Re: Odp: Odp: [tied] gr!

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: tgpedersen@...
> To: cybalist@...
> Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2001 11:39 AM
> Subject: Re: Odp: [tied] gr!
>
>
> > I'd agree if it could be shown that Hittite had the voiced :
> voiceless contrast word-initially. I'm afraid <gir> only reflects

the

> scribes' preference for a particular syllabogram. Notice also

that

> all the other Hittite case forms of the word (<kardijas>, etc.)
> contain <kar>, while Sanskrit <hrd-> has an invariable <h->.
> >
> > Piotr
> >
>
> I am sorry to hear that <gir> only reflects the scribe's

preference

> for a particular syllabogram. I didn't realize that. Could you

please

> get him to send a posting to cybalist to confirm that? :)
> Or else, perhaps some more details of this particular explanation?
> You realize of course that I am campaigning again for my very

clever

> and sorely ignored theory in cybalist #6279, whenceupon Sanskrit

<h->

> would be a generalization of the nominative seen in Hittite (now
> where's my laryngeal when I need it)?
>
> Torsten

--- In cybalist@..., "Piotr Gasiorowski" <gpiotr@...> wrote:
> Where is your little laryngeal indeed? What particular nominative
is seen in Hittite? And maybe you could specify where and how *g^H-
contrasts with *k^- in Hittite. Why did they spell *g^Hesr 'hand' as
<kessar>, for example? The same holds for other phonation-type
contrasts which dissapear word-initially in Hittite, e.g. <taru> for
*doru. For some morphemes <t/d-> or <k/g-> vary at random, for others
one or the other form predominates. So what? If a language has a well-
developed written form, scribal practice gradually converges on some
kind of standard ortography, especially as regards common words. If
you insist there is a hidden regularity somewhere, a neglected
generalisation everybody has missed until now, it's great news, but
please prove it.
>
> Piotr
>

Oh. I'm sorry I annoyed you. I posted the Cymerian stuff hoping that
would keep you busy, while I pushed my extravagant theory on the main
street. Didn't work, it seems.

Disappearing phonation-type contrasts, hm! Varying at random, hm!
Maybe I should take out some books on Hittite from the library.

Torsten