[tied] Re: Short and long vowels

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Patrick Ryan" <proto-
language@...> wrote:

>
> Certainly, I would be glad to do that.
>
> I will not offer pre-Nostratic reconstructions to put the worm in

the apple.

>
> 1) PIE *gWem-, 'go'; Egyptian sm, 'go';
>
> 2) PIE gWi:-nó-, 'fur'; Egyptian sn.w,'hair';
>
> 3) PIE *gWei-, 'cry'; Sumerian se-x (IG~I-A), 'cry';
>
> 4) PIE *gWei-, 'live'; Sumerian si-i, 'live';
>
> 5) PIE *gWel-, 'pour out'; Egyptian in Hnm.t, 'well'; Sumerian

hal, 'pour

> out'
>
> 6) PIE *gWer-, 'swallow'; in Egyptian s3b.w, 'meals, food';

Sumerian har,

> 'chew'
>
> 7) PIE *gWer-, 'heavy'; Egyptian s3.w, 'weight';
>
> 8) PIE *kWel-, 'move around'; Egyptian snj, 'encircle';
>
> 9) PIE *kWer-, 'formulate, put into effect'; Egyptian s3, 'ordain,

order';

> ser-3, 'decide'
>
> 10) PIE *kWe-, interrogative; Egyptian in j-s-z.t, 'what?'

(literally,

> ?-what-it); Sumerian ha, 'quantity';

Now, that's more like it. This is the kind of stuff that makes for
potential progress. You have 4 examples of IE *gW corresponding to
Egypt. s, and one where the same phoneme is Egypt. H. That prompts
the first question: what's the value of item 5? You further have 3
cases of IE *kW corresponding to Egypt. s. You have 2 examples of IE
*gW corresponding to Sumerian s, and 2 where *gW corresponds to Sum.
h. Of these, one has Egypt. H, one s. You finally have one example
each of IE *kW corresponding to Sum. s and h. That emphasizes the
desperate need for some conditioning or perhaps delousing. The IE
side of items 2 and 3 is very weak, so are the other sides of 10.
But this post does contain something that deserves to be discussed
by those who understand it. I can only wish you luck on Nostratic-L.

Jens