Ruki rule

The Ruki rule is a sound law in Indo-European studies first recognized by Holger Pedersen (1895) , according to which in some subgroups of the Indo-European languages an original (Indo-European) s after the sounds r , u , k or i (hence the word ruki ) in the articulation was shifted backwards. As a result, typically arises in Slavic x , in the Baltic š , in Albanian sh and Sanskrit ष / s / [⁠ ʂ ⁠] . In Slavonic most occurrences of x (a sound that does not exist in Indo-European) go back to * s by means of this rule .

Examples can be found primarily through the comparison of languages, e.g. B.

• a case after u- : idg. * i (e) uH-s- 'broth, soup'>
  • with shifted s : Sanskrit yū́ṣ '(meat) broth, soup', Persian jūšānda 'meat broth', Russian uxá (уха) 'fish soup', Lithuanian (dialect) jū́šė 'fish soup, bad soup';
  • with preserved s : Old Norse ostr 'cheese', Latin iūs 'broth, soup'.

The rule only rarely has an effect in alternations within a single language. In Lithuanian, the verb gimti ' to be born' forms the present tense gim-sta 'he is born' ( -sta is present tense ending), while the verb mirti ' to die' forms the present mir-šta 'he dies' (with -šta from - sta after r ).

bibliography

• Holger Pedersen: The Indo-European s in Slavic , in: Indo-Germanic research 5, 1895, pp. 33-87.