SENI eta LOHI (sudurkari galduaren bila) / SENI & LOHI (in search of lost nasal)

Abstract

This paper deals with some aspects left unexplained by previous works since the standard reconstruction of Proto-Basque of Koldo Mitxelena, on the basis of the onomastic elements SENI and LOHI, found in the Aquitanian corpus. On the one hand, there are some *n that have left no traces of their nasality, and, on the other, there are the details about the change of such segments, regarding the application of the phonological rule and its relative chronology, as well as its relation to the ancient compositional rules (cf. Igartua 2002). These issues could make hesitate about some of the etymologies developed within the Theory of the Monosyllabic Root (Lakarra 1995 ff), or even could weaken it, as long as a justification beyond system for the derivational origin of old disyllabic lexems is not provided. To overcome those obstacles (and to substantiate the need to overcome them), two new word families are proposed: those represented by the pairs zahi 'bran' / zain 'keeper', and behe 'lower (part)' / mehe 'thin'.