Re: ach y fi (was: CHAT Starbucks (was: Hymn to Ikea etc.))
| From: | Paul Bennett <paul-bennett@...> |
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| Date: | Sunday, February 29, 2004, 21:25 |
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On Sun, 29 Feb 2004 15:43:32 -0500 (EST), J Y S Czhang <czhang23@...>
wrote:
>>> Yes it is /a:x@vi:/ or /a:xVvi:/ meaning something that you say when
>> you
>>
>>> throw your hands up in despair. "Oh no!" "My goodness" or whatever.
>>
>>> Literally it's "Oh the me!"
>>
>> Very reminiscent of Spanish "¡Ay de mí!" and French? Italian? literary
>> "ahimé" 'alas'. Do other languages have such close correspondences? Did
>> Latin, or might this be a Celticism??? Just _speculans_.
>
> AiYah! (Oy vey...)
You know, that actually fits my putative Proto-x /aE_^x@Bi:/ mold
relatively well (it might end up being /6E_^x@Bi:/ by the time I've
mangled it to absorb all the evidence), although it's clearly divergent
(due to the required age of separation?). However, it *is* missing the
central guttural.
What's the actual spelling in Hebrew / Yiddish? Is there a silent alef or
ayin (or something) in the middle there? Could the first |y| be somehow
from /j\/ or something?
Paul
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