--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "fortuna11111" <fortuna11111@...>
wrote:
> To clarify my own point:
>
> Both dom and dem are possible,
> > of course, but they have a completely different tone quality and
> that
> > was my point.
>
> ... and the tone quality may or may not change the quality of the
> related consonants...
>
Am I correct in saying that your point is basically that the
differences in vowel quality between "dom" and "dem" were originally
differences in tone?
If so, this gives credence to my belief that PIE -- or its parent
language -- had a very neutral vowel system centered around the low
central vowel /a/. Any monovocalic system will likely have /a/ as
its vowel, as you've pointed out that /a/ allows for the fullest
possible voice. That being said, (Pre-)PIE was *not* entirely
monovocalic. The low central vowel was articulated two different
ways: with a high tone (> & "schwa" > e) and a low tone (> a > o).
Also, syllabic /y/ and /w/ were realized as /i/ and /u/, respectively.
- Rob