[tied] Re: the glottalic theory

--- In cybalist@..., Jens Elmegaard Rasmussen <jer@...> wrote:

> Finally, I do
> not considere the IE plosive system typologically impossible, for

the

> triad t-d-dh is very plainly accompanied by a fourth element /th/

which

> makes the system identical with that of Sanskrit. It does not

matter what

> status the two letter with which I write /th/ have, for the whole

business

> of "phonological typology" is one of - phonetics! Look through the

many

> sound systems given by Ruhlen, they are all simply phonetic and not

based

> on any deeper analysis, so phonetic is the level the IE stops

should be

> assessed on, and they are found to be all right.

Is this the */th/ > Greek, Sanskrit /tH/, otherwise merging with
*/t/ ?

I have a feeling that there actually is a living language with the t
~ d ~ dH system, but I forget its name. I think Igbo also comes
close, but I can't lay my hands on a decent account of its consonant
system.

> ... also the paucity of /b/... But these blanks may have any age,

and they would

> remain even after any number of putative sound shifts may have

changed the

> specific phonetic values of the phonemes involved.

Would they have remained long? The classical languages filled these
blanks in.

Richard.