The article points out a number of problems with the traditional scenario in which the Tocharian verbal pair meaning ‘to see, look’, B ləka-, A läkā- < PT *ləka- and B pəlka-, A pälkā- < PT *pəlka-... Show moreThe article points out a number of problems with the traditional scenario in which the Tocharian verbal pair meaning ‘to see, look’, B ləka-, A läkā- < PT *ləka- and B pəlka-, A pälkā- < PT *pəlka-, started out as two separate lexemes that became associated with each other. It is proposed that *pəlka- rather developed from *ləka- by a reanalysis of its imperative. This can better account not only for several morphological details, but also for the large semantic and formal overlap, as well as for the specific way in which the semantics are here argued to differ: an analysis of both verbs in Tocharian B suggests that in those categories in which both verbs are found, ləka- refers to perception with the eyes (‘to see’), pəlka- to fixing one’s gaze (‘to look (at)’). Show less
