Schleicher's fable is a reconstructed text in Proto-Indo-European (PIE), published by August Schleicher in 1868. Schleicher was the first scholar to compose a text in PIE. The fable is entitled Avis akvasas ka ("The Sheep and the Horses"). Schleicher's reconstruction assumed that the o/e vocalism was secondary, and his PIE is much more closely based on Sanskrit than modern reconstructions. The Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) is the hypothetical common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, believed to have been spoken around 4000 BC in Central Asia (according to the Kurgan hypothesis) or millennia before that in Anatolia (according to the Anatolian hypothesis). ... August Schleicher August Schleicher (February 19, 1821 - December 6, 1868) was a German linguist. ... 1868 (MDCCCLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Friday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... The Sanskrit language ( , ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. ...

Original text:

Avis, jasmin varnā na ā ast, dadarka akvams, tam, vāgham garum vaghantam, tam, bhāram magham, tam manum āku bharantam. Avis akvabhjams ā vavakat; kard aghnutai mai vidanti manum akvams agantam. Akvāsas ā vavakant: krudhi avai, kard aghnutai vividvant-svas: manus patis varnām avisāms karnauti svabhjam gharmam vastram avibhjams ka varnā na asti. Tat kukruvants avis agram ā bhugat.

A second version of the same tale was composed by Hermann Hirt in 1939. Hermann Hirt (born 1865 in Magdeburg, died 1936 in Giessen) was an Indo-Europeanist. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Owis ek’wōses-kʷe

owis, jesmin wьlənā ne ēst, dedork’e ek’wons, tom, woghom gʷьrum weghontm̥, tom, bhorom megam, tom, gh’ьmonm̥ ōk’u bherontm̥. owis ek’womos ewьwekʷet: k’ērd aghnutai moi widontei gh’ьmonm̥. ek’wons ag’ontmo . ek’wōses ewьwekʷont: kl’udhi, owei!, k’ērd aghnutai vidontmos: gh’ьmo, potis, wьlənām owjôm kʷr̥neuti sebhoi ghʷermom westrom; owimos-kʷe wьlənā ne esti. Tod k’ek’ruwos owis ag’rom ebhuget.

A third version was published by Winfred Lehmann and Ladislav Zgusta in 1979[1]: Winfred P. Lehmann (born 23 June 1916 in Surprise, Nebraska) is a historical linguist who has served as the director of the Linguistics Research Center, University of Texas at Austin since 1961. ... Ladislav Zgusta is a historical linguist and lexicographer. ... This page refers to the year 1979. ...

[Gwrei] owis, kwesyo wlhna ne est, ekwons espeket, oinom ghe gwrum woghom weghontm, oinomkwe megam bhorom, oinomkwe ghmenm oku bherontm. Owis nu ekwobh(y)os ewewkwet: Ker aghnutoi moi ekwons agontm nerm widntei. Ekwos tu ewewkwont: Kludhi, owei, ker aghnutoi nsmei widntbh(y)os: ner, potis, owiom r wlhnam sebhi gwhermom westrom kwrneuti. Neghi owiom wlhna esti. Tod kekluwos owis agrom ebhuget.

A fourth version appears in the EIEC (1997:501). The Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture or EIEC, edited by James P. Mallory and Douglas Q. Adams, was published in 1997 by Fitzroy Dearborn. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

English translation:

[On a hill,] a sheep that had no wool saw horses, one of them pulling a heavy wagon, one carrying a big load, and one carrying a man quickly. The sheep said to the horses: "My heart pains me, seeing a man driving horses". The horses said: "Listen, sheep, our hearts pain us when we see this: a man, the master, makes the wool of the sheep into a warm garment for himself. And the sheep has no wool". Having heard this, the sheep fled into the plain.

Note that in the modernized version of "The Sheep and the Horses", a spelling convention is used which is different from the one introduced in the Proto-Indo-European language article: h and w are not superscripted to indicate aspiration and labialization. Also most laryngeals are omitted, and where given, the different laryngeals are not distinguished. The original version of "The Sheep and the Horses" uses Schleicher's spelling, which is influenced by Sanskrit, but uses j for y. The Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) is the hypothetical common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, believed to have been spoken around 4000 BC in Central Asia (according to the Kurgan hypothesis) or millennia before that in Anatolia (according to the Anatolian hypothesis). ...

See also

• The king and the god

The king and the god ( -) is the title of a short dialogue composed in the Proto-Indo-European language. ...

External links

• Scheicher's reconstructed text with a literal English gloss
• A message board thread about the fable and the validity or not of Schleicher's reconstruction

References

• Lehmann, W., and L. Zgusta. 1979. Schleicher's tale after a century. In Festschrift for Oswald Szemerényi on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday, ed. B. Brogyanyi, 455–66. Amsterdam.