La enclítica te en los dialectos eólicos

Abstract

Ever since the first studies of the labiovelar stops in Greek, the abnormal dental stop of the enclitic particle in the Aeolic dialect —τε instead of the expected *πε— has been a controversial and not yet resolved problem. The author of this note believes that there are reasons or criteria for phonematic distribution which can account for the phonetic irregularity: the distribution rules in Greek prevent, as seen in *τίτκω > τίκτω cf. ἔτεκον, stop groups of which the second element is not a dental stop; perhaps IE. *k^u̯e shifted to Aeolic τε as the only possible form when a stop-ended word preceded the particle. The existence of τε in other contexts may be a fact of secondary order: it prevailed over the also possible *πε because of its validity in any phonic surrounding (i. e. -V + τε and -C + τε, but never -C + **πε). The view here stated presupposes the preservation of the final stops when the labiovelars changed into dental and labial stops; the Mycenaean Greek, which preserves to a great extent the IE labiovelars, provides, because of its very imperfect writing system, no evidence against or in favour of the views which the author holds.