Distinction between Centum and Satem languages

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The centum group includes Italic, Celtic, Germanic, Hellenic and Tocharian. This group merged Proto-Indo-European palatovelars and plain velars yielding plain velars only, but retain the labiovelars as a distinct set. Tocharian largely reflects a situation where all three Proto-Indo-European dorsal series as well as all voicing/aspiration distinctions (originally constituting nine separate consonants) have merged into a single phoneme *k. This has led some writers to suggest that Tocharian does not fit the Centum–Satem model. However, some Proto-Indo-European labiovelars are in fact represented by a labiovelar-like element or by a non-original sequence *ku. Along with other evidence, this suggests that labiovelars were distinct in Proto-Tocharian and only later merged with velars (as happened independently in Old Irish and to some extent in some other languages), making Tocharian a clearly Centum language.

The satem languages (which have the sibilant where centum equivalents have the velar) include Baltic, Slavic, Armenian and Indo-Iranian. This group lost the labial element of Proto-Indo-European labiovelars and thus merged them with plain velars, while the palatovelars remain distinct.[4] Balto-Slavic is largely satem but evidences centum development in some words, suggesting that "satemization" was incomplete. There is residual evidence of various sorts in satem languages of a former distinction between velar and labiovelar consonants.

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Very approximate diachronic map showing the centum (blue) and satem (red) areals. The hypothetical area of origin of satemization according to the inventor of the idea, von Bradke, is shown in darker red, which happens also to be the range of the Sintashta/Abashevo/Srubna cultures. Whether the map is accurate in many of its other details depends on the time period considered.

[Arsenium DeLight]

Indo-European Isoglosses

Centum–satem compared to other general isoglosses in Indo-European daughter languages at about 500 BC.

Blue: Centum languages
Red-orange: Satem languages
Orange: Languages exhibiting augment
Green: Languages exhibiting PIE *-tt- > -ss-
Tan: Languages exhibiting PIE *-tt- > -st-
Pink: Languages in which the instrumental, dative, and ablative plurals, as well as certain singulars and duals, exhibit endings beginning in -m-, rather than the usual *-bh-.

[Arsenium DeLight]

The Satem concept

The Satem languages show characteristic affricate and fricative consonants articulated in the front of the mouth in inherited Indo-European lexical items. The Satem shift is conveniently illustrated with the word for '100', Proto-Indo-European *(d)ḱm̥tóm, which became Avestan satəm (hence the name of the group), Persian sad, Sanskrit śatam, Romanian suta, Latvian simts, Lithuanian šimtas, Old Church Slavonic sъto. Another example is the Slavic prefix sъ(n)- ("with"), which appears in Latin, a centum language, as co(n)-; conjoin is cognate with Russian soyuz ("union").

The sources of the satem sounds and the methods by which they became what they are have been debated heavily by Indo-European linguists for many decades. The originator of the concept, Peter von Bradke, believed in a Proto-Indo-European two-row system of four gutturals each row, the pure velar row: *k, *kʰ, *g, *gʰ, and the palatovelar row: *ḱ, *ḱʰ, *ǵ, *ǵʰ. For example, *ḱ became Sanskrit ś [ɕ], Latvian, Avestan, Russian and Armenian s, Lithuanian š [ʃ], and Albanian th [θ] (but k before a resonant). Karl Brugmann added the labio-velar row: *kʷ, *kʷʰ, *gʷ, *gʷʰ, with the proviso that in the Satem languages it merged into the velar row, losing their accompanying lip-rounding. This merger left the Satem group without labio-velars. Regardless of whether satem words were created from those rows with those articulations in that way, they are definable as satem words.

Satem-like features have arisen multiple times during history (e.g. French cent pron. [sã], Spanish ciento). As a result, it is sometimes difficult to firmly establish which languages were part of the original Satem diffusion and which were affected by secondary assibilation in a later time period. While extensive documentation of Latin and Old Swedish shows that the assibilation found in French and Swedish were later developments, there are not enough records of Dacian and Thracian to conclusively settle the issue of when their Satem-like features originated. Extensive lexical borrowing, such as Armenian from Iranian, may also add to the difficulty. The status of Armenian as a Satem language as opposed to a Centum language with secondary assibilation rests on the evidence of a very few words.

The Centum concept

The Centum languages show characteristic plain velars and labiovelars articulated at the back of the mouth in inherited Indo-European lexical items. The name Centum comes from the Latin word centum (pronounced [kentum]) < PIE *ḱm̥tóm, '100', English hund(red)- (with /h/ from earlier *k, see Grimm's law), Greek (he)katon, Welsh cant, Tocharian B kante. Labiovelars as single phonemes (for example, /kʷ/), as opposed to biphonemes (for example, /kw/) are attested in Greek (the Linear B q- series), Italic (Latin qu), Germanic (Gothic hwair ƕ and qairþra q) and Celtic (Ogham ceirt Q). In the Centum languages, the palatovelar consonants merged into the plain velars (*k, *g, *gʰ). The merger left the Centum group without palatovelars.

The Centum languages preserve Proto-Indo-European labiovelars (*kʷ, *gʷ, *gʷʰ) or their historical reflexes as distinct from plain velars; for example, PIE *k : *kʷ > Latin c /k/ : qu /kʷ/, Greek κ /k/ : π /p/ (or τ /t/ before front vowels), Gothic /h/ : /hʷ/, etc. Remnants of labial elements from labiovelars in Balto-Slavic include Lithuanian ungurys "eel" < *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-; kuru "make" < *kʷer- may be compared, but they arise only post-Rigvedic in attested texts.

[Arsenium DeLight]

When von Bradke first published his definition of the Centum and Satem sound changes, he viewed his classification as "the oldest perceivable division" in Indo-European, which he elucidated as "a division between eastern and western cultural provinces (Kulturkreise)." This proposed split was undermined by the discoveries of Hittite and Tocharian, which were Centum languages located within the hypothetical Satem range, Tocharian isolated on the Silk Route in the far east, divided from its closest cognates in Europe by thousands of miles of rugged terrain and hostile peoples. This proposed first division based on a single isogloss was further weakened by continued research into additional Indo-European isoglosses, many of which seemed of equal or greater importance in the development of daughter languages. Philip Baldi explains:

"...an early dialect split of the type indicated by the centum-satem contrast should be expected to be reflected in other high-order dialect distinctions as well, a pattern which is not evident from an analysis of shared features among eastern and western languages."

To this claim one could oppose the example of Old High German and Old Saxon, which, although separated by a drastic consonant shift, stayed almost identical in grammar and syntax for several centuries.

[Arsenium DeLight]

Indo-European languages

Indo-European languages ca. 3500 BCE

Indo-European languages ca. 2500 BCE

Indo-European languages ca. 1500 BCE

Indo-European languages ca. 500 BCE

Indo-European languages ca. 500 CE

[Äijä]

Satem-like features have arisen multiple times during history (e.g. French cent pron. [sã], Spanish ciento). As a result, it is sometimes difficult to firmly establish which languages were part of the original Satem diffusion and which were affected by secondary assibilation in a later time period. While extensive documentation of Latin and Old Swedish shows that the assibilation found in French and Swedish were later developments, there are not enough records of Dacian and Thracian to conclusively settle the issue of when their Satem-like features originated.

What does the part about Old Swedish mean?