Then God said, "Let there be two great lights in the heavens ute voqʷet -bhevoitëm meg.lō leukē nebhessu  meg.lō = great --nom-dual of *meg.lo- leukē = lights --nom-dual of *leuk- nebh-es-su = in the heavens --loc-pl of abstract neuter *nebh-ës to set apart the day from the night, sonter-dheHtévei dinom nektét  dheH-tév-ei = in order to put --verbal noun from root *dheH  son-ter = apart --comparative particle opposed to *son / som  apo nektës = from the night --substitute for abl-sg (Current theory predicts E-grade of root in the "weak" cases.)

to measure the days and months and years, meHtévei dinons meHnesa samróns-qʷe  meH-tév-ei = in order to measure, from root *meH  meHn-es-a = months, moons --acc-pl of abstract neuter, from a related root  sam-rons = summers --acc-pl and he put stars into the heavens to light the earth Hster.ns-qʷe dheHt en nebhesa luktévei dheĝhom(m)  Hster.ns / Hsternons / Hsterlons = stars, stella, aster --acc-pl  dheH-t = he put, he did --athematic aorist  luk-tév-ei = in order to light --with weak-grade of root And there was evening, and there was morning, a fourth day. vesqʷeros ausos-qʷe bhuvetëm -dinos qʷeturtos  qʷetur-tos = fourth --ordinal of *qʷetvōr Then God said, "Let the waters generate living things, nūn-qʷe voqʷet --ĝneHskoit vedōr gʷeivons  gʷeivons = alive --acc-pl of adjective  ĝneH-sk-oi-t = let it generate --optative of an inchoative-iterative verb form, modeled on Latin root gnasc. The basic root is simply *ĝen. and let birds fly in the heavens." petoiënt-qʷe Hvéyes nebhessu  pet-oi-ënt = let them fly --3rd-pl optative > Latin petant  Hveyes = birds --nom-pl of *Hveis > Vedic ves, Latin avis And he made great serpents and fish and filled the water, qʷoret-qʷe meg.lons ogʷhins peiskons-qʷe em-p.lH.s(t)-qʷe vod.r  ogʷhins / ongʷhins = serpents, ophidians --acc-pl  peiskons = fishes --attested only in Latin & Germanic  ĝdhuves = fishes, ιχθυες --attested in Greek and Baltic  em-p.lH.-s(t) = filled --S-aorist, modeled on Greek εν-ε-πλησε and he made birds and flies and wasps and filled the air, qʷoret-qʷe Hvéins mūskans-qʷe vespans-qʷe em-p.lH.s(t)-qʷe an.mom  mūskans = flies, midges --acc-pl (F)  vespans / vopsans = wasps (F) and he made and beasts and reptiles and filled the earth. qʷoret-qʷe ĝhvēr.ns serpont.ns-qʷe em-p.lH.s(t)-qʷe dheĝhom(m)  ĝhvēr.ns / gʷhēr.ns = wild beasts, ferus, θηρ, звѣрь --acc-pl  serpont.ns = reptiles --acc-pl of present active participle And there was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day. vesqʷeros ausos-qʷe bhuvetëm -dinos penqʷetos  penqʷe-tos = fifth --ordinal of *penqʷe Then God said, "Let the earth generate living things: nūn-qʷe voqʷet --ĝneHskoit dheĝhōm gʷeivons wild beasts and cattle and crawling things. ĝhvēr.ns peçuns-qʷe (s)negons-qʷe  peçuns = cattle --acc-pl (M/F)  (s)negons = snakes, nagas --acc-pl And he saw that they were good. videt-qʷe qʷod kalyoes/oi  kalyoes / kalyoi = good, beautiful, --nom-pl (M) Then God said, "Let us make a man in our likeness, ut' voqʷet -qʷeroimë(n) vīróm som.lom n.sbhos  qʷer-oi-më(n) = let us make --1st-pl optative  vīrom / virom = man --specifically male  som-lom = similar --acc-sg, adjective derived from *som (together)  n.s-bhos = to us > Latin nōbis so that he might rule the birds, the cattle, the wild beasts, and the crawling things." ute reĝoit Hvéins peçuns-qʷe ĝhvēr.ns serpont.ns-qʷe  reĝ-oi-t = let him rule And then he made humans like unto himself, men and women, ute (d)ĝh.m.n.ns svoei som.lons qʷoret -vīróns gʷ.nans-qʷe  (d)ĝh.m.n.ns = homines --acc-pl, derived from *dheĝhom (Skeleton root gets vocalized as homines, gumans, žmones, doīni)  gʷ.nans = women --acc-pl of A-stem feminine And he said to them, "Go and multiply, voqʷet-qʷe --ite augsete-qʷe  ite = go --2-pl imperative  augs-ete / aug-éy-ete = wax, augment --The latter is properly causative. and rule the fish of the sea, and the birds of the air, and the beasts of the earth. reĝete-qʷe peisk.ns moréisyo avéins-qʷe an.mosyo ĝhvēr.ns-qʷe (d)ĝhmosyo  The pseudo-adjectival genitives ending in *syo are non-restrictive in this context, hence follow the nouns that they modify. Restrictive modifiers normally precede. Behold, I have given you green plants and seeds and fruit as food." veidete --yusbhos dhalya seHmena-qʷe karpa-qʷe svō paHtum dedoHa  yusbhos / vosbhos = to you --dat-pl of personal pronoun  seH-men-a = seeds --acc-pl (N) of verbal noun from root *seH (to sow)  svō /svei = so, as --cf. Old Latin seī, Oscan svae, Gothic swō, Greek `ως  paH-tum / paH-dhrom / paH-dhlom = food, fodder --acc-sg of supine of root *paH > Sanskrit pitum, Latin panem, pābulum  Synonym: gʷroHm.n = βρωμα, grāmen, "voramen"  de-doH-Ha = I have given --1-sg perfect from root *doH. The perfect expresses completed action that bears upon the present, unlike the aorist of narration. And there was evening, and there was morning, a sixth day. vesqʷeros ausos-qʷe bhuvetëm --dinos sekstos  seks-tos = sixth --ordinal of *seks And thus the heavens and the earth were finished. ute kom-qʷ.r.toes/oi bhuvont nebhesa dheĝhōm-qʷe  The prefix *kom emphasizes the perfective aspect of the verb. Perfective prefixes are rare in Greek and Sanskrit, but common in all other branches.  qʷ.r.-toes / qʷ.r.-toi = made --nom-pl of perfect passive participle from root *qʷer But on the seventh day, there was an end of the works and God rested, alyo sept.mom dinom verĝo(n)om antom est ute çoieto Deivós  sept.m-os = seventh --ordinal of *sept.m  verĝo(n)om = of the works --O-stem gen-pl ending varies: ōm / ōnōm / ōsom  çoi-eto = lay down --weak-grade middle aorist from root *çei  logh-eto = lay down --Middle voice serves to distinguish lie/lay from lay/layed. And he said, "Let the seventh day be holy." eti voqʷet-qʷe -sept.mos dinos yaĝyos syēt  eti = and also --used interchangeably with *ute  yaĝyos = holy, worthy of worship > Greek `αγιος  s-yē-t = let it be --athematic optative from root *es, connoting permanent state GARDEN OF EDEN (Genesis II) No trees had grown, and no clouds had watered the ground ... God had made the heavens and the earth, Deivós qʷeqʷore nebhesa dheĝhom(m)-qʷe  qʷe-qʷor-e = he had made --3-sg perfect used in anterior sense but no trees had grown, n' avaugér alyo dréves  dréves = trees (F) --nom-pl of root *d.r.v  doru = wood (N) --from same root  av-aug-ér = they had grown --3-pl perfect from root *aug and no rain clouds had watered the ground, n' udvodér-qʷe ombhroes/oi dheĝhom(m)  ud-vod-ér = they had watered --3-pl perfect from root *ved  ombhroes / ombhroi = clouds --related to root *nebh there was no tiller of the fields, n' est-qʷe aratōr aĝro(n)om  es-t = there was --imperfect of root *es. Present tense would be *es-ti.  ara-tōr = tiller, arator --nom-sg, from root *HerH (plough, oar)  aĝro(n)om = of the fields but now a mist came and watered the ground. ute nūn miĝhla gʷomet udet-qʷe dheĝhom(m)  gʷom-et = it came --weak-grade aorist > Sanskrit agamat, Greek εβη  miĝhla = mist --nom-sg from root *mi(n)gh, connoting

Then God said, "It is not good for man to be alone." ute voqʷet Deivós --ne-vesū qʷod vīrós vidhvos syēt  vesū / su = happy, good, eu --inst-sg used as adverb  vidhvos = widower, batchelor (M)

So out of the ground, God made the beasts and the birds, ute ĝhvēr.ns Hvéins-qʷe qʷoret Deivós (d)ĝhomoet  (d)ĝhomoet = from the humus --abl-sg of O-stem variant  Unusual OVS word order driven by focus.

and he brought them to the man, bhoret-qʷe vīróei and the man gave them names ute vīrós toibhos Hnomena doHt  toibhos = to them --dat-pl  Hnomena = names --acc-pl of neuter noun. (The initial laryngeal left traces in many branches: Greek ονοματα, Russian имена, Old Irish ainmanna.)  doH-t = he gave --athematic aorist. Default SOV word order.

to the cattle of the field and the birds of the air and the beasts of the plain, pecúbhos aĝrosyo Hvibhós-qʷe an.mosyo ĝhverbhós-qʷe p.l.téusyo  p.l.t-éu-syo = of the plain --pseudo-adjective from root *p.l.t-u (not to be confused with participle *p.lH.-to = filled) but there was no fitting beloved for the man, n' est alyo sata kāra vīróei  alyo = but --conjunction used to oppose complex clauses  sata = satisfactory  kāra = beloved, whore So God caused the man to sleep, and pulled out a bone, ute supéyet vīróm Deivós osti deuks(t)-qʷe  sup-éy-et = he caused to sleep --Imperfect (Causative form has no distinct aorist.)  osti / kostim = bone (N) or rib (F) --acc-sg  deuk-s(t) = he pulled --S-aorist modeled upon Latin duxit and closed the wound in the chest with hide (s)tegs(t)-qʷe v.l.nom bhreusöi (s)kutō-bhi  (s)teg-s(t) = covered, hid --strong-grade S-aorist > Latin texit, Greek εστεξε  v.l.nom = wound, vulnus --acc-sg. Latin remodels this as an abstract neuter.

(The skeleton root gets vocalized as vuln, ουλ, vran.)  bhreusoi / bhreusei = in the breast --loc-sg  (s)kutō-bhi = with hide --instrumental construct and formed a woman from the bone and brought her to the man qʷoret-qʷe ap' ostéis gʷénam bhoret-qʷe vīróei  ap' ostéis = from bone --substitute for abl-sg And the man said, "She is the bone from my bone and the flesh from my flesh." ute voqʷet vīrós -sā tod ósti me(n)oet ostéyet tod krovi-qʷe meoet krovéyet  sos, sā, tod / yos, yā, yod = he, she, it --nom-sg pronouns  me(n)oet = from my --abl-sg of possessive adjective > Old Latin meōd (The proper genitive form of the pronoun defies reconstruction.)  krovis / kroivos = flesh, blood, κρεας --nom-sg  Semantic distinctions: *kroiv / krovyo refers to raw flesh, *memso to edible meat, *snēyu / senu / sneuro to sinew, *ĝhorno to gut-string, *s-kuto to leather hide.

Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, tosmoet linéqʷeti vīrós patér.m mātér.m-qʷe  tosmoet = therefore --abl-sg of extended root *tosmo > Sanskrit tasmāt  linéq-eti = he shall leave --3rd-sg subjunctive from root *li(n)q > Sanskrit rinákati, with accented nasal infix, but Latin future linquet  patér.m mātér.m-qʷe = father and mother --acc-sg. Accent shifts in weak cases. but cleave to his wife, so that they be yoked.

gʷ.náei au adi gloiēti ute yugóm bhevōnti

 Pun: *gloiós connotes glue as well as the clay of which men are made.  gloi-ēti = he shall cleave --subjunctive of root *glëi  yugóm = yoke, junction --nom-sg (N)  bhev-ōnti = they shall become --subjunctive of root *bheu They shall love and they shall stick. lubhyōntoi leipōntoi-qʷe  Missing verse, redisovered by telepathic communication with ancient authors.  lubh-y-ōntoi = they shall love --from root *leubh-yë  leip-ōntoi = they shall stick --from root *leip

EXPULSION (Genesis III)

They were naked, but they knew it not.

