Re: [tied] PIE Stop System

>> So you do find it possible that at a period there was only one phonemic
>> vowel in PIE?
>
>Yes. The result would be as in Sanskrit where /a/ has precisely that
>status.

Not precisely that status. Other phonemic vowels are necessary in Sanskrit
in a few instances, e.g. the sequence of a dual followed by a word beginning
with a vowel.
bandhu: a:sa:te ima:u
giri: a:rohatam
Also (in Vedic) a locative from an i-stem.
Also the pronoun ami: and a couple of Vedic pronouns.

But perhaps we should allow exceptions even in a "one-vowel" analysis of
PIE.

Peter