Re: [tied] Re: Albanian

> The usual ground is that Albanian is unique among the satem
> languages in preserving distinct phonemes for the three PIE
> velar stops k, k', and kW, at least before front vowels. All
> other satem languages merge k and kW. In fact, centum languages
> merge k and k', so that, if true, Albanian is the ONLY surviving
> IE language that distinguishes the original three velar stops.

Not really the *only* one. There's also Armenian in front of front vowels
and Luwian part of Anatolian languages.

Mate

REPLY:

What did k, k' and kW become in Albanian? I am learning Albanian and it
might help if I can spot some words. Is it true that Albanian lost nearly
all its PIE vocabulary? If so, is this because it borrowed words from
pre-PIE Neolithic and Palaeolithic peoples in the Balkans?