But the serpent was more knowing ...

Thinkstock image under license

They were naked, but they knew it not. nogʷ.tō estëm alyo ne ĝnoHtëm  nogʷ.tō = naked --nom-dual --This adjective resembles a participle.  ĝnoH-tëm = they knew --3rd-dual athematic aorist

But the serpent was more knowing than other beasts. au alyo(n)ōm ĝhverōm ĝnoHteros  vīs-ogʷhis = poison-opidian --combining form of *vīsom (N)  ĝnoH-ter-os = more knowing --comparative He said to the woman, "Has God forbidden eating from the trees in the garden? voqʷet-qʷe gʷ.náei --proti-dedoiçe Deivós estum apo druōm ghordhoi  proti = against  de-doiç-e = he has commanded --perfect  es-tum / ed-tum = eating --acc-sg of verbal noun from root *ed  apo = from --particle used with genitive as substitute for ablative

And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees, voqʷet gʷéna ogʷhéyei -karpa druōm estum maghovës(i)  magh-ovës(i) = we may --1st-dual present indicative but he has forbidden one tree in the middle, alyo proti-dedoiçe oinam dreum medhyöi  oinam = one --acc-sg (F) nor should we even touch it, lest indeed we become mortal." ne tangōvës(i) eti svō-ne m.r.tō ghe bhevōvës(i)  tang-ōvës(i) = we shall touch --1st-dual subjunctive  bhev-ōvës(i) = we shall be --1st-dual subjunctive  Sanskrit uses a hodgepodge of primary and secondary endings in the subjunctive, but Greek uses primary endings consistently. We shall follow the Greek model.  svō-ne = lest, so not  ghe --because the serpent is asserting something surprising But the serpent said to the woman, voqʷet alyo ogʷhis gʷ.náei --"You will not perish. God knows that having eaten from that tree, ne gʷdhinéHetës ghe --Deivós ĝnoHti qʷod (ed)edvosē apo taës druës  This verb should be in the middle voice, to avoid confusion with destroy, but the authentic 2nd-dual middle endings are unknown, so we would have to substitute the plural. The use of active voice dodges that problem.  gʷdhiH-sy-etës = you will perish, decline --2nd-dual S-future of root *gʷdhiH > Greek φθισετον (active) or φθισεσθον (middle)  gʷdhinéH-etës = you shall perish, decline --2nd-dual subjunctive with nasal infix > Greek φθινητον, Sanskrit kšiňāthas  (ed)edvosē = having eaten --nom-dual of perfect active participle.

Reduplication seems optional, because it is semantically superfluous. The nom-sg suffixes are vōs / vons, with "weak" form us, and feminine usia.

you will see with your eyes, and you will become gods, and you will know good and evil. veitsyetës oqʷōis, bheusyetës-qʷe deivō, ĝnoHsyetës-qʷe vesum deusom-qʷe  veid-sy-etës = you will see --S-future  bheu-sy-etës = you will be --S-future  ĝnoH-sy-etës = you will know --S-future  vesum = good --acc-sg (N)  deusom= bad, evil, dys --ordinarily a prefix, but here remodeled as an adjective

The woman having seen that the tree bears good fruit and is pleasing to the eyes, gʷéna (ve)vidusia qʷod bhereti dreus su-karpa eti oqʷoibhos svādus est  bher-eti = bears --present of root *bher  tol-y-eti = bears --present of root *tol-yë / t.lH.

and desiring for knowledge, she grasped an apple and devoured it, ĝnoHtim ĝhoryonta-qʷe labhet gʷroHt-qʷe ablom  ĝhory-ont-a = desiring --nom-sg (F) of present active participle of root *ĝhër-yë > Doric Greek χαιροντι, Sanskrit haryanti, Latin horiuntur  labh-et = she grasped --weak-grade aorist of root *la(m)bh > Greek ελαβε  gʷroH-t = devoured --athematic aorist > Greek εβρω  ablom / amlom / malom = apple --Unaspirated *b is rare. Having heard the sound of feet in the garden, (ke)kusvosē pedōm svonom ghordhöi  pedōm = of feet --gen-pl, with E-grade root in the "weak" cases  (ke)kus-vos-ē = having heard --perfect active participle of root *Hkous the man and the woman hid themselves in the shade between the trees. kudhonto vīrós gʷéna-qʷe en skotóm drusú medhyöi  kudh-onto = they hid themselves --3rd-pl middle aorist of root *keudh  en = into (dynamic) --The static sense could be conveyed by the locative case, but the dynamic preposition into demands the accusative.  skotom = shade --acc-sg (M) But God called out to the man, "Where art thou?" ute ĝhvet Deivós vīróei -qʷosmi essi ?

 ĝhv-et = called out --weak-grade aorist of root *ĝhve-yë  qʷosmi = where? --cf. *qʷoter = whither?

And the man said, "I have heard a sound --it was you walking through the garden, voqʷet-qʷe vīrós --svonom kekousa -tu ghordhoi t.rH. ĝhonĝheHs  svonom = sound --acc-sg  ke-kous-a = I have heard --1st-sg perfect of root *Hkous > ακουκα  tu = thou --used for special emphasis in context  ĝhonĝheH-s = you were walking --2nd-sg reduplicated imperfect > Sanskrit ajahās, Germanic gangis (reduplicated present)  ĝheHs = you walked --athematic aorist > Sanskrit ahās  t.rH. = through --particle --vocalized as trā in Latin

MURDER (Genesis IV)

The tale of Cain and Abel scrambles the historical progression from hunter-gatherers, to nomadic herdsmen, to sedentary farmers. After killing his brother, Cain reverts to hunting, and his alleged prior occupation as tiller is forgotten in Chapter VI, where Noah is described as the first tiller.

Conflicts between farmers and herdsmen occur even today, so I have given Cain a motive: He wanted to put idle Abel to work in the fields.  su = well, eu --prefix  aĝ-sy-esoi = you will act, conduct thyself --2nd-sg middle S-future > Sanskrit *aj-sya-ati > akšyāti <, Greek *ag-s-ei(t) > αξει  ven-ēsoi = you will win --2nd-sg middle subjunctive > Latin venēris  s(t).rH.g(h)-sy-esor = you will be cared for --2nd-sg passive S-future > Germanic sorg, Sanskrit sūrkš, Greek στεργ, Russian сторож If you act badly, then you will have bad intent, and evil will rule you, so rule yourself. qʷo-svō dus-aĝsyesoi, to-svō dus-venskēsi, eti mëlos tve reĝsyeti, ute reĝgoiso sve  dus = bad, dys --prefix  vol-y-ēsi = you will want --2nd-sg subjunctive  vensk-ēsi = you will wish --2nd-sg subjunctive --contrast with venēsoi  Η-gʷh.l.H-yē-si = you will desire > Greek εθελησεις, Slavic желаешь  melos / molos = evil, misfortune, malus  reĝ-sy-eti = it will rule --3rd-sg S-future  reĝ-oi-so = rule thyself --2nd-sg optative used as middle-voice imperative  sve = self --technically redundant with middle voice, but added for emphasis Then Cain said to his brother --Come --Let the two of us go to the field. ute Qʷoinos bhrātrei voqʷet -gʷeme -iyēvë(n) aratóm  gʷem-e / gʷen-y-e = come --2nd-sg imperative  i-yē-vë(n) = let us go --athematic optative (with mood sign yē vice oi)  The verb *ei can take a destination as direct object.

The two having entered the field, the senior slew the junior.

(y)eyvosē aratóm, gʷhonet senyōs yunyos.m  (y)ei-vos-ē = having gone to --nom-dual, nominative absolute  gʷhon-et = he slew --weak-grade aorist > Latin de-fendit  sen-yōs = senior --nom-sg comparative  yun-yos-m = junior --acc-sg comparative  Comparative suffixes include *yos, tero.

And God said to Cain --Where is thy brother? voqʷet Deivós -qʷosmi bhrāter?

But Cain said --I don't remember. Is it I who am my brother's keeper? voqʷet-au Qʷoinos --ne memena -esmi eĝo orbhosyo paHstōr?  orbhosyo = of the orphan --gen-sg. (Cain is being sarcastic. Orphans were always put to hard work to earn their keep.)  me-men-Ha = I have remembered --1st-sg perfect of root *men  eĝo = I --Subject pronoun is included for special emphasis.

And God said --The blood of thy brother calls from the earth that has drunk it. The tale of Noah apparently alludes to the catastrophic Black Sea Flood of 5600 BCE. The legendary history was not scientifically confirmed until the 1980s, when geologists got permission from the Soviet regime to take sediment samples. The evidence remains controversial, but I take Ryan & Pitman's theory as fact.

After the end of last ice age, around 5800 BCE, the sea level rose until the Mediterranean spilled over the thin strip of land separating it from the Pontine --until then a landlocked freshwater lake --cutting a narrow channel and filling it with saltwater. By the best estimates of geologists, the water level would have risen 80 meters in two years, and the shoreline would have receded very slowly, allowing the inhabitants to walk to safety with their animals, although boats might have been lifesavers for those who attempted to wait out the flood on high ground and soon found themselves surrounded by rising water.

The preamble tells of a rivalry between "sons of the gods" and "sons of the ground". Lest you have any doubt that gods means sky-gods, read the tale of Babel closely. The gods descend to punish the uppity builders of a tower, most likely a fortified burg on high ground. I read this as an an allusion to ethnic warfare between the Proto-Aryans and their neighbors around the Black Sea, so I have reimagined the Nephelim as Proto-Aryans who fancied themselves nepotes of the sky-god.

The Semitic authors of Genesis saw themselves as the survivors, and took literary revenge by having both sides drown, but they named the legendary boatman Noaḥ --which makes no sense as a Hebrew word, but perfect sense as the P.I.E. word Naḥus.

ut' vestum liqʷont

Its name shall be Babel.

Hnom.n Bhalbhal esēti ADAM'S PSALM

Psalm 104 (in traditional Hebrew and modern Protestant numbering) or 103 (in the Septuagint, Vulgate, and King James Version) is a uniquely beautiful composition that bears testimony to the Creator through nature and echoes the early chapters of Genesis. This psalm is unusual in employing no abstract vocabulary, and this feature makes it uniquely apt for demonstrating the poetic potential of the proto-language.

The "translation" recovers the terse character of the original Hebrew text. The style was spoiled in the Septuagint by the wordiness of Greek, which uses articles and particles to tiresome excess.

The psalm is first presented as a whole, in two dialects side-by-side --one biased to Greek & Sanskrit as usual, the other some sort of Proto-Latin. In the course of composing Before Babel in a reconstructed language, I was obliged to make numerous arbitrary decisions about orthography, grammar, and usage. Since this is not a scholarly work, I shall not bother to defend them. Herewith a rundown of my idiosyncratic conventions and a more-or-less mainstream précis of grammar ...

P.I.E. ROOT TEMPLATES

 The basic root structure was Consonant-Vowel-Consonant (CVC), in which the "V" could be a pure vowel, a diphthong, or a liquid (hence, CEC, CEUC, CRC), and the "C" could also be a cluster (hence, SCR_NC).  Rare initial clusters included PT, PN, KN, and the permutable "thorn" clusters: KT = TK, GD = DG, GDh = DGh, ...  Many roots were prefixed with an erratically preserved ("mobile") S, and some were internally nasalized, but these capricious modifications rarely served to differentiate quasi-homophonous roots.  Certain sequences of voice and aspiration were originally forbidden (especially D_G, D_Gh, and Dh_K) as well as roots containing two consonants of the identical class (e.g., labials, dentals, palato-velars, labio-velars, or liquids). However, these uncommon sequences could be generated via reduplication or by operation of Grassmann's Law.  Taking these constraints and unequal letter frequencies into account, we may estimate that the root template would generate only 600-900 roots, without regard to distinctions among the basic pure vowels. The template could generate a larger number of roots by making distinctions among pure vowels, or by making more use of the rarer phonemes.

