Re: IE Thematic Vowel Rule

>
> > To me, that means the "thematic vowels" were
> > recent within IE and/or were stressed to begin with.
>
> I conclude the opposite on the same basis. If the special rules that
> *do* apply to the thematic vowels were of recent date they should
> apply also to the other vowels of the language. Why do they not do
> that in your opinion?
>
> > Coupled with
> > these things are the indications that, by the time of latest IE,
> the
> > earlier accent patterns were no longer being followed.
>
> Sure, that's right.
>

But suppose those rules that created the thematic inflection didn't
change vowels, but _created_ them, for by analogy?


We might start with a semi-thematic inflection (altough I know you
won't follow me there):

*-óm
*´-s
*´-t

*-ómV
*´-tV
*-ónt

One day someone decided he wanted an easier static paradigm instead
(the same guy also invented the thematic *tóm-os and *tom-ós from an
existing paradigm **tóm-s n., **tom-ós g.). So he came up with

*-óm
*-és
*-ét

*-ómV
*-étV
*-ónt

This way the question of the effects of the rules on other ablaut
vowels doesn't come up at all (another question is why the new vowel
was -e-, not -o-, but that might have been phonetically conditioned).


Torsten