LINGUIST List 12.1044

Fri Apr 13 2001

Qs: Turkish/Eng Dictionary, Noun Forms in Italian

Editor for this issue: Karen Milligan <karenlinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Szendroi Kriszta, Electronic Turkish/English Dictionary
2. Deja User, 'Death' in Romance

Dear Readers,

I'm looking for a Turkish-English dictionary in electronic format
(i.e., a PC compatible file). The purpose of this request is to help
me in my studies of Turkish. What I need primarily, is a file with a
complete dictionary in it. The companies providing the on-line
resources tend to be unwilling to give out their data because they
sell commercial applications of it, unless I was myself from a company
who would then buy a full copyright license from them. This would be
very expensive for me as a person who's just wanting to create
vocabulary lists for private, non-commercial purposes.

If you are able to guide me to such a dictionary, please reply to me 
directly at janhschmidthotmail.com.

Many thanks,
Jan Hendrik Schmidt

There is a theory (perhaps not well agreed on) that the Western
Romance languages took their noun-forms from the Latin accusative,
while the rest inherited the nominative forms. This explains the lack
of /s/ at the ends of singular nouns such as 'fumo, fume'='smoke'
(from Latin fumu(m) rather than fumus) and the plurals in /-s/
('fumos, fumes' rather than It. fumi). It also separates the western
'homme, hombre' (Acc. hominem) from eastern 'om, uomo' (Nom. homo).

But there are paterns in nouns of the latter type which fail to be
fulfilled in Italian. A few examples: parte, piede, morte = 'part,
foot, death'. These look to have come from acc. 'partem, pedem,
mortem' rather than the expected 'pars, pes, mors'. Is there a known
explanation for this, or are the forms simply said to have been 'taken
from the accusative'?