Bhu and To be

[Guest guest]

1. I suspect that any parallel between the sounds of <be< and <bhu> may be

purely coincidental, although the parallel in the rule for the change from

present to future is valid for all languages of the Indo-European family: as

in Latin, from <est> to <sera,> or German <er ist> and <er will sein>.

 

2. It may be noted that this change does not occur in Tamil, from <avan

irukkiRAn> (he is) to <avan iruppAn (he will be>. This may raise some

question about the common origin of Tamil and Sanskrit.

 

V. V. Raman

Sept 19, 2004