Centum and satem languages

see Centum (disambiguation) for other uses of the term.

Centum-Satem division is an isogloss of the Indo-European family, discussing different treatments of the three dorsal rows reconstructed for PIE, *k^w (labiovelars), *k (velars), and *ḱ; (palatovelars), and a division into a Centum and a Satem group does only make sense with a view to the parent language with the full inventory of dorsals. Later sound changes within a specific branch of Indo-European that are similar to one of the changes, such as the palatalization of Latin k to s in some Romance languages or the merger of *k^w with *k in the Goidelic languages, have no effect on the grouping.

The Satem languages include Indo-Iranian, Balto-Slavic (Baltic and Slavic), Albanian, Armenian and perhaps also a number of barely documented extinct languages, such as Thracian, and Dacian.

The Centum languages Italic, Celtic, Germanic, Greek, Tocharian and possibly a number of minor and little known extinct groups (such as Venetic and the ancient Macedonian language and probably the Illyrian languages).

The proto-language of the Anatolian languages apparently did not undergo either the Satem or the Centum sound change. The velar rows remain separate in Luwian, while Hittite may secondarily have undergone a Centum change, but the exact phonology is unclear. Although Albanian is treated as a Satem language, there may be some evidence that the plain velars and the labiovelars were not completely merged in Proto-Albanian.

Note that the presence of three dorsal rows in the proto-language is not undisputed. The reconstructed "middle" row may also be an artefact of loaning between early daughter languages during the process of Satemization. Oswald Szemerényi for instance, while recognizing the usefulness of the distinction *k^w, *k *ḱ as symbolizing sound-correspondences does argue that the support for three phonologically distinct rows in PIE is insufficient and prefers a twofold notation of *k^w, *k.

Satem

The Satem those languages show the characteristic change of the so-called Proto-Indo-European palato-velars (*ḱ, *ǵ, *ǵ^h) into affricate and fricative consonants articulated in the front of the mouth. For example,

ḱ became Sanskrit ś, Avestan, Russian and Armenian s, Lithuanian š, and Albanian th [θ]. At the same time, the protolanguage velars (*k, *g, *g^h) and labio-velars (*k^w, *g^w, *g^wh) merged in the Satem group, the latter losing their accompanying lip-rounding.

The Satem shift is conveniently illustrated with the word for '100', Proto-Indo-European

ḱmtom, which became e.g. Avestan satem (hence the name of the group), Lithuanian šimtas, Russian sto, etc., as contrasted with Latin centum (pron. [kentum]), English hund(red)- (with /h/ from earlier *k, see Grimm's law), Greek (he)katon, Welsh cant, etc. (The Albanian word qint is a loanword from Latin centum.)

The status of Armenian as a Satem language as opposed to a Centum language with seconary assibilation like e.g. French (i.e. the collapse of the velars with labiovelars rather than with the palatovelars) rests on the evidence of a very few words.

Centum

In the Centum languages, the palato-velar consonants merged with plain velars (*k, *g, *g^h). Most of the Centum languages preserve Proto-Indo-European labio-velars (*k^w, *g^w, *g^wh) or their historical reflexes as distinct from plain velars; for example, PIE *k, *k^w > Latin c /k/, qu /k^w/, Greek /k/, /p/ (or /t/ before front vowels), Gothic /h/, /h^w/, etc.

The name Centum comes from the Latin word centum '100', pronounced [kentum] < PIE *ḱmtom, illustrating the falling together of *k and *ḱ. Compare Sanskrit śata- or Russian sto, in which *ḱ changed into a fricative.

Attestation of labiovelars as actual phonemes /k^w/, as opposed to simple biphonematic /kw/ is attested in Greek (the Linear B q- series), Italic (Latin q), Germanic (Gothic hwair ƕ and qairþra q) and Celtic (Ogham ceirt Q). Thus, while usually reconstructed for PIE, the labiovelar quality of this row may also be an innovation of the Centum group, causally related to the fronting of the palatovelars. The chief witness for this question is Anatolian, the phonology of which is for orthographical reasons not known in detail. Hittite (and Luwian) in any case chose not to use the existing cuneiform q- series (which stood for a voiceless uvular stop in Akkadian), but represents reflexes of PIE labiovelars as ku. Opinions on whether this represents an Anatolian single phoneme, or a group of /k+w/ are divided. The likelihood of three dorsal rows has also been disputed on typological grounds, but that argument has little merit, since there are, indeed, languages with such a three-row system, for example the Yazgulyam language (an Iranian language, but its system of dorsals is unrelated to PIE phonology).

There have been recent claims that the Bangani language of India contains traces of a Centum language, but they are widely considered spurious.

Origins of the sound change

In the 19th century, it was sometimes assumed that the centum-satem isogloss was the original dialect division of the Indo-European languages. However already Karl Brugmann, and in particular Johannes Schmidt regarded the Centum/Satem sound changes as an areal feature.

Incomplete Satemization in Baltic, and, to a lesser extent, Slavic, is taken as an indication of the diffusion of the satem sound change, due to early contact of Proto-Baltic and Proto-Germanic speakers. Examples of remnants of labial elements from labiovelars in Balto-Slavic include Lithuanian ugurys "snake" < *angwi- , Lithuanian dygus "pointy" < *dheigw-, Fewer examples of incomplete Satemization are also known from Indo-Iranian, such as Sanskrit guru "heavy" < *gwer-, kulam "herd" < *kwel-.

Literature

Solta, G. R., Palatalisierung und Labialisierung, IF 70 (1965), 276–315.

Satem

Centum

Origins of the sound change

See also

Literature