Re: a

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Richard Wordingham"
<richard.wordingham@...> wrote:

> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@...>

wrote:

>
> > But suppose pre-PIE was a three-vowel language: /i/, /a/, /u/
> >
> > Under certain conditions (no stress, stress, unknown),
> > /a/ > nothing, /e/, /o/
>
> <snip>
> > The problem of this analysis (ie starting from the zero grade)

is

> > how to account for i- and u- ablaut in the other direction,
> > namely /i/, /ie/, /io/ and /u/, /ue/, /uo/
>
> It doesn't bother Germanicists. It can just be a special case of

the

> first rule starting from *ja and *wa, e.g. the Germanic o-stem (or

is

> that a-stem?) developments *-jaz > *-iz and *-waz > *-uz

corresponding

> to more general *-Caz > *Cz. The e- and o-grade thought experiment
> developments are trivial.
>

You're right. I only have one possible objection: if (big if)
Basque 'ur' "water" is the same word as PIE *wer- id. then
PIE /u/, /we/, /wo/ must have developed from -u-, since Basque has
no ablaut.

Torsten