Re: ka and k^a [was: [tied] *kW- "?"]

glen gordon wrote:

>>There's nothing, apart from the colour of
>>the vowel, to suggest an internal *h2. *h(?)na:s-
>>is, in my opinion, the optimal reconstruction.
>
>
> What about the occasional long vowel? Does
> anyone "nose"? Hehe. No, enough humour. Perhaps I
> should stick to tongue in cheek :)

The underlying long vowel in this word could perhaps be dispensed with
if the *a vocalism had no zero grade; then *Hna:s would owe its long
vovel to the normal nom.sg. lengthening, and the weak stem *Hnas- etc.
plus the total absence of *Hn.s- would represent the expected state of
things. But I have no convincing explanation for all the occurrences of
the long vowel in derived words.

Piotr