ORTHOGRAPHIC CONVENTIONS

 The hypothetical laryngeals are simply written H where they serve to generate dialectical vowel prefixes (e.g., ο-νομα, α-στηρ, ε-ρεβος), or to "close" CV roots (e.g., *dheH, doH, staH). The opaque notation h¹, h², h³ might be clarified by writing h e , h a , h o instead, but linguists continue to debate the number of distinct laryngeals and their correspondence to Semitic counterparts, א ה ח .ע  Colored vowels are commonly supposed to derive from laryngeals (i.e., A <*h²), but the three basic vowels are simply written E/A/O in accord with pronunciation, because the bare largyngeals are unspeakable. How would you say *h²-r-h² without actual vowels?  Germanic and Balto-Slavic merged the two back vowels, and Sanskrit merged all three basic vowels, but Latin and Greek preserve the three-way distinction, the ratio in roots (though not stems or endings) being roughly E:A:O = 44:33:22%. Pokorny's lexicon gives one the impression that E's were overwhelming most common, but whatever the origin of colored vowels, A's could not have been rare. Comparison of paired cognates between Latin and Greek shows roughly 70% agreement, or as much as 80% agreement when allowances for routine E/O gradation are made, and this implies that majority rule is a fairly reliable way to identify original A's.  Ambiguous vowels: The colored vowel A is identified on the basis of classical evidence, unless Greek and Latin disagree. In the absence of other evidence, a colored vowel may be suspected from the absence of telltale E/O gradation. Vowels of variable or uncertain grade are written Ë/Ö.  CAC roots (e.g., svad) are problematic because there is no appropriate interior slot for the *h² laryngeal in the structural template. Such roots are written with A/Ā in accord with actual pronunciation.  The semi-vowels are written I/U in diphthongs or zero-grade contexts, but V/Y when they serve as consonants without syllabic value.  Long vowels inside CVC roots are attributed to routine vṛddhī gradation, but long vowels elsewhere may arise in other ways: ō < oe.  The unvoiced velars are written Ç/K/Qʷ/ÇV, the voiced velars Ĝ/G/Gʷ/ĜV, and the aspirated velars Ĝh/Gh/Gʷh/ĜhV. The evidence for a four-way distinction among unvoiced velars is very strong, but the G/Ĝ distinction is shaky.  Velars are left unmarked by default in the absence of clear evidence to the contrary, to wit, transformation to sibilants in satem languages or to labials in certain centum languages. (Sanskrit muddled the putative G/Ĝ distinction by palatizing both, at least before erstwhile front vowels. Consequently, only Balto-Slavic evidence can be fully trusted to distinguish G/Gh from Ĝ/Ĝh. Dillemmas arise when Balto-Slavic and Indo-Persian disagree.)  The syllabic consonants, traditionally written Ṛ/Ḷ/Ṃ/Ṇ, are written idiosyncratically here, with dots to either side as potential insertion points for vowels. Thus, roots written in skeleton form as C.R.C may fill out as CËRC or CRËC. Liquids combined with laryngeals --written .RH. and .LH. between consonants --may yield īr/ūr in Sanskrit, but rē/rā in Latin, and ρη/ρω in Greek. (Two-sided combinations such as δολιχος, στορεννυμι, κεραννυμι, βαλανος also reflect uncontroversial laryngeals, but Latin culmus, culmen, cognate to Greek καλαμος, κολωνος do not confirm the presence of a laryngeal.)  Pronunciation --Those of us not privileged to have been born an Arya in a previous life find it difficult to pronounce the voiced aspirates Bh/Dh/Gh/Gʷh. One will not incur bad karma by pronouncing them as Bβ/Dð/Gγ/Fw. In order to maintain the Ç/K distinction, one may pronounce Ç as Š, and likewise Ĝ as Ž.

PRÉCIS OF GRAMMAR

My grammatical conventions are biased toward Greek and Sanskrit, but they eschew certain clearly dialectical features of this recognized sub-family:  Grassmann's Law --deaspiration of the initial phoneme in doubly aspirated contexts such as dheiĝhos > Greek τειχος and Sanskrit dehas  Past-tense augments, used to mark the Imperfect and the Aorist  Initial vowels of laryngeal origin, when unique to Greek

SYNTACTIC CONVENTIONS

 Word order follows the rule of focus-first, which overrides default SOV order.

Restrictive adjectives and possessives are assumed to precede the nouns they modify, but non-restrictive and complex modifiers are placed in trailing position to avoid hideous left-branching structures. We have pompous priests and ancient bards to thank for the convoluted syntactic structures that torment us today.  Conjunctions are indispensable. It is difficult to say much of interest without them. The pedigreed enclitics qʷe, au, vē are used with simple, strictly parallel elements; whereas ute, eti, alyo, svō, qʷod are favored with complex elements such as clauses, and they are usually placed in leading position.  Particles have come to play a triple role as prefixes, prepositions, and adverbs. They are used sparingly here to clarify the usage of noun cases, and they are often associated with the verb instead.

Particles used as

CONJUGATION OF VERBS

Photo by Colin

 Tenses and moods --Greek and Sanskrit display an elaborate system of verb inflections, which may be partly dialectical, since these two branches constitute a recognized subfamily. The tenses include Present, Imperfect, Future, Perfect, and several different Aorist formations; whereas the moods include Indicative, Subjunctive, and Optative, at least in the Present tense. The aspectual distinctions among past-tense formations are muddled in Sanskrit, but they have been either maintained or sharpened in Greek.  Suffixes and infixes --The Rix-Cogwill theory lays out the conjugation classes of the Present tense, but it does not provide a convincing account of their aspectual differences, which are speculatively attributed to Aktionsart. Besides causative, factitive, denominative, and inchoative-iterative classes, there are enigmatic nasal infixes and suffixes. The nasal elements were used promiscuously in Latin and Sanskrit, but they are applied sparingly here. They may have served to disambiguate verbs with homophonous roots (e.g., *ves = dwell or clothe, *puH = purify or putrefy, *gh.r.bh = grab or groove) but each branch made its own choices. There may also have been subtle aspectual distinctions among the various Aorist formations, but they are now obscure, so one must lean on attested forms.  Voice --There were Active and Middle voices in Greek and Sanskrit; but there is an R-Passive in Latin, Celtic, and Hittite. The Middle voice was properly used in a reflexive sense, but it was also used (quite superfluously) with many inherently intransitive verbs.

In the absence of a rule, one is obliged to follow attested forms.  Personal endings --Last but not least, endings, 'nuff said.

So now, in painful detail ...  The suffix -skë-yields pṛccháti = po(r)scit and gacchati = βασκει, as well as inchoatives in Latin, iteratives in Greek and Hittite, and the -ish in English.  Suffixes reconstructed as -yë-, -h¹yë-, -eh¹-, and -eyë-convey a spectrum of stative, fientive, factitive, and causative meanings, but they get mixed-up semantically as well as phonetically, and no branch makes a four-way distinction. (Greek στελλω < στελιω and βαινω < βανιω versus κοϝεω; Latin -venio, -caveo; Sanskrit -ya-, -áya-; and Slavic -i-(и), -ě-(ѣ) all show two-way distinctions; whereas Germanic weak verbs display a single suffix -j-.)  There are further denominative verbs bearing the widespread suffix -ā-< eh². Hittite uses the manifestly laryngeal suffix -ahh-on denominative verbs.  Many (but not all) Class-6 verbs in Sanskrit, characterized by their accented thematic vowel, are nasalized in the Latin fashion: limpáti = rumpit and piṁçáti = piŋk-te = pingit, but not tudáti = tundit.  There is some correlation between the use of Class-7 nasal infixes in Sanskrit and nasal infixes in Latin: rinákti = linquit, chinátti = scindit, bhinátti = findit, pinásti = pinsit, bhunákte = fungitur. (Given the paucity of examples, the statistical significance of this correlation bears further analysis.)  With few exceptions, the nasal suffix applied to CVC roots in Sanskrit & Greek is -nu-, but with CV(H) roots -nā-or simply -n-(e.g., φθινει, κλινει, κτεινει). The suffix -nācould alternatively be regarded as an infix: CVnéH. These elements have no discernable meaning.  The Slavonic suffix -нѫ-(nǫ) attests *non, but Lithuanian -nuo-attests *nō. (Modern Slavic languages pronounce -nǫ-as -nu-, but don't be fooled.) These suffixes are used exclusively on perfective verbs.  The Germanic languages use nasal suffixes on a few denominative verbs, signifying toact-like-a-(noun) and to-become-(adjective).  Hittite uses an infix -nin-and a suffix -nu-, both with causative significance.  Primary endings were used with the Present and Future Indicative and also the Subjunctive; secondary endings with the Imperfect and the Optative.  Athematic roots or suffixes may add either énti or ṇti (written .ńti) in the 3rd-pl.  There may have been a distinction between the 2nd-dual and 3rd-dual endings, but idiosyncratic variations among languages frustrate identification of the vowel. Those languages that preserve the secondary endings of the dual contrast them as follows: Sanskrit tham/tām, and Greek τον/την, but Slavonic flips the contrast to ta/te < *tō/te.  The optional final (n) on 1st-pl and 1st-dual secondary endings is modeled on Greek μεν and Hittite weni, but Sanskrit omits it.  The S-aorist endings employed in various languages are highly idiosyncratic. Vedic and Slavonic suggest that the 2nd-sg and 3rd-sg may not have borne any ending at all, but Classical Sanskrit and Greek inserted vowels to make ss and st easier to pronounce. The tense sign could also be combined with Perfect endings to yield sa, sta, se, ... ser.  Sanskrit invented Middle forms for the S-Aorist and the Perfect, but they have no support from Greek. One daring claim of the Rix-Cowgill theory contends that telic verbs (i.e., those that express actions with natural endpoints) tended to form root aorists, whereas atelic verbs tended to form root presents, and that the nasal elements in the present and the sigmatic element in the aorist served the purpose of aspect-switching. By this token, nasalized presents should go with root aorists, and root presents with S-aorists. (It should be understood that the original root formations eventually became thematic.)

Present-Tense

Aorist and Perfect Forms of a Model

Participles and Verbal Nouns

In his last published work, Lexikon der Indogermanischen Verben, the late Helmut Rix was more circumspect than others who try to speak in his name. James Clackson, for one, misuses the LIV data to mount a flawed defense of the claim in question. He tallies the data and notes, "Nasal infix presents of the type linekʷti are overwhelmingly found beside root aorist formations." However, he neglects to tally the counter-examples in order to establish that infixed presents are disproportionately found beside root aorists. And yet he dares to conclude, "The nasal infix is used in late PIE to form imperfective present stems from telic verbs."

Consider the data: Infixed presents are abundant in Latin, but not in Sanskrit. If we arrange the pedigreed verbs (excluding those with V-suffixed and reduplicated perfects) to look for correlations, we see that Latin data tend to refute Clackson's first statement. Do you perceive a correlation between verb classes and Aktionsart? I do not.

LATIN

DECLENSION OF NOUNS

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 Stem classes and case endings --There are two distinct declensions. The athematic declension encompasses I, U, A, and consonantal ("C") stems, and the thematic or O-stem declension, which has idiosyncratic case endings.  Accent and gradation --Current theory maintains that the athematic declension employed kinetic accent and dynamic vowel grade. The evidence is contradictory and confusing, because recorded languages have generally fixed the position of the accent, although they may show persistent vowel gradation. In deference to current consensus, we follow paradigms that allow for these phenomena.  Gender --the joy of sex. A majority of inanimate nouns are masculine by default, but derivational suffixes determine gender. Trees and insects tend to be feminine, but substances tend to be neuter. Things of nature are feminine (e.g., the Earth, Light, Night) when personified as a goddess.  The nom-sg ending on R, L, M, N, and A-stems (sonants) is generally suppressed, but compensatory lengthening takes place: tors > tōr, etc.  Recorded languages struggle to make distinctions among the nom-sg, gen-sg, and nom-pl endings --all three being variations upon es/os/s. Kinetic accent and/or dynamic gradation help to distinguish the gen-sg.  The gen-sg ending, generically written ës, is realized in various grades, and even in null grade: évës > eus, éyës > eis.  The loc-sg ending i is thought to be a late development, and it never draws the kinetic accent, hence udéni vice udní ("in the water").  The nom-pl ending oi employed in Italo-Celtic and Greek was presumably borrowed from the pronominal declension. Latin seems to have had provincial dialects that favored ōs < oes over ī < oi.

