--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "elmeras2000" <jer@...> wrote:
> My own suggestion is that word-final
> vowels once had a certain prominence later reflected by the special
> resistence towards ablaut reductions. In what way is that
> impossible? Or inadequate? Or complicated? Or contrived?
Okay, I just had an idea. Obviously this needs to be checked out more,
but I'll throw it out anyway. Let's assume that stress (at least in
thematic verbs) was originally on the first syllable. Then Jens' Law
applied only to post-stress vowels (i.e. the thematic vowel). As you
pointed out earlier there are stressed thematic vowels, so we need an
explanation for this. I'm suggesting that when the stressed syllable
was closed the accent shifted to the next syllable.