Vṛddhi traces in Hindi denominal derivation

Abstract

This paper considers vṛddhi as an inherited feature in Modern Standard Hindi. As a phenomenon, vṛddhi is most commonly discussed in reference to Old Indo‐Aryan (OIA), particularly with a focus on inflectional patterns in Sanskrit. However, the inherited pattern in New Indo‐Aryan (NIA) languages presents specific analytical challenges and its status as a morpho‐phonological feature in the present‐day languages is not straightforward to establish. In this paper, the focus is given to the operation of vṛddhi in denominal derivations in both OIA and present‐day Hindi. This leads to a discussion of the evolution of vowel systems in the history of Indo‐Aryan. Regarding the question of how synchronic vṛddhi‐alternations can be accounted for theoretically, I present two possibilities: (i) that vṛddhi constitutes a phonologically active process of vowel lowering/tensing in Hindi; and (ii), that vṛddhi is a suppletive phenomenon synchronically, and thus, not derived by phonological rule.