Re: [tied] Unreality...

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "P&G" <petegray@...> wrote:

> Abstraction comes in when we analyse written <y> and <i> as the

same phoneme

> (and mutatis mutandis <v> and <u>, <r.> and <r> and so on ). But

since

> these can be analysed (theoretically) as merely phonetic variants,

they are

> allophones - so there is no more abstraction than allophony.

Perfectly

> reasonable. (Or it would be if it worked.)

Spoilsport! It should be added that it is not the presence of
additional underlyingly independent vowel phonemes that prevents it
from working completely, which it almost does. It's the occasional
independent status acquired by older allophones that disrupts the
pretty picture. And that also goes for PIE, so the parallel is in
fact a fine one.

Jens