Re: Genitive relationships (WAS: Construct States)

At 01:04 PM 3/9/99 -0800, you wrote: "Suppletive forms, of course, for the
copula abound in many IE languages. And does Celtic really have an -ing
that corresponds  to OE -and? Yr wyf i yn tynnu y trol, "I pull/am pulling
the cart." W. uses the verb noun in such constructions, not a present
participle.  "I am in pulling (gerund)."  Are you (or Tolkien) in
suggesting that the E. use of  "am pulling" is in deriving  from the Welsh?
Cebodel."

The issue is where the unGermanic use of the gerund in English (ie. a lot,
and in ways it isn't used in other Gmc languages) is, to use Sanskrit,
svabhava (self-produced, self-so) or because of influence from unrelated
languages (ie. an areal form)? Well, it's a little suspicious that Gaelic
and Welsh/Brittonic all use the gerund in the same unusual manner.

And it is this, plus the coincidence of b- forms in the suppletive, that
made Tolkien & Co. raise their collective eyebrows - for good reason, I
think. It's not the only place this is discussed, either: I remember a
pretty recent reference grammar - from the Routledge series, I think - on
Celtic that took this idea absolutely seriously. I'll go to the library and
dig up the cite if anyone wants it that badly ...

BB

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