Reconstructed Case Endings

Case

 The inst-pl ending was simplified from oibhis to ōis at some stage. The former appears abundantly in Vedic texts, but the latter is attested in many branches.  The dat/abl-pl ending is almost too similar to the inst-pl ending, but Germanic and Slavic have -m-wherever Sanskrit and Italo-Celtic have -bh-. One school of thought argues that the dat-pl ending was properly mos, and the inst-pl ending bhis. (This theory is not half so amusing as my own waggish idea that the substitution was due to a stuffed-up nose.

As the Elephant's Child said to the Crocodile who stretched his nose into a modern trunk in Rudyard Kipling's story, "You are hurtig be.")  The inst-sg ending is ostensibly nothing but an elongated vowel, but instrumental constructs with bhi yield Greek φι(ν) and Slavic ом(ь).  The abl-sg ending et or ed is attested by Hittite it. It is applied to all five stem classes in Old Latin, but only to the O-stem declension in Sanskrit.

Kinetic Accent and Dynamic Gradation in Athematic Declensions

Strong Form Weak Form

Father patér- patr-ʹ Brother bhrāʹter- bhrāʹtr- Tree (F) dréu- dru-ʹ Wood (N) dóru dórv- Sky dyéu- div-ʹ Ship naHéu- naHu-ʹ Son suHnéu- suHnu-ʹ Dog çvón- çun-ʹ Door dvór- dur-ʹ Earth dhéĝhom- (d)ĝhm-ʹ Generic CoʹC- CēʹC- CéuC- CénC- CeC-ʹ CeC-ʹ CuC-ʹ CṇC-ʹ Suffixed CVʹC-os CVʹC-u, i, tu, ti- CVʹC-mṇ CVʹC-tor- CVC-tér- CVʹC-es- CVC-éu, éi, téu, téi- CVC-mén- CVʹC-tor- CVC-tr-ʹ or -tṛʹ- R/N-stem
védor or vód-ṛ védn-or udn-ʹ  O-stems bear static accent, either on the root or the stem.  The NAV cases (except possibly for the acc-pl) are considered "strong" cases. The principle of kinetic accent is that the accent advances toward the end in "weak" cases, but it recedes to the root in the voc-sg.  The professional terminology is designed to bewilder: acrostatic, proterokinetic, hysterokinetic, amphikinetic, etc. Why not say leapfrog?  The "weak" form of U/I-stems is ostensibly CVC-éu, éi, but the suffix gets reduced to ú, í before the endings bhos, bhis, su. The accent is unaffected.  In Greek and Sanskrit, contra Ringe, the "weak" form of the suffix tér is tr-ʹ before vowels, but tṛʹ-before bhos, bhis, su.  Theories about water, and about R/N-stems generally, are in flux. Recent theories, subject to incessant revision, argue for a distinction between water the substance and bodies thereof, but the newer theories are not necessarily less fishy.  A good reference on this topic is Don Ringe's From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, but his presentation is doctrinaire, and the reader should take the details with salt. (He was probably wrong to conflate tree with wood.) Wikipedia, that dubious modern oracle, throws its weight behind Ringe's paradigms.

The application of these rules to "tree" and "wood" --key words in the tales --is tricky. Sanskrit and Greek make a clear distinction: drus vs dāru, and δρῦς vs δόρυ. Sanskrit declines these nouns as regular U-stems, but Greek declines them differently from U-stem adjectives, which are included for comparison. Neither language shows kinetic accent on these words. The declension of "sky" demonstrates kinetic accent and dynamic gradation more clearly, and the classical languages agree closely.

Declensions of "Tree

MINI-LEXICON

The standard reference work of Indo-European lexicography is Julius Pokorny's hypertrophic Indogermanisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, which lists 2,222 suspected roots. Many users conclude that Pokorny set low thresholds for phonetic and semantic matching. It is difficult to discredit any given entry by objective criteria, but many of them are very doubtful.

An even more fantastical work is Calvert Watkins's American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots. The few of his fanciful etymologies that can be verified serve to make the point that a given root can spawn derivatives with very diverse meanings.

Unlike these bloated horrors, my conservative mini-lexicon is confined to roughly 700 adequately attested roots, plus variants and derivatives. It is apparent that Pokorny chose to err on the side of including doubtful items, whereas I choose to exclude them. I rate the items in terms of the number of major branches of the Indo-European tree that attest them, but there is no sound way to identify and discount inter-branch loans.

I have split off the most obvious Greco-Latin loanwords, but roughly one-quarter of the remaining items are thinly attested, being found in no more than two branches. Such items are particularly suspect when the branches in question are in geographic or cultural contact. It is even evident that the Balto-Slavic branch must have been in cultural contact with the Indo-Persian branch at some point.

A significant number of the thinly attested roots are found only in Greek and Sanskrit, which are thought to constitute an eastern sub-family on account of their virtually identical verb systems. These items should be deemed dialectical. Some even more thoroughly attested items are suspect for a different reason. Just as animals have legs, so do their names, and plants can travel too. Such items should be deemed post-P.I.E. Wanderwoerter unless their distribution is nearly universal.

Roots found in only one branch are effectively lost, because there is no sound way to distinguish them from roots newly coined within that branch. There is no way to know how many valid roots have been dismissed for lack of a second attestation.

It is possible to tell the damnedest lies with statistics, and bloated compilations that include unknown amounts of spurious material furnish the raw material for mischief. One might hope that a well-scrubbed database of indisputably inherited roots would provide reliable material for statistical investigations of phonological or grammatical phenomena. For example, it might be possible to test selected claims of laryngeal theory and the Rix-Cowgill theory of verb classes by examining inter-branch correlations.

It is difficult to make the proper phonetic distinctions between quasi-homophonous roots. The working vocabularies of recorded languages typically comprise 3,000 roots, but the monosyllabic template does not generate quite so many distinct roots unless all essential phonetic distinctions are taken into account. Unfortunately, the key phonetic distinctions have sometimes been effaced in the attesting branches. Distinctions among pure vowels, among velar sub-classes, and among aspiration states are most frequently elusive.

It is also difficult to make the proper semantic distinctions among quasi-synonymous roots. There are too many alternative terms for fire, flame, and burning; for grasping, capture, taking, and having; and so forth.

Topical arrangement highlights the preoccupations of P.I.E. culture: family, farming, fishing, food, fire, fighting, religion, rule, and crafts. The working vocabulary of the proto-language must have been rich in specialized terms, but only a fraction of the specialized terms can be recovered.

The full mini-lexicon takes the form of two downloadable Excel files: (1) sorted root list without supporting attestations, and (2) a topically arranged spreadsheet of attestations, along with my snide, amateurish, and speculative comments. I am perpetually revising these files as I come to regret my prior follies.1 A simplified version of the root list is appended below, without notes on reliability or distribution.

Sorted Root List

  and she gave an apple to the man, and he bit. doHt-qʷe sa ablom vīróei bheids(t)-qʷe sos  bheid-s(t) = he bit --strong-grade S-aorist of root *bhi(n)d > Sanskrit abhaitsīt  bhidh-et = he bit --alternative weak-grade aorist > Latin fīdit and they saw, and they knew their nakedness, ute videtëm ĝnoHtëm-qʷe svom nogʷ.tum and they sewed clothes from leaves. sivetëm-qʷe vestra apo dhalyobhos  siv-etëm = they sewed  ves-tra = clothes --acc-pl (N)  apo dhalyobhos = from leaves --abl-pl

  and I have been afraid, because I am naked, and so I have hidden." bhebhoia qʷosmoet nogʷ.tos esmi ute kekudha  bhe-bhoi-Ha = I have been afraid --1-sg perfect of root *bhei  qʷosmoet = because, why? --abl-sg of extended root *qʷosmo  esmi = I am --1st-sg present  ke-kudh-Ha = I have hidden --1st-sg perfect > Greek κεκυθα And God said, "Who hath told thee that thou art naked? voqʷet Deivós -qʷis dedoiçe qʷod nogʷ.tos essi  qʷis = who? (M/F)  qʷod = what? (N)  qʷoteros = which? (M) Hast thou eaten from the forbidden tree?" edesta apo proti-diçtaës druës  ed-es-ta / ed-ed-ta = you have eaten = 2nd-sg perfect of root *ed  diç-taës = commanded --gen-sg (F) And God said to the woman, "What hast thou done?" voqʷet-qʷe Deivós gʷ.náei -qʷod dhedheHta?  dhe-dheH-ta = you have done --2nd-sg perfect (Compare *dhi-dheH-si reduplicated present.) So the woman said, "The serpent hath mislead me, and I have indeed eaten." voqʷet-qʷe gʷéna --apo-dedouke me ogʷhis ute ededa ghe  de-douk-e = he has pulled --3rd-sg perfect of root *deuk > Germanic tŏh / tŏg  ed-ed-a = I have eaten --1st-sg perfect So God said to the serpent, voqʷet-qʷe Deivós ogʷhéyei "As thou hast done this, so thou shalt be lower than the cattle and the beasts. svō-qʷe dhidheHta ute pecévōm ĝhvērōm-qʷe niteros esēsi  ni-ter-os = nether --comparative formed from particle *ni Upon thy belly thou shalt crawl, and humus shalt thou eat, forever. (s)negēsi breusöi edēsi-qʷe (d)ĝhomóm en aivons aivōm  (s)neg-ēsi = thou shalt crawl  bhreusoi / bhreusei = on breast or belly --loc-sg  aivons = ever, aetates, eons --acc-pl from root *ayu / aiv = life, health  en aivons aivōm = εν τοις αιωνας των αιωνων I shall put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy sons and her sons. dusm.n enter gʷénam tve-qʷe dhidheHōmi enter tvons suHtóns svons-qʷe suHtóns  dus-m.n = enmity, badness --acc-sg (N) verbal noun of *dus / dvis  tve = thee  dhi-dheH-ōmi = I shall put --1st-sg present indicative or subjunctive  enter = between (dynamic) --cf. *medhi (static)  tvons ... svons = thy ... his/her --acc-pl of possessive adjectives  suH-tons / suH-nons = sons --acc-pl, participles of *suH = to be fertile He shall step on your head, but thou shalt hurt his heel." tvod kapot ëpi steibēti sperneuti-qʷe svam persnam-au gʷhenēsi  kapot = head --acc-sg (N) --O-grade in NAV cases, E-grade in "weak" cases  epi / opi / ana = upon, onto (dynamic) --with object in accusative  steibh-ēti = he shall step --subjunctive > Greek στειβηι  sper-neu-ti = he spurns --indicative  sper-név-eti = he shall spurn --subjunctive  au = but --enclitic conjunction used to oppose simple elements  persnam = heel --acc-sg  gʷhen-ēsi = thou shalt injure > Sanskrit hanasi, Latin de-fendas And God said to the woman, voqʷet-qʷe Deivós gʷ.náei "I will multiply the pain of the womb, and in pain shalt thou bring forth children. gʷherbhosyo gʷolóm augéyōmi eti sununs gʷoló-bhi tokyēsi  gʷherbhosyo = of the womb --gen-sg  gʷolóm = pain --acc-sg, derived from verbal root *gʷel-yë  gʷoló-bhi = with pain --instrumental construct  tok-y-ēsi = thou shalt bring forth --2nd-sg subjunctive of *tek-yë > Greek τικτηις yet thou shalt love the man, and he shall rule over you." alyo lubhyēsi vīróm ute sos tve reĝēti And God said to the man, voqʷet-qʷe vīróei "Because thou hast listened to the woman, and hast eaten from the tree, qʷosmoet çeçluta gʷénam ededta-qʷe apo druës  çe-çlu-ta = thous hast listened --2nd-sg perfect therefore the humus shall be cursed. tosmoet (d)ĝhomóm dus-diçtom esēti In sharp toil (instr.) thou shalt till forever; aç(r)ū v.r.go-bhi arayēsi en aivons aivōm  aç-u / aç-ru = sharp, acute thorns shall grow from the soil, and thou shalt eat the harvest of the fields. tornoes/oi (d)ĝhomoet augsōnti ute edēsi aĝrosyo karpa  tornoes/oi = thorns --nom-pl  *aĝros connotes a field into animals may be driven, not necessarily arable. In sweat, thou shalt have a share, svëid(r)o-bhi bhunĝēsoi  sveido / svoid-ro = sweat, sudor  bhunĝ-ēsoi / bhrugʷ-ēsoi = thou shalt have a share --2nd-sg middle subjunctive.  Two roots have been confused: (1) Sanskrit bhunákte, Latin fungitur, and (2) Latin fruitur, fructus, Germanic brūkeþ. until thou returnest to the soil dō-qʷom vertēsoi (d)ĝhomóei  dō-qʷom = until --Inversion of *qʷon-dō = when?  vert-ēsoi = thou shalt turn Thou art a human from humus, and to humus thou goest." (d)ĝh.mōn (d)ĝhomoet essi ute (d)ĝhomóm ghe eisi  This elegant pun sounds much better in P.I.E. than in Hebrew. Then the man called the woman Eve, because she is the ancestress of all. ute Hnomnyet vīros gʷenam Hava, qʷosmoet eia toutōm mātēr  The name Hava )חוה( resembles the Hebrew root for life )חי( but could just as easily derive from the P.I.E. root *Hav > Latin avus, Gothic awo. And God gave them garments of hide. ute doHt Deivós tobhōm (s)kutosyo vestra  tobhōm = to them --dat-dual  (s)kutosyo = hide, leather --gen-sg And then he said, "The man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, voqʷet-qʷe -bhebhúve oinoei n.sōm som.los, vesum deusom-qʷe ĝnoHnts  Unredacted polytheism --God is speaking to his sons --more in Chapter VI  bhe-bhuv-e = he has become --perfect > Sanskrit babhūva, Greek πεφυκε  oinoei = to one --dat-sg  n.s-ōm / nos-tr-ōm = of us, of our --cf. Greek `ημων < *ṇsmōm so lest he grab fruit from the tree and become immortal, svō-ne ghrebhnuyēt karpa apo druës ute bhevoit-qʷe ne-m.r.tós  ghrebh-nu-yē-t = that he might grab --optative expresses potentiality  Synonyms: *ghrebh = la(m)bh = ghe(n)d = em  Another pun: Each of these words connotes both grasp and understand. but rather live forever, gʷeivoit-au en aivons let us drive him from the garden into the fields." aĝoimë(n) tom ghordhoet en aĝróns And God placed a guardian in the east, stolet-qʷe speçtōr.m auströi  aĝ-oi-më(n) = let us drive --1st-pl optative > Latin agāmus  *aĝ originally referred to driving goats, hence *aĝyos > αιξ  speç-tōr = guardian --agent of *speç-yë  aus-tr-oi / aus-tr-ei = east --loc-sg, derived from verb root *aus = burn carrying a torch, and barring the path to the tree. bhloĝom bherons --anti-staHns-qʷe druéi pont.m  anti = in front, ante  bhloĝom = torch, φλοξ --also related to English black (charred)  pont.m = path --This word traveled far. The Germanic branch received it in a form that clearly bypassed Grimm's Law. The Sanskrit form is panthan.

