From: Mark Odegard
Message: 364
Date: 1999-11-30
| Pre-PIE | 'Comparative' PIE | Gloss |
| pád- pad-á | po:ts pedós | foot |
Piotr is not quite at the point where he is going to discuss umlaut and ablaut, but I see it coming. In the case of English foot, German fuss, we have an example of umlaut where the plural form takes on a form of vowel harmony, along with the loss of an ending. The word 'umlaut' is as polysemous in English (and, so I'm told, in German too) as is the English word 'accent'. You tend to get blank looks when you mention the word 'ablaut'.
I won't steal Piotr's thunder, and will let him explain things. This set of postings is useful and informative.
Mark.