--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Patrick Ryan" <proto-language@...>
wrote:
>
> If it makes Mr. Kelkar feel better, the vowels probably bit the
dust when a darker-skinned people (Afro-Asians) imposed their language
on lighter-skinned people (Caucasians), who had a very limited vowel
repertoire. One of these peoples characterized Caucasians (su-bar:
skin-white) as 'swine' and 'servants' with the same word.
>
> After the Caucasians learned Afro-Asiatic and mangled it, they
headed out of Dodge for the steppes of Russia and later back into
Anatolia, and west into Europe.
> Patrick
> ***
And also into Pakistan/India where it was the darkys' turn to return
the favor by absorbing a degraded version, and then upgrading it to
the Sanskritic system which, if I understand the following comment
correctly, is more like the pre-PIE version.
"Curiously enough, many believe that the PIE vowel system itself
derives from one very similar to the Sanskrit system."
M. Kelkar