Compounded loanwords between historical morphophonology and semantics: the ancient Greek (and Latin) names of Candragupta Maurya
Abstract
Among Classical sources (Phylarcus, Strabo, Arrian, Plutarch, Justin, and Orosius), there seems to be no common spelling of Candragupta’s name. The spelling Σανδρόκοττος (i.e., the canonical one) is used by Phylarchus (FGrHist 81 F 35b), Strabo (II.1.9; XV.1.53; XV.1.57), and Justin (Epit. XV.4.13) in its Latin transcription Sandrocottus. Then, the spelling Σανδράκοττος is adopted by Arrian (Anab. V.6.2; Ind. 5.3; 9.9), whereas that of Ἀνδρόκοττος by Mnaseas (fr. 14 FHG), Plutarch (Alex. 62.4; Mor. 542d), Appian (Syr. 55.282), and Orosius (III.23) in its Latin transcription Androcottus. This article aims at investigating the reasons behind these different spellings in the light of a wider dynamic involving morphophonological and semantic processes towards compounded loanwords in ancient Greek (and Latin). In order to do that, we carry out an in-depth analysis of the different spellings of Candragupta’s name in Classical sources within the framework of the language-contact linguistics: after focusing on the socio-historical context underlying the language-contact dynamic, we take into account several elements that may contribute to justify the lack of uniformity in the various spellings (e.g., the compounded nature of the name, the constituents’ semantics, and the accent pattern). Finally, we conclude that the spellings of the Classical sources depend on ancient Greek morphophonological processes involving (compounded) loanwords, that end up with a process of folk etymology, thanks to which Candragupta’s name is definitely integrated in the ancient Greek compound system.
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References
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