Re: PIE *a -- a preliminary checklist

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

>
>
>
> In PPPIE the plain voiceless stops developed aspiration in the
> vicinity of back vowels, and these later developed into voiced
> aspirates.
> =========
> Weird

And yet it appears to be the case and explains the PIE root constraints.

> ==========
> Since there was front~back vowel harmony you never see any
> PIE roots that mix plain voiceless stops with voiced aspirates (except
> in cases with s+voiceless stop and voiced aspirate). I hope to post
> something more detailed on the Nostratic group (my recent posts on
> Indo-Uralic can be ignored since I've redone the theory in light of
> more data).
> ============
> What is the front back vowel harmony ?
> The twin sister of the Ablaut joker ?
>
> Arnaud
> =====================

Vowel harmony means that vowels in a word are either all front vowels
or all back vowels. I don't see any connection with ablaut, at least
not PIE ablaut.