Indo-Iranian borrowings in Uralic : Critical overview of sound substitutions and distribution criterion

Abstract

This dissertation discusses the Indo-Iranian loanwords in the Uralic languages. The loanwords that have been suggested in earlier research are critically analyzed and commented based on modern views of Uralic and Indo-Iranian historical phonology and etymology. The etymologies are analyzed on the basis of the general methods of loanword research: arguments of phonology, distribution and semantics are taken into account. In addition to the analyzis of older etymological proposals, also some new etymologies are presented. Also the research history of the topic is discussed. The aim of this study is to establish rules for the sound substitutions and bring new light to the relative chronology of the loanwords. Because the phoneme systems of Proto-Indo-Iranian, Proto-Iranian and later Iranian languages were very different from those of Proto-Uralic and its daughter languages, the phonemes of the Indo-Iranian donor languages have been substituted in various ways in the Uralic languages. Differences reflect both conditional developments (different substitutions in different environments) and chronological differences, and it is often difficult to distinguish between the two. Special attention is also paid to the distribution of loanwords and the use of distribution as a criterion in dating the loanwords. Contrary to views expressed in many earlier works, it is shown that the distribution is not a very good criterion, as the distribution of loanwords within the Uralic language family forms a rather complicated picture due to loss of words in some branches. A notable problem is the parallel borrowing of same Indo-Iranian words to various branches of the Uralic family. It is not always easy to distinguish the parallel borrowings from the earlier loanwords into the common proto-language, and in earlier research the parallel loans have not received enough attention, despite their key importance to the chronology of the loanwords. The results of this study reinforce the stratigraphy of Indo-Iranian loanwords (Pre-Indo-Iranian, Proto-Indo-Iranian, Proto-Iranian and later Iranian loanwords) that has been prevalent in recent decays. However, it is shown that many of the substitution rules are open to different interpretations and some words are difficult to assign to a certain loanword layer. A notable result of this study is also that many of the etymologies presented in earlier works are uncertain or unconvincing, and there are also cases in which some other archaic Indo-European source is more probable donor language than Indo-Iranian.

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