Re: Diphthong Distributions

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@...> wrote:

> If the Hittites chose /da/ over /ta/ purely for writing convenience,
> why did they write /ta/ not /da/ for the pret. 2sg,3sg suffix?
> How does one explain da-a-is^-ta with both /da/ and /ta/?

Good point. Still, the imperative ends in -du more often than -tu,
even after -s-, and <tu> is a much more complicated sign than <du>, so
complexity seems to be a factor. Is perhaps <da> excluded if no full
vowel is meant?

Jens