[tied] Re: Metathesis - The armchair linguist's favourite tool

--- In cybalist@..., "Piotr Gasiorowski" <gpiotr@...> wrote:

> If *X stands for one of the "stronger" (supposedly dorsal)

laryngeals (*h2 or *h3), diphthongs (except *eu) are monophthongised
unless the laryngeal is attracted into the next syllable:

>
> *-oiX.C- > *-oX.C- > *-o:C- (. = syllable boundary)
> *-oi.XV- > *-ojV-
> *-eiX.C- > *-iX.C- > *-i:C-
> *-ei.XV- > *-ejV-
> *-iX.C- > *-i:C-
>
> *-ouX.C- > *-uX.C- > *-u:C-
> *-ou.XV- > *-owV-
> *-euX.C- > *-e:uC-
> *-eu.XV- > *-ewV-
> *-uX.C- > *-u:C-
>
> Before preconsonantal *h1, only *ei is smoothed to *e (*eih1C >

*eh1C > *e:C).

>
> Piotr
>

I'll have the cheek to ask for some examples or other information
that could help one demonstrate the roots under question have always
contained diphthongs (in case this is not a mere speculation).
And one more question. I've always thought that 'dorsal' means more
or less 'with the tongue set horizontally in the lower part of the
mouth, tip against the lower teeth'. This semantics, however, doesn't
let me decode the phrase 'dorsal laryngeal'. What is wrong here?

Sergei