>PIE spread ... its success was due neither to anything in the nature of the
language, nor to >the aggressiveness of its speakers.
I have just reread Lehmann's "Theoretical Bases", and noticed his comments
at section 12.9.4 (page 287 in my edition). He suggests as explanations for
the spread of IE:
(a) fertility of the homeland leads to large increase in population
(b) technology (e.g. chariots and wheels) leads to rapid expansion
(c) [Meillet's idea, 1928] social strucutres and values:
(i) striving for independence and individuality
(ii) small autonomous groups
(iii) open to change
At any rate I hope we can dump the idea that the cause was something in the
language itself.
Peter