  Adam and Eve lay together and conceived a son. Atta Hava-qʷe son-çoionto ute suHnéum ĝneHtëm  Atta = Adam, Daddy  Hava = Eve, Ancestress --possible related to Hebrew חוה  son-çoi-onto = they lay together --3rd-pl middle of weak-grade aorist. (This is a euphemism. The plain term for sexual intercourse is *yëbh / yobh-yö.)  suH-néum / suH-tóm / suH-nóm = son --acc-sg, from root *suH = to give birth  ĝneH-tëm / ĝon-etëm = conceived, begot --thematic or athematic aorist And Eve said --I have acquired a son from God. voqʷet-qʷe Hava --qʷeqʷriHa suHnéum deivóet  The original Hebrew text uses the verb QNH )קנה( connoting purchase, but the Septuagint and Vulgate translate it as εκτησαμην < κταομαι and possedi. The name QYN )קין( seems to be connected, but the medial Y seems out of place.  qʷe-qʷriH-Ha = I have bought --1st-sg perfect of root *qri(n)H > English hired And Eve named the son Cain after the bitter price in the garden ute Hnomnyet Hava suHneum Qʷoinom ap' açréus qʷoinoet ghordhoi  qʷoinom = price, ποινη, цѣна --acc-sg (M) And in the second summer, she bore his brother. ute anteröi samröi-qʷe bhrātr.m toket  bhrāʹtr.m = brother --acc-sg  tok-et = she bore --weak-grade aorist of root *tek > Greek ετεκε (The literal meaning of this verb is to flow from a source.) And Eve named the brother Abel after the sweet fruit in the garden. ute Hnomnyet Hava bhrātr.m Ablom apo svadéus karpoet ghordhöi  The name Abel )הבל( has no known Hebrew root.  ablom / amlom / mālom = apple --acc-sg  Apples are native to the region around the Black Sea.

  voqʷet-qʷe Deivós -bhrātrës esar ĝhvéyeti pibusës aratóet  esar < esH-R/N = blood --nom-sg (N), declines like *vod-R/N  ĝhvéyeti / ĝheveti = call out > Sanskrit hvayati / huvati, Russian зовёт  pib-us-ës = having drunk --gen-sg same as abl-sg, to agree with antecedent -perfect active participle of root *poH, commonly reduplicated as *pib / bib Whenever thou shalt till the field, it shall not feed thee. qʷon-dō aratóm kersēsi, ton-dō tve ne paHyēti  qʷon-dō ... ton-dō = when ... then  kers-ē-si = thou shalt till --root *kers > English harrow, horse.  paH-yē-ti = it shall feed --athematic subjunctive resembles optative  Irony: *paHyēti echoes *paHstor. So thou shalt flee and wander around the earth. ute bheugēsi ambhi-ĝhenĝheHyēsi-qʷe dheĝhom(m)  bheug-ē-si = thou shalt flee > Latin fugas, Greek φευγηις (dialectical root)  ĝhe(n)-ĝheH-yē-si = thou shalt walk > Sanskrit jahāyāsi, Gothic gangais, cf. Baltic root ženg

