The Caland system is a set of rules in the reconstructed
Proto-Indo-European language
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...
which describes how certain words, typically
adjectives
In linguistics, an adjective (abbreviated ) is a word that generally modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes its referent. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun.
Traditionally, adjectives were considered one of the mai ...
, are derived from one another.
It was named after Dutch Indologist
Willem Caland
Willem Caland (August 27, 1859, Brielle – March 23, 1932, Utrecht) was a Dutch Indologist. He studied in Leiden and graduated in 1882.
In 1897 he became member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.
In Indo-European studies
...
(1859–1932), who first formulated part of the system.
The
cognates derived from these roots in different daughter languages often do not agree in formation, but show certain characteristic properties:
*Adjectives are formed using
zero
0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. In place-value notation such as the Hindu–Arabic numeral system, 0 also serves as a placeholder numerical digit, which works by multiplying digits to the left of 0 by the radix, usual ...
-
ablaut
In linguistics, the Indo-European ablaut (, from German '' Ablaut'' ) is a system of apophony (regular vowel variations) in the Proto-Indo-European language (PIE).
An example of ablaut in English is the strong verb ''sing, sang, sung'' and its ...
''ro''-stems (i.e., word stems ending in ''
*-ro''), ''
u''-stems, or
amphikinetic ''
nt''-stems.
*Adjectives are sometimes formed using ''
i''-stems, especially in the first part of a compound.
*Corresponding
stative verbs in often exist.
Examples
Example 1
'light (in weight)':
*''ro''-stems:
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...
''elaphrós'' 'light, quick';
Old High German
Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050.
There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...
''lungar'' 'fast'
*''u''-stems: Ancient Greek ''elakhús'' 'small'; Sanskrit ''laghú-, raghú-'' 'quick, light, small';
Avestan ''ragu-'' 'fast'; Latin ''levis'' 'light' < ;
Lithuanian ''lengvùs'' 'light';
Old Church Slavonic ''легъкъ (legŭkŭ)'' 'light'
Example 2
'white':
*''ro''-stems: Ancient Greek ''argós'' < *''argrós'' 'white'; Sanskrit 'brilliant'
*''u''-stems:
Tocharian B ''ārkwi'' 'white'
*''i''-stems: Ancient Greek ''argi-kéraunos'' 'with bright lightning'
*''nt''-stems: Old Irish ''argat'', Old Welsh ''argant'', Latin ''argentum''
Example 3
'red':
*''ro''-stems: Ancient Greek ''eruthrós'' 'red'; Latin ''ruber'' 'red'; Tocharian B ''ratre'' 'red';
Old East Slavic ''родръ (rodrŭ)'' 'red'
*''i''-stems:
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
''rudhiras'' (mixed with ''ro''-stem)
*''-eh₁'' verbs:
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''rubeō'' 'be red', Old High German ''rōtēn'' 'shine red';
Old East Slavic ''ръдѣти сѧ (rŭděti sę)'' 'become red, be red'
Example 4
'high':
*''ro''-stems: Tocharian B ''pärkare'' 'high'
*''u''-stems:
Hittite ''parku-'' 'high';
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
'high' <
*''i''-stems: Avestan ''bǝrǝzi-'' 'high' in compounds
*''nt''-stems: Sanskrit ''bṛhánt-'' 'high', Avestan ''bǝrǝzant-'' 'high', Germanic name ''Burgund-'', Irish name ''Brigit'', Tocharian A ''koṃ-pärkānt'' 'sunrise'
Example 5
'deep':
*''ro''-stems: Tocharian B ''tapre'' 'high' <
*''u''-stems: Lithuanian ''dubùs'' 'hollow'
References
{{Proto-Indo-European language
Indo-European linguistics