[tied] Re: Unreality...

About the possibility of monovocalism in some (pre)stage of PIE, I
think it is possible. As Jens has pointed out, the vocalism of
reconstructed roots is terribly one-sided (factoring out the
Ablaut). One can say that the majority of PIE roots are defined by
their consonants. However, there are many roots, such as the
infamous *wer-'s, that have the same sound-shape but different
meanings. This homonymity can be explained by the following: 1.
Semantic shifts, and/or 2. Previously different sound-shapes that
collapsed together due to sound changes.

Jens, why does *e > *o before voiced segments only in stem-final
vowels? Also, isn't it easier to front and unround a back rounded
vowel than vice versa?

- Rob