  Men had multiplied on the ground, vīroes/oi (d)ĝhémi avaugér and had begotten daughters, ĝeĝonér-qʷe dhughátr.ns and the sons of God had seen ute deivósyo suHnéves vevidér that the daughters of men were fair, qʷod vīro(n)om dhughátres kalyaes and had desired them and chosen wives ute lelasér ĝeĝusér-qʷe gʷénans and begotten Nepotes. ĝeĝonér-qʷe nepöt.ns They were the mighty ones. toi Hneres bhuvont  av-aug-ér = they had multiplied --3rd-pl perfect, in anterior (pluperfect) sense  dhughátr.ns / dhúktr.ns = daughters --acc-pl  ĝe-ĝon-ér = they had begotten  ve-vid-ér = they had seen  le-las-ér = they had [sexually] desired (Root *las-yë yields Sanskrit lašati, Greek λιλαιεται, λαστη.)  ĝe-ĝus-ér = they had tasted, chosen  nepot.ns / nepet.ns = grandsons, nephews --acc-pl (Sanskrit treats the acc-pl as a "weak" case, hence possibly E-grade.)  toi / yoi = they --Demonstrative and relative usage varies by branch.  Hneres = ανηρ, nara --connotes strength (viz. Gaelic nert) Then said the Lord, "Man is of flesh and blood.nūn-qʷe voqʷet Deivós -vīrós krovyos voqʷ-et = he said --weak-grade aorist He is mortal, but he shall live for a hundred years." m.r.tós esti alyo gʷeivēti ç.ntom yērons  m.r.-tós --The distinction between dead and mortal is routinely confused.And God saw that earth-men and sky-men were enemies, ut' vevoide Deivós qʷod (d)ĝhomikoes/oi deivikoes/oi-qʷe dusmónes bhuvont  (d)ĝhom-ik-oes = earth-men --Alternatively: *ĝdhom.loi > χθαμαλοι  deiv-ik-oes = sky-men, god-men  dus-món-es = enemies So he was angry, and he said, ut' anĝhstor voqʷet-qʷe  anĝh-stoi = was angry, anxious --3rd-sg middle S-aorist  (Schleicher's fable uses *agh-nu-toi in the present tense.)Ishall destroy the earth-men and beasts, crawling things and birds. noç(e)yōmi vīróns (d)ĝhomikons ĝhvēr.ns-qʷe (s)negons Hvéins-qʷe  noç(e)y-ōmi = I shall destroy But God loved Noah. alyo Nahu-potim Deivós lubhyet  Root *naHu < **neh²u --possible source of Hebrew name NWḤ )נוח( > Greek ναῦς, νηϝ-; Sanskrit nāus, nāv- Nahu-potis = Noah, ship-master  lubh-y-et = he loved --Imperfect The Earth stank into God's nose, (s)mordet dheĝhōm Deivóei en nasom  (s)mord-et = stank --weak-grade aorist of root *(s)merd > Latin merda  Alternatively *pū, but this root can also connote purify. > Latin putēre and putāre, Sanskrit pūyati and puňāti  en nāsom = into the nose --acc-sg and he saw that blood had flowed on the Earth. vevoide-qʷe qʷod krovis susréve (d)ĝhemi  su-srév-e = it had flowed --perfect of root *sreu > Latin rivus  krovis / esar = blood Then God said to Noah, ut' voqʷet Deivós Nahu-potéyei I am thinking of putting an end to all living things, tong(e)yō antum gʷeivons toutons  tong(e)y-ō = I am thinking --1st-sg present indicative  antum = end --acc-sg of supine (Root is homophonous with *an = breathe) for the earth is full of violence. svō dheĝhōm gʷhentéus p.lH.na  gʷhen-téu-s = of violence killing, injury --gen-sg of supine > Latin de-fensū  p.lH.na = full --nom-sg (F) --vocalized as Latin plēna, Sanskrit pūrňī Painting by Simon de Myle (circa 1570) So make a ship from (with) wood, qʷere nūn nāhéum dórū-bhi  nāhéum / nāv.m = ship, navis --acc-sg, from verbal root *(s)naH = swim  dórū-bhi = with wood --instrumental construct and smear it with glue. limpe-qʷe gleio-bhi  limpe = smear --imperative  Synonyms: *ongʷ, *selbh / selp The beam should be 300 cubits long, and 30 cubits high. bhalanĝs tri-ç.ntom olénans d.lH.ĝhos syēt, tri-dec.m-qʷe olénans ordhos  bhalanĝs / bhalaĝnos = beam --nom-sg  d.lH.ĝhos = long --vocalized as Sanskrit dīrghas, but Greek δολιχος  dec.m = ten  olénans = cubits --acc-pl (F)  ordhos = high, arduus, ορθος --nom-sg Cover it with a thatch, and put in a door. (s)keve (s)tegō-bhi, dheHe-qʷe dhvor.m  (s)kev-e = cover --imperative  (s)tegō-bhi = with a thatch --instrumental construct  dhvor.m = door --acc-sg > Latin fōrum (Theory predicts O-grade in the NAV cases.) I shall flood the land to kill all living things, upo-plevōmi t.r.sam ute ktenyōmi gʷeivons toutons  Why is God speaking in the Subjunctive instead of the Future? The Subjunctive expresses what shall be, by way of injunction, whereas the Future expresses what will be, by way of prediction. But God is in a unique position. His will shall be.  upo-plev-ōmi = I shall flood --1st-sg subjunctive of root *plev-éyë (Compound modeled upon German über-flutet, Sanskrit upa-plavati.)  en-unéd-emi = I shall inundate --1st-sg subjunctive of *u(n)d / ved, with the Sanskrit-style nasal infix: unédmi  kten-y-ōmi = I shall kill > Greek κτεινωμι  toutons = all (especially people) --acc-pl But you will swim on top of the water, tu au udéni uperi (s)naHyēsi  udéni = in/on the water --loc-sg, weak grade of root *vod-R/N  (s)naH-yē-si = thou shalt swim --2nd-sg subjunctive of root *(s)naH together with wife, and sons, and daughters-in-law. gʷ.nā som suHnubhís-qʷe snusabhís-qʷe  som / kom = together with  gʷ.nā = with wife --inst-sg  suHnubhís = with sons --inst-pl (accent on ending)  snusabhís = with daughters-in-law (accent on ending) Of every living thing, bring a pair into the ship, so that they should not die: bhere touto(n)ōm gʷeivo(n)ōm yugóm en nāheum, svō-ne m.r.toes/oi syēnt  yugom = yoke, pair, couple --acc-sg (N)  The synthetic form *mor-y-oi-ëntoi is unspeakably cumbersome. Horses, ducks, geese, and even hens had not been domesticated by 5800 BCE. Herewith the likely manifest of *peçeves worth saving from the rising waters ...  aĝyos / capros / ghaidos = goat  ovis / agʷnos = sheep, lamb  gʷous / stauros = cow, steer  porços / sūs = pork, sow  çvōn = hound, canis of walking and running, flying and crawling things, ĝhenĝhontōm dromontōm-qʷe, petontōm serpontōm-qʷe  ...ont-ōʹm --gen-pl of present active participle  dromons = running  petons = flying of male and female animals, wild and tame. orĝhilōm dhēlevōm-qʷe, ĝhverōm damo(n)ōm-qʷe  The gen-pl ending does not always draw the accent. O-stems bear static accent.  dhēmena = female (sucklable)  dhēlévia = female (with nipples)  orĝhilos = male (with ορχιες)  peselos = male (with penis)  v.rsen = male (Greek αρσην)  damos = tame animal Bring your food: grains and beans and fruits and roots. bhere yusterom paHtum -ĝ.rH.na bhabha-qʷe karpa vrāda-qʷe  yus-ter-om / vos-ter-om = your --acc-sg, comparative used as possessive adj.  yusmōm = your --gen-pl > Greek `υμων  bhabha = beans --nom-pl  vrāda = roots, worts, rhiza And Noah did what God had directed. dheHt Nahu-potis qʷod dedoiçe Deivós Then God commanded Noah, ute diçset Deivós Nahu-potéyei  deiç-set = he said --strong-grade S-aorist "Go into the ship, with your household, ité nāheum vëiçō som  veiços / voiços = household  domos / demos = house, people I have seen that thou art righteous. vevoida qʷod rektós essi  rek-tós / regús = righteous Bring with thee seven pairs of all clean animals, bhere tve-som çventōm sept.m yugá  çventós = pure --from root *çundh (cultic)  putós = pure --from root *pū (cultic)  niqʷtós = washed --from root *ni(n)gʷ  klustós = washed --from root *klud and one pair of unclean animals, ne-çvento(n)ōm-qʷe oinom yugóm and seven pairs of the birds, Hveyōm-qʷe sept.m yugá male and female, v.rsen dhēlu-qʷe  Even birds must have had nipples back then.  The Septuagint says αρσεν και θῆλυ, without case endings. that their kinds should live on the cleansed earth. ute gʷeivoiënt ĝenesa niqʷtai (d)ĝhemi  niqʷtai = washed --loc-sg (F) to agree Earth (F)  ĝen-es-a = kinds, genera --nom-pl of abstract neuter *ĝen-ës  gʷeiv-oi-ënt = that they should live --optative > Latin vivant The clouds will bring rain to the earth for many days and nights, ombhroes/oi (d)ĝhméi v.r.sam bherōnti monĝhons dinons nokt.ns-qʷe  monĝhons = many --acc-pl  poluns = poly --acc-pl --from root *p.lH. = to fill  v.r.sam = rain --acc-sg (F) > Latin rōrem, Greek ϝερσην, Sanskrit varšam and all living things shall die. ute moryōntoi gʷeivoes/oi toutoes/oi  mor-y-ōntoi = they shall die --subjunctive middle And Noah did what the Lord had commanded. ute dheHt Nahu-potis qʷod dedoiçe Deivós The clouds came, and the rain came down, and the sea rose, ombhroes/oi gʷēnyont v.r.sa-qʷe ni-gʷomet mori-qʷe orset  or-set = it rose --active in Greek and Sanskrit, passive in Latin and the earth became invisible, dheĝhōm-qʷe ne-vidmena bhuvet  vid-men-a = visible --present passive participle of root *veid  bhuv-et = it became, fuit --weak-grade aorist but the ship swam. nāheus-au snaHs(t)  snaH-s(t) = it swam > Greek ενευσε, Sanskrit asnāsīt  pleu-s(t) = it floated > Greek επλευσε (active voice)  pleu-sto = it floated > Sanskrit aplošta (middle voice) The sea conquered the whole earth mori solvom dheĝhom(m) soĝhet  solvom = whole, entire --acc-sg > Latin sōlum, Sanskrit sarvam  soĝh-et = took possession > Greek εσχε (active voice)  sek-seto = conquered --Sanskrit asakšata (middle voice) and covered the mountains twenty cubits deep. (s)toget gʷorans viçënti olénans bhudhnō  (s)tog-et / (s)teg-set = hid, covered > English thatch  (s)kov-et = hid, covered > English sky  gʷorans = mountains --acc-pl (F)  viçënti = twenty And all living things on the dry land perished, moryontoi gʷeivontes toutoes/oi tersai and beasts, birds, and serpents were no more. ne bhuvont-qʷe ĝhvēres avéyes-qʷe serpontes-qʷe But God remembered Noah and the cattle, alyo memenet Deivós Nahu-potim peçéum-qʷe  me-men-et = he remembered --reduplicated aorist so a wind came, and the clouds left, ut' ventós gʷomet ombhroi-au liqʷont  ventós / veH-tós / véH-tor = wind  liqʷ-ont = they left --weak grade aorist > Greek ελιπε, Sanskrit aricat, but Latin līquit shows strong grade and after a hundred days, the sea subsided, ç.ntom dinons poster ni-sdetoi mori  ni-sd-etoi = sat down --weak-grade aorist (middle voice) and the ship sat upon a high place. ute sodetoi nāheus ëp' ordhóm  ëpi = upon > Latin ob And in the tenth month, the mountains appeared. ute deçmöi meHnesi bhanont gʷoraes  bhan-ont = they appeared --from root *bhan > Greek εφηνε  bhaH-sont = they appeared --from root *bhaH > Sanskrit abhāsīt Now Noah let loose a bird, nūn luset Hveim Nahu-potis  luet / lūset = he let loose --alternative aorists from root *lū > Greek ελυσε but the bird nested upon a dry place and did not return, alyo ni-sdetoi Hveis ëpi seus(k)om ne vortetoi-qʷe  seusom / seuskom / sesqʷom = dry --acc-sg  vort-etoi = he returned so he let loose a second bird, ut' anterom Hvéim luset but this one returned carrying a leaf, sos au vortetoi bholyom bherons  sos / yos = he so he knew that the sea had left. ut' vevoide qʷod liqʷet mori So Noah and his wife and sons and wives and cattle left the ship, ute liqʷont nāheum Nahu-potis gʷéna-qʷe suHnéves-qʷe snusáes-qʷe peçéves-qʷe and God commanded, "Go forth and multiply and fill the earth." diçset-qʷe Deivós --ité augsete-qʷe p.lH.néHte-qʷe dheĝhom(m)  p.l.néH-te --with nasal infix > Sanskrit pṛnāta  p.lH.-ete = fill --2-pl imperative > Latin com-plēte Then Noah built an altar, and made burnt sacrifices, ute Nahu-potis yago-stëlom dhikset dhūméyet-qʷe  yago = worship, hagio --combining form  stelom / stolom = stela, stall, stool  dhūm-éy-et = he smoked --causative-denominative verb  Terms for construction: *dhi(n)gh applies to mortar, and *teks to carpentry or textiles, but *str_ng(h) seems less specific and spawns diverse variants in many branches: strike, strong, stringo/strictus, στραγγω, stru(v)o/structus. and God having smelled the pleasant smoke, Deivós-qʷe svādum dhūmóm (od)odvōs  (od)od-vōs = having smelled --nom-sg of past active participle of root *od he said in his breast, "I shall not flood the dry land again, and kill the living things voqʷet-qʷe bhreusöi -n' anterom upo-plevōmi tersam ktenyōmi-qʷe gʷeivons Men are evil, but the earth will always remain, vīróes/oi duséves s.ńti, alyo dheĝhōm manēti en aivons  s.ńti = they are --3rd-pl of athematic root *es, with weak grade in plural  man-ēt = it shall remain when you sow and harvest, summer and winter." qʷon-dō (se)seHēsi karpēsi-qʷe samróm ĝheimróm-qʷe  (se)seH-ēs = thou sowest --2nd-sg subjunctive of root *seseH > Latin seres  ĝheim-rom = winter --acc-sg, with optional suffix to match *sam-rom So Noah became the first tiller of the fields. ute Nahu-potis p.r.mos aratōr bhuvet Now God said, "Let us make a pact: nūn-qʷe voqʷet Deivós --paçoimedha  The following verbs are all 1st-pl middle optatives:  paç-oi-medha = let us make a pact > Latin pangāmus, Greek πηγνυοιμεθα, but Sanskrit paç and Gothic fah attest unvoiced *ç.  bheidh-oi-medha = let us trust > Latin fīdāmus, Greek πειθοιμεθα Do not eat bloody flesh, n' edete krovyom memsom  krovyom = raw, cruor, κρεϝας  memsom = meat, mensa Lest the blood shed by you be remembered as a sin unto you. svō-ne yusbhis ĝhu(s)tóm esar aghesē yusbhos smeroitor  aghesē / agesē = sin, ache, awe --inst-sg of abstract neuters. (These two roots have been thoroughly confused. English ache < acan matches Greek αγος and Sanskrit āga phonetically, whereas awe < agis matches αχος and aghas.)  ĝhu-tom / ĝhus-tom = poured --acc-sg (N) of past passive participle. (The root could be either *ĝheu or *ĝhu(n)d. The former yields Greek χεϝ and Sanskrit hu; the latter Latin fund and Germanic giut.)  smeroitor / me-mor-oi-tor = it might be remembered --3rd-sg passive optative > Latin memorātur, Sanskrit smareta (middle voice) And I too shall not flood the land again eĝo eti n' anterō upo-plevōmi tersam When you shall see the bow after the rain, qʷon-dō poster v.r.sam bhugóm veidēte  bhugóm = bow --acc-sg Then it shall be a token of the covenant." ton-dō paçtéus deiçm.n esēti  deiç-m.n = token --nom-sg (N) of verbal noun TOWER OF BABEL (Genesis XI) Mohenjo Daro (above) dates from 2600 BCE. The authors of Genesis may have imagined the tower as a Ziggurat, but the Ziggurat of Ur (at left) was not constructed until 2100 BCE --long after the linguistic diaspora. The men of the earth knew one language but few words. (dh)ĝhomikoes/oi oinam denĝhúm pava-au vërdha ĝnoHnt  pava = few --acc-pl (N)  verdha / vordha = words, verba --acc-pl (N)  ĝnoH-ënt = they knew --athematic aorist > Greek εγνωεν They migrated from the east, and they settled in the plain. t.rH.sont austroet viçsënt-qʷe p.l.tum  t.rH.-sënt = they transited > Sanskrit atārišīt  p.l.tum / p.l.H-tum = plain, flat --acc-sg > Greek πλατυς, Sanskrit pṛtus  veiç-sënt = they settled --strong-grade S-aorist of root *veiç > Sanskrit avekšīt And formed clay and baked it and said, gloiom dheiksënt peqʷsënt-qʷe voqʷont-qʷe  dheik-sënt = they formed --S-aorist of root *dhi(n)gh > adhaikšīt, finxit  peqʷ-sënt = they baked --S-aorist of root *pëq > apakšīt, coxit (Note that Latin converts *penqʷe > quinque, *peqʷ > coqu in P...Q contexts.) "Come, let us build ourselves a city, gʷemete dhidheHyēmë(n) vestum and a tower with its head in the heavens, ordhom bhorĝhóm-qʷe kapetē nebhessu that we may become famous, ute clutoes/oi bhevoimë lest we be scattered over the earth. svō-ne st.rH.toes/oi syēmë(n) t.rH. dheĝhom(m) The Priest-King of Mohenjo Daro  dhi-dheH-yē-më(n) = let us make, let us do --1st-pl optative > Greek τιθεῖμεν  vestum = city, αστυ --acc-sg, supine of *ves = to remain, dwell > English was  bhorĝhóm = tower, burg, forctis --acc-sg (M)  kapetē = head, caput --inst-sg, E-grade in "weak" cases > Latin capite  st.rH.-toes / st.rH.-toi = scattered --past passive participle of root *st.rH. (Skeleton root gets vocalized as Old Latin strātoi, but Sanskrit stīrtās.)  The compound passive (participle + *es) ultimately adopted in Latin is less cumbersome than the synthetic form: *st.rH.-nu-yē-medha Then the gods went down to see the man-made city and the tower nūn-qʷe niter eisënt Deivói derçtévei vīrōis qʷ.r.tóm vestum bhorĝhóm-qʷe  ni-ter = down, nether  ei-sënt = they went --strong-grade S-aorist > Greek ηισαν, Sanskrit aišus  derç-tévei = to see --dat-sg of supine from root *derç And they said, "Behold, they are one people, voqʷont-qʷe -derçete, oina touta s.ńti  touta = people, ethnos > Latin tōtus, Old English þēod, ... and they speak one language, oinam denĝhúm veqʷonti  Tongue is feminine when used in the specific sense of language.  veq-onti = they speak --3rd-pl present > Doric ϝεποντι, Latin vocant they have become like us, and this is only the first of their deeds; n.sbhos som.loes/oi bhebhuvér eti svo(n)ōm dheHmenōm p.r.ma esti  dheHmenōm = of deeds --gen-pl > Greek θεματων  bhe-bhuv-ér = they have become --3rd-pl perfect > Latin fuērunt whatever they want to do, they attain. qʷod dheHtum volyonti, tod dheHtum maghonti  dheH-tum = the doing --acc-sg of supine  vol-y-onti = they want --3rd-pl present of root *vël-yö  magh-onti = they can, they may --3rd present of root *magh > Greek μηχ...  nonç-ontoi = they attain, "carry off" --3rd-pl middle present of root *no(n)ç Come, let us climb down and fell the tower, gʷemoimë(n) --ni-skandoimë(n) çadyoimë(n)-qʷe bhorĝhóm  skand-oi-më(n) = let us climb > Latin scandamus, Sanskrit skandema  çad-y-oi-më(n) = let us fell > Latin caedamus, Sanskrit śadayama and mix-up language to the humans, miskoimë(n)-qʷe denĝhúm (d)ĝhomikoibhos  misk-oi-më(n) = let us mix that one may not grasp the speech of others." ute ne ghrebhnuyēt oinos alyo(n)ōm voqʷóm So the gods scattered the humans through the earth, to east and west, ute st.rH.sënt deivoes/oi (d)ĝhomikons t.rH. dheĝhom(m) --austroei vesqʷeroei-qʷe  st.rH.-sënt = they scattered > Greek εστορσε  st.rH.-et --alternative aorist > Sanskrit astarat and left the city.

