Re: [tied] The phonetic value of PIE *h3 and the 'drink' root.

Miguel:

>Obviously, the quality of the root vowel here was /o/. However, it cannot
>be the "same" /o/ (i.e. it's very likely to have a different origin) as the
>one that alternates with "zero-grade" /e/ (*w�dr ~
>*w�dns (< **wed�nos), *p�:ds ~ *p�ds (< **ped�s)).

Ugh. This is painfully simple. The rule is that the
root CANNOT lose its syllabicity within a paradigm.
This is why *po:d-s becomes *ped-os and not something
ludicrous like **pd-os in the genitive. Whereas *wodr
can freely become *wedn- or *udn- since its
syllabicity remains. Theorizing two *o's is excessive
and only adds complexity where there need be none.

>Aha. So it's the *s, not the *y, that makes it
>different from *bhewg-. To satisfy my curiosity,
>can you formulate a precise rule for what constitutes
>a complex root and what doesn't?

Indeed, I concur. I haven't seen a precise (and
concise) rule in any of this dialogue yet.

>If not, the alternative possibility remains that
>the laryngeals vanished because of some laryngicide
>property of *R.

Laryngicide? I think we need some pseudophonemicide
to get rid of this wacky **R.


- love gLeN


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