Synopses & Reviews
This book deals with one aspect of Greek and Proto-Indo-European nominal morphology, the formation, inflection and semantics of s-stem nouns and adjectives. It uncovers the mechanisms of their creation and shows their limitation. The established view that the nouns are an unproductive category is challenged; at the same time, the expanding and partly changing nature of the basis governing the creation of the adjectives is explained. Morphology and semantics are studied in tandem, and a large chronological span of the Greek language is covered. The historical side is then extended into prehistory, and in particular the Greek evidence is tested against recent theories on Proto-Indo-European ablaut, leading to a reassessment of the morphonological characteristics in question.
Review
"This is an extremely interesting book with a good index of roots and words discussed."--Martti Leiwo, The Classical Review
About the Author
Torsten Meissner is University Lecturer in Classics (Philology and Linguistics), and Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge.
Table of Contents
Prologue: The Study of a Suffix
1. The History
2. The Neuter S-Stem Nouns
3. The Animate S-Stem Nouns
4. The S-Stem Adjectives
Epilogue: Combining the Threads