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  Dyeu-páter meĝistos essi  bhlaĝh / bhlagh = to bless, brahman, flamen, благо  an(?)lo / an(?)mo = breath, soul, wind  tom Sont.m = him who is (acc) = YHWH )יהוה(  Dĝhems-pótis = Earth Master (gen-nom)  Dyeus-patēr = Sky Father (nom-nom) tu lukē-bhi çlevesē-qʷe vestós  luk = light  çlu-ës = glory, κλεος, слава  ves = to clothe, vest tu dyeum tetonta (tetenesta) svō skevom  tetonta = tetenesta = tendisti  skevo = covering, sky  svō / svē = like, as --Syntax varies when used as preposition. Greek casts its object into same case as the referent, whereas Latin uses the ablative of specification. tu bh.l.ĝnons (trabens) vod.r (s)tetogta (tetegesta)  bh.l.ĝ-no = beam, Balken, fulcrum, φαλαγξ, болозно  trab = beam, thorpe  (s)teg = to cover, hide  (s)tetogta = tetegesta = tegisti tu nebhesa yunéksi svō rotom  yu(n)g = to yoke  roto = chariot tu HveHtorbhis ambhi-persi svō petrobhis  vē-tor / vē-to / ven-to = wind (either subject or object of veH = to blow)  perH = pass --reduplicated in Sanskrit  pet-ro = wing tva v.rH.dha HveHtōr bherti (...)  v.rH.dho = verb, word, ϝρημα  Synonyms connoting to carry or transport: bher, tol-yë, por-yë, veĝh, ne(n)ç, ... tu bh.l.ĝont.m ogním (paHur) dhidhēsi bhlaghmon.m  Pun on homophony between flagrans/φλεγων and brahman/flamen tu dheĝhom(m) bhudhnóm adi dhedhēta (dhedhakesta)  bhudh-no = bottom, Boden, fundus  dhedhēta = dhedhakesta = fhefhakeste = fēcisti ute sa ne tremoito (tresoito)  trem / tres = tremble, τρεμει / τρεει (s)tetogta tam mori-bhi svō vestrom vedōr k.l.noisu uper staHt açuës tvoet v.rH.dhoet apo bhogʷeto (bhuget)  k.l.no = hill, collis, клон  açu / açru = sharp, acute, acrid  bhogʷ = to fear, φοβεει  bhug = to flee, φευγει tontroet apo bhogʷeto  ton-tro = thunder, tonitrus H.r.s.nt gʷoreyes (açroi) (ardhoi) ni-sdontoi-qe p.l.téves (plānoi)  H.r. = to rise, oritur, ορνυσι  gʷori = mountain, giri, гора  ardho = high, arduus, ορθος  açro = high, ocris, ακρος adi diçtóm stolóm (stlokom)  stolo / stloko = locus eti ne-t.rH.menom morgom dhidheHta  t.rH. = pass through, transit  -meno = -able ute n-anterom upo-plevēti (sub-mezĝēti) mori tersam  sub-mezĝ = submerge bhreuna (bhunes) loukoisu ghevonti (ghundonti)  bhreun = spring, Brunnen, φρεαρ --an R/N stem  bhun = font --possibly altered to avoid confusion with front (forehead)  louko = clearing, lea, lūcus  gheu / ghund = to pour, giessen, fundere, χεϝει çloinoisu srevonti (rinéHnti)  çloino = incline, lean  sreu = to flow, stream, `ρεϝει  rei / ri(n)H = to flow, run  Latin rīvus could derive from either root. p.l.téves ĝhverbhós poHm.n (potionem) didoH.ńti (dant) eçvoes terstum satyontoi  terstu = thirst, dryness (supine form used as adjective) Hvéyes veiçonti ambhi garyonti osdoisu medhyöi  osdo = branch, Ast unétsi k.l.nons ap' v.r.saës tersa tvois bhuktóis (bhruktois) satá  bhug > bhukto = functus (cf. break, fractus)  bhrugʷ > bhrukto = fructus augéyesi pecúbhos dhalya ĝ.rH.na-qe ute arayēt (kersoit) vīrós aĝróns ute bheryēt karpa apo tersaës poHm.n yestóm (potionem bhervitam) ute çerd sperghoit Hbhrūs-qe smeyoito (mirāt) bh.l.géyoito-qʷe  yesto = yeasted, brewed  spergh = to spring, σπερχει  Hbhrū = brow, front, οφρυς  smei = to smile, miratur, смеется paHtum-qe (paHdhrom) ute qʷerpom Hneróm syēt  paHtu / paHdhro = food, pabulum  qʷerpo = body, mid-riff, corpus  Hnero = strong (cf. Hner = ανηρ) Pergonos (Vorsanos) meg.loes dreuns polHu unésti (undes) bh.rH.ĝaes aiĝoes-qʷe (aigoloi) augsonti  I have heretically reimagined Pergonos and Vorsanos as sons of Dyeu-pater.  Pergonos = Parjanya, Perkunas, Fjorgun --a lesser rain-god  Vorsanos = Ouranos --a lesser sky-god  bh.rH.ĝo = birch, fraxinus, береза  aiĝo = oak Hvéyes nisdóns medhyöi dhidheH.ńti (s)trozdoes perqʷoisu veiçonti  (s)trozdo = thrush, turdus, στρουθος açrons karkarons (karekons) ghaidoes kteionti eti çasobhos bhorĝhoes s.ńti  karkaro / kareko = hard, craggy, stony  ghaido = wild goat, haedus  ktei = to possess or dwell, κταεται  bhorĝho / bhorgho = high place, refuge  çaso = hare meHns.m dhidheHta meHtévei samrons saHul (saHvelyos) vesqʷerom ĝnoHti temos (temedhrons) dhidheHta ute bhevoit nokts  temedhro = tenebra  vesqʷero = west, vesper, вечер qʷon-dō ghrobhoet gʷ.mskónti ĝhvēres visvoes (toutoi)  ghrobho = lair, grave  gʷ.msk = βασκει --iterative of gʷem / gʷen-yo  olno / touto = all, total  solvo / visvo = all, solus, ϝισος v.l.qʷikoes memsoet ap' vertonti reudonti-qʷe deivoet pre(ç)skóntes  memso = meat, mensa qon-dō saHul H.r.skétoi austeröi ton-dō i.ńti çeubdhum (çeitum) (lēgdhum)  austero = east (cf. dawn)  çeubh = to lie down, cubere  çei = to lie down, κειεται  leg = to lie down, λεγεται vīrós-au aĝróns eiti verĝeti-qʷe do (ad) vesqʷerom  verĝ / verg = to work, ϝεργεται ō Dyeus-páter tva verĝa monĝha  monĝho / mongho = many, много, maha (cf. meĝ = mickle, magnus, μεγαλος) m.ntī-bhi tvā solvom vevorĝta (veverĝesta)  menti = mind dheĝhōm tvo(n)ōm ktiménōm p.lH.ná gʷeivo(n)ōm p.lH.ná  ktei-m.n = possession, home, κτειμα tosmi (toteri) au meg.lom mori esti ne-rēdhomnōm dgʷhuvōm p.lH.nóm gʷeivo(n)ōm meg.lōm meinōm-qe  rēdh / rē = reason, count, rētur/ratio, αριθμος  meino = minor, from verb root mi(n)H = to diminish meg.loes ogʷhiyes nāHeves-qe tosmi snaH.ńti dhidheHta ute skandoient v.l.moisu (volvoisu)  skand = jump, scandere  v.l.na / v.l.ma = wave, Welle, волна, ūrmī There are many verbs connoting take, seize, have, grasp, and figuratively understand, but none of them is preserved in more than three branches, and any nuanced distinctions among them are unknown: em, la(m)bh, ghe(n)d, ghrebh, kap-yë, ghabh-yë  bhogo = share of food < to break = Sanskrit bhajati > bhaga (cf. Greek φαγ)  bhougo = share of food < to make use = Sanskrit bhunákti > bhoga  bhrukto = share of food < to make use = Latin frangit > fractus qon-dō deiçesi ĝhestom ton-dō bhrūsoes su-p.l gʷ.r.H --This root has two meanings, both with reference to the throat:  (1) he swallows, devours = жрёт, vorat, βιβροωσκει, giráti  (2) he sings praise = жрёт, grātitur, gūrdháyati, gṛňāti  sengʷh = to sing, `ομφη  kan = to sing, hen, cantat ĝhoryōmi potim  ĝhor-yë = to desire, horitur, χαιρει linqʷyēnt duséves apo dĝhmës ne-regéves-qʷe (ne-reçtoi) ne bhevōnti (manōnti) bhlaĝhoit an.los Dĝhems-potim Dyeus-patér.m ĝhvéye svod yaĝyom Hnom.n  ĝhvéy / ĝheu = to call upon, зовёт

  Classes of a Model Verb (3rd-sg & 3rd-pl, Active) Causative verbs signify to cause an action.  Inchoative/inceptive verbs signify to begin an action.  Stative/essive verbs signify to possess a quality.  Fientive verbs signify to acquire a quality.  Factitive verbs signify to impart a quality, or to make into a thing.(They may be described as deadjectival or denominative.)  Other denominative verbs signify to function as a thing.

