Re: [tied] IE words for monkey,ape : Ke:pos, Kapi, Apan, Opica, ABr

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, enlil@... wrote:

> Torsten:
> > An interesting little idea suggested by Prof. Witzel concerns an
> > alleged alternation k/zero,
>
> Actually, you're mixing up a lot of things together as usual.
>
> Greeks sometimes used "k", sometimes "h", sometimes nothing to

represent

> foreign 'h'-like sounds that may not completely have corresponded

to the

> Greek 'h' as far as the ears of its native speakers were concerned.
>
> Another thing is that IE itself seems to have, for example, an

alternation

> of its own between *q- and *x- in the 'bone' root as well. However,

this

> isn't particularly mysterious if you accept that they're both

uvular. A

> tendency for a uvular stop *q- to erode into a fricative *x- is a

common

> and natural one in many languages. As you've pointed out with

similar

> dichotomous sets, IE does have a few roots showing this pattern but
> it doesn't show us anything other than an irregular sound change

during

> the period of a fracturing IE.
>
>

I think it's ironic that when I for once quote something without
commenting it I'm told I mix up things. Take your gripe to Witzel.

Torsten