually "castle")
Croat - Guska - Grad ("town")
Bulgarian - Gyska - Grad ("city", also "Gradina" means "garden")
Ukrainian - Gusak - Gorod
Russian - Gusí - Gorod (actually means "town" or "city")
Lithuanian - Zasis - Zarda (actually "stockyard", but clearly a cognate)
Latvian - Zoss - (no apparent cognate)
Note that I've taken various branches of the Germanic, Slavic and Baltic languages to get a representative overview here. Also, mea culpa for the poor transliterations from those Slavic languages which are written in the Cyrilic script. Also note that in Czech and Slovak, Proto-Slavic initial *g is changed to *h. As can evidently be seen, the words must have entered into Slavic vocabulary in the Common Slavic stage, since it is attested in all major branches of the Slavic family).
Now, the question is, can we refine the timing of this language contact further? When did these words enter into Common Slavic, and from what language (Pre-Germanic, Proto-Germanic, or East Germanic?)
What helps us are borrowings from Gothic, or otherwise presumably East Germanic:
("donkey" - "to buy")
German - Esel - Kaufen
Gothic - Asil - Kaup (purchase/bargain)
Polish - Osioł - Kupić
Czech - Osel - Koupit
Croatian (-) - Kupiti
Bulgarian - (-) Kupya
Ukrainian - Osel - Kupiti
Russian - Osel - Kupit
(note that Bulgarian, Croat and Serbian use "Magare", "Magarac" and "Magarats" respectively for "donkey" - nonetheless the word is attested in the South Slavic branch via Slovenian "Osel"). Also note that Slavic changes initial K to S (this is actually something very old, compare with Satemization). In the above example, the words clearly do not obey to that, meaning that they must have entered into Slavic vocabulary significantly later.
There's also, interestingly, quite a few words in Common Slavic which were apparently borrowed from Latin via Gothic:
(English - Wine - Vinegar - Caesar)
Latin - Vinum - Acetum - Caesar
Gothic - Wein - Akeit - Kaisar
Polish - Wina - Ocet - Cesarz
Czech - Vino - Ocet - Císař
Croatian - Wino - Ocat - Car
Bulgarian - Wino - Otset - Tsar
Russian - Wina - Uksus - Tsar
Ukrainian - Wina - Otset - Tsar
Even if these words entered Slavic vocabulary directly from Latin (which is also conceivable), it is very clear that Common Slavic must have been spoken unexpectedly late (essentially the Roman period), at an earliest 1st century AD, more probably 4th century AD (to account for contact with Gothic / East Germanic peoples).
In Common Balto-Slavic, Proto-Indo-European Initial *g´ becomes *z. This must clearly be an innovation that occured in Balto-Slavic, because it is well-attested in both the Baltic family and the Slavic family, many cognates exist with Germanic. What I previously already picked are the words for "silver" and "gold" (the latter is also a word that obeys to the *g´ -> *z rule).
English - Silver - Gold
German - Silber - Gold
Danish - Sølv - Guld
Gothic - Silubr - Gulth
Lithuanian - Sidabras - (Auksas)
Latvian - Sudabra - Zelta
Bulgarian - Srebro - Zlato
Czech - Stribrna - Zlato
Russian - Serebra - Zolota
However, there is a few words in the Slavic languages that are clearly cognates with Germanic, but do not obey to Balto-Slavic sound laws. This is very interesting because it means that these words must have entered into Slavic vocabulary in the Common Slavic stage (after Baltic and Slavic separated, but before the Slavic languages split up), primarily because they are attested in all branches of Slavic:
English - Goose - Garden
German - Gans - Garten
Swedish - Gås - Gård (actually rather "courtyard", "enclosure")
Gothic - Gansu - Gards ("courtyard")
Polish - Ges - Gród ("city")
Czech - Husa - Hrad (actually "castle")
Croat - Guska - Grad ("town")
Bulgarian - Gyska - Grad ("city", also "Gradina" means "garden")
Ukrainian - Gusak - Gorod
Russian - Gusí - Gorod (actually means "town" or "city")
Lithuanian - Zasis - Zarda (actually "stockyard", but clearly a cognate)
Latvian - Zoss - (no apparent cognate)
Note that I've taken various branches of the Germanic, Slavic and Baltic languages to get a representative overview here. Also, mea culpa for the poor transliterations from those Slavic languages which are written in the Cyrilic script. Also note that in Czech and Slovak, Proto-Slavic initial *g is changed to *h. As can evidently be seen, the words must have entered into Slavic vocabulary in the Common Slavic stage, since it is attested in all major branches of the Slavic family).
Now, the question is, can we refine the timing of this language contact further? When did these words enter into Common Slavic, and from what language (Pre-Germanic, Proto-Germanic, or East Germanic?)
What helps us are borrowings from Gothic, or otherwise presumably East Germanic:
("donkey" - "to buy")
German - Esel - Kaufen
Gothic - Asil - Kaup (purchase/bargain)
Polish - Osioł - Kupić
Czech - Osel - Koupit
Croatian (-) - Kupiti
Bulgarian - (-) Kupya
Ukrainian - Osel - Kupiti
Russian - Osel - Kupit
(note that Bulgarian, Croat and Serbian use "Magare", "Magarac" and "Magarats" respectively for "donkey" - nonetheless the word is attested in the South Slavic branch via Slovenian "Osel"). Also note that Slavic changes initial K to S (this is actually something very old, compare with Satemization). In the above example, the words clearly do not obey to that, meaning that they must have entered into Slavic vocabulary significantly later.
There's also, interestingly, quite a few words in Common Slavic which were apparently borrowed from Latin via Gothic:
(English - Wine - Vinegar - Caesar)
Latin - Vinum - Acetum - Caesar
Gothic - Wein - Akeit - Kaisar
Polish - Wina - Ocet - Cesarz
Czech - Vino - Ocet - Císař
Croatian - Wino - Ocat - Car
Bulgarian - Wino - Otset - Tsar
Russian - Wina - Uksus - Tsar
Ukrainian - Wina - Otset - Tsar
Even if these words entered Slavic vocabulary directly from Latin (which is also conceivable), it is very clear that Common Slavic must have been spoken unexpectedly late (essentially the Roman period), at an earliest 1st century AD, more probably 4th century AD (to account for contact with Gothic / East Germanic peoples).
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