Tempus

  Present, Past, Future (self-explanatory) Aorist = customary tense of narration, usually remote past Future = predictive, can also express feasible conditions Mood Indicative = usual mood of discourse or narration Subjunctive = injunctive, potential, or conditional Optative = expresses first-and third-person imperatives, wishes, purposes, and contra-factual conditions Aspect Imperfective = habitual, progressive, or stative Perfective = expresses completed action Anterior = expresses completed actions that bear upon subsequent states, or occur prior to subsequent events Aktionsart Telic = closed-ended, may be either punctual or durative Atelic = open-ended, may be either durative or stative  The Perfect "tense" is actually Present-Anterior. It expresses completed actions that bear upon the present. For example, has seen means knows.

) Deivós ëpi Ablom donóns-qʷe vortet-au apo Qʷoinoet

	And God smiled upon Abel and his gifts, but turned from Cain.
	smeis(t smei-s(t) .. ëpi = smiled upon
	To Cain he said --Why are you angry?
	Qʷoinóei voqʷet --qʷosmoet anĝhus essi?
	 qʷosmoet = why, whence? --abl-sg of extended root *qʷosmo
	 anĝhus = angry, anxious, narrow
	 gʷ.r.H-us = heavy, (fig.) sad
	If you act well, then you will win.
	qʷo-
	Ablos ovéyōm paHstōr bhuvet Qʷoinos au aratōr
	 ovéyōm = of sheep --gen-pl
	 paHs-tōr = shepherd --nom-sg, from *paHs, variant of *paH = feed
	Years having passed,
	yēroes/oi (te)tokvóses
	 yēroes / yōroes = years --nom-pl
	 (te)tok-vós-es = having passed, flowed --nom-pl of perfect active participle.
	(This is a nominative absolute construction. Honi soit qui mal y pense.)
	Cain brought to the Lord the harvest of the field,
	bhoret Qʷoinos Potéyei aratósyo karpons
	 arH-tósyo = of the [arable] field --gen-sg
	but Abel brought a firstling of his flock.
	Ablos au peçévōm gʷerbhom
	 gʷ.r.bhom / gʷ.l.bhom = womb, newborn, calf --acc-sg > Sanskrit garbham, Slavic
	žrebę, Greek βρεφον / δελφυν, Germanic kalb

Abel became a keeper of sheep, but Cain a tiller.

svō su-aĝsesoi, to-svō venēsoi 

  Fanciful reinvention of conditional conjunctions. Feasible conditionals may be expressed with the future indicative or the subjunctive, but contra-factual conditionals are better expressed by the optative in both clauses.

Adverbs, Prepositions, and Prefixes

	Basic Form	Meaning	Suffixed Form	Meaning
	per, pro	before	proter, proti	against
	(s)upo	below, down	(s)uper(i)	above, up
	en	in, into	enter	between
	vi	apart	viter	against
	ni	down	niter	lower than
	pos	behind, after	poster	behind, after
	ana, nō	on, onto, upward anti	against, in front
	apo, po	from	apter	after
	ud	out	utter	outside
	som	together, with	sonter	asunder
	kom	together, with	konter	against
	ecs, eĝ	out, ex
	epi, ob	on
	ambhi	about
	adi, adhi	to
	t.r.H	through, across
	bhi	(instrumental)
	medhi	amid, between
	do, de	to, from

Verb (3rd-sg & 3rd-pl, Indicative Active)

  There is a modest but statistically significant correlation between the form of the Aorist (Thematic vs. Sigmatic) between any pair of classical languages.  Latin contrasts strong grade in the Present with weak grade in Thematic Aorists (e.g., venit/vēnit), or weak grade in the Present with Sigmatic Aorists (dīcit/dixit). In Greek and Sanskrit, vice versa.  In Sanskrit as well as Latin, verbs that use any sort of nasal infixes or closures in the Present show weak grade there. Nasal infixes are rare in Greek.

	Model Sanskrit & Greek Latin Active-1 ō, mi e-si e-ti 1-du o-vës(i) 1-sg 2-sg 3-sg 2-du e-tës 3-du e-tës 1-pl e-mës(i) 2-pl e-te  Reconstructed Personal Endings Them. Aorist Sig. Aorist Perfect é-duk-et é-duk-ont é-deuk-s(t) é-deuk-sënt de-dóuk-e de-duk-ér deuk-et deuk-ont duk-set duk-sënt de-duk-e de-duk-ér Active-2 S-Aorist Active Perfect Active Middle-1 Middle-2 Participle duk-tó duk-tó o-m sëm a < h²e ai < h²oi a < h²o e-s s(s) ta < th²e e-soi e-so e-t s(t) e e-toi e-to o-vë(n) svë(n) vé(n) o-vedhoi o-vedha e-tëm stëm tëm (use plural forms instead) Supine dēuk-tu duk-tu Passive ar < h²or e-sor e-tor o-vor e-tëm stëm tëm o-më(n) smë(n) mé(n) o-medhoi o-medha o-mor e-te ste té e-dhvoi e-dhvem e-dhumor 3-pl o-nti o-nt sënt ér o-ntoi o-nto o-ntor

Note: ë denotes a vowel of variable or uncertain grade or length.

SEMANTIC PROPERTIES OF VERB CLASSES

	Type	Suffix		Comments
	Present Active	o-nt-		formed from 3rd-pl
	Present Passive	o-meno-		often conveys "-able"
	Perfect Active	vōs, us-		reduplicated
	Past Passive	tó-or nó-		always athematic
	Infinitive (M or F)	tu-or ti-		focus on action
	Verbal noun (N)	mṇ, men-		focus on result
	Human agent (M)	tor, tér, tr-		focus on actor
	Instrument (N)	tro-,	tlo-,	focus on means
		dhro-, dhlo-
	Photo by Florian Seebeck

Tense, Mood, Aspect, Aktionsart (and all that)

		Them. Aorist		Sig. Aorist
	Root	ag/ēg, cap/cēp, ed/ēd, em/ēm,	auge/aux, coqu/cox, clep/cleps,
	Present	faci/fēc, fodi/fōd, fru/fru, fugi/fūg,	dīc/dix, dūc/dux, frīg/frix, lūd/lūs,
		gradi/grad, i/ī, loqu/loqu, lu/lu,	mane/mans, reg/rex, scrīb/scrips,
		ru/ru, su/su, spu/spu, sed/sēd,	sculp/sculps, speci/spex, torq/tors,
		scab/scāb,	stat/stet,	veni/vēn,	trah/trax, trūd/trūs, turge/turs,
		vert/vert, vide/vīd,		sūg/sūx, teg/tex, ūr/uss, urge/urs,
					verg/vers, veh/vex, vīv/vix,
	Infixed	fend/fend, frang/frēg, fund/fūd,	ang/anx, find/finx, fung/funx,
	Present	hend/hend, linqu/līqu, rump/rūp,	jung/junx, ling/linx, ming/minx,
		scand/scand,			mung/munx,	ningu/nix,
					plang/planx,	ping/pinx,
					string/strinx, ungu/unx,

" and "Wood" in Sanskrit & Greek

  Digamma was lost in classic Greek: βαρεῖς < βαρέϝες.

	Case	per Ringe	Tree	Tree	Wood	Adjective
	nom-sg	*dóru	drus	δρῦς	δόρυ	βαρύς
	acc-sg	*dóru	drum	δρῦν	δόρυ	βαρύν
	gen-sg	*dréus	dros (ăus)	δρυός	δούρος	βαρέϝος
	dat-sg	*drévei	drave (avăi) δρυΐ	δούρι	βαρέϝι
	inst-sg	*drúh¹	druna, dṛvā
	loc-sg	*drévi	drāu
	nom-pl	*dóruh²	dravas	δρύες	δοῦρα	βαρέϝες
	acc-pl	*dóruh²	drūs (uns)	δρῦς (υνς)	δοῦρα	= nom-pl
	gen-pl	*drévoHom drūnām	δρυών	δούρων	βαρέϝων
	dat-pl	*drúmos	drubhyas
	inst-pl	*drúbhi	drubhis
	loc-pl	*drúsu	drusu	δρυσί	δούρεσσι	βαρέσι
	Umlaut: δουρ < δορϝ.

Map of Indo-European migrations created by D Bachmann (Wikimedia Commons)

You may contact the author to request a current copy. E-mail: BBarrois@verizon.net

both urination and rain  ud-et = watered --weak-grade aorist from root *ved / u(n)d gloioet bhloHt vīróei en mukter.ns  dhiĝh-et = formed --weak-grade aorist from root *dhi(n)ĝh  dheik-s(t) --alternative strong-grade S-aorist > Latin finxit  gloioet = from clay --abl-sg  bhloH-t = he blew, inflated --athematic aorist from root *bhoH  vīróei = to the man --dat-sg  muk-ter.ns = nostrils --acc-pl of agent-noun *muktēr from root *mu(n), but here the intake.) and blessed him, and the man came alive. bhlaĝhs(t)-qʷe vīróm ute gʷeiv.s(t) vīrós  bhlaĝh-s(t) = S-aorist of root *bhlaĝh or blagh  gʷeiv-s(t) = came alive --strong-grade S-aorist modeled upon ajīvišīt garden in[to] the east, and there he put the man ghordhom dheHt Deivós en austrom toter-qʷe vīróm stelyet  ghordom = garden, hortus  aus-trom = east --acc-sg, related to *aus-ës (dawn) from root *aus (burn). Opposed to *vesqʷero / vespero / vestero (evening, west).  to-ter = thither (dynamic)  tosmi = there (static) , with altered meaning. svaduá denĝhévei  aug-éy-et = made to grow ground, humus  druns = trees --acc-pl  svāduns = sweet, pleasant --acc-pl of U-stem adjective  denĝhév-ei / linĝó-ei = to the tongue, licker --dat-sg and put a giver-of-life tree into the middle of the garden, eti dreum-qʷe ayu-doHtōr.m medhyöi en ghordhom dheHt  ayu / aiv = life, health  doH-tōr = giver --acc-sg of agent-noun and a tree giver-of-vision dreum-qʷe visti-doHtōr.m  vis-ti / vid-ti = vision well as some Germanic words in t < þu. ghordhom aratrō  arH-trō = as arator --instrumental of role or specification and he commanded the man, saying, deiçs(t) vīróei, veqʷons -- deiç-s(t) = he commanded --S-aorist > dixit, adhaikšīt, εδειξε to clarify usage, because abl-pl has merged with dat-pl.  al-n-oibhos = from all --abl-pl of *al-no (all), closely related to *al-yo (other) > Old Latin olle, Germanic all, Gaelic uile  es-tu-m / ed-tu-m = eating --nom-sg, supine of root *ed  magh-esi = thou mayest, thou canst --2-sg present indicative but do not eat (however) from the vision-tree. n' ede-au ap' visto-druës If you will eat of her, you will die." qʷo-svō edēsi apo taës, to-svō m.r.tos esēsi  qʷo-svō ... to-svō = if ... then --fanciful reinvention of conditional conjunctions. The conjunctions coined by recorded languages are not authentic models. Greek uses ει ... αν,