[tied] Re: Indo-European /a/

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Miguel Carrasquer <mcv@...> wrote:

> Initial clusters HC- do not generally show up as a-
> (Indo-Iranian i-) except in Armenian (and as e-, a-, o- in
> Greek). It seems a bit strange that original _long_ vowels
> would show such a behaviour.

Perhaps. But I thought it was strange behavior for the vowels when
according to Beekes *eH1(i,u) > e:(i,u), *eH3(i,u) > o:(i,u), *oH
(i,u) > o:(i,u), but *eH2(i,u) > a(i,u). Why wouldn't this last give
a long diphthong when H1 and H3 do?

Maybe word initially long vowels became short and short vowels
disappeared, became schwa, or were retained in Greek.

> There is some controversy over the issue. Initial *h3(V)-
> may be reflected as h- in Hittite (although other
> etymologies would suggest 0-). We would have:
>
> Hitt. Lyc.
> *h2- h- x-
> *h3- h- (0- ?) 0-,
>
> which e.g. Melchert derives from Proto-Anatolian (*h2- >)
> *x- vs. (*h3- >) *h-.

IIRC, Kortlandt supposes that H2 and H3 are lost initially before *o
but not *e in Armenian, Albanian, and possibly Hittite.