Re: [tied] Why is PIE more centum than satem?

In addition to Miguel's response, we should add:

(a) Actually PIE is not thought to be either centum or satem. We
reconstruct a pattern which is not shown in either group: *k', *k, *kw
(although there may be traces of a three-fold opposition in Lydian or
Armenian, but there is dispute over this).

(b) The satem languages show a single phoneme */k/, where the centum group
show both *k and *kw. The pattern of distribution is absolutely consistent,
and the forms could not have been borrowed. So we must assume that PIE had
the centum distinction of *k and *kw.

(c) In a similar, but not exactly parallel manner, we argue that the stem
languages show a variety of sibilants which can be taken to be reflexes of a
single original sound, and that this sound occurs where the centum languages
have reflexes of *k, while other case of centum *k appear as satem *k.
Since the satem languages are to a large extent consistent in this
distribution, we assume that PIE had the satem distinction of *k and */?/ >
*s'

(d) We then represent this sound as *k'. Some linguists like to see PIE
sounds not as phonemes, but abstract symbols, representing the group of
reflexes in the various IE languages, but others do go on and ask what this
sound might actually be. Here Miguel's arguments play their part, and have
persuaded linguists that the sound we represent as *k' was indeed a stop
consonant, not a sibilant. But it would be wrong to say that this makes PIE
more "centum" than "satem"

Peter