Re: [tied] Re: Ie. *laywos/leh2iwos (was: ka and k^a)

From: glen gordon
Message: 40875
Date: 2005-09-29

Piotr:
> One should be careful with adverbs like "ever".
> The colouring by the *K series was inconsistent.
> We have well-attested roots like *s)ker-, *sek-
> or *legH-, which don't show any a-colouring.

Yes, I don't doubt that they are reconstructed but
I'm still skeptical as to whether they are
reconstructed properly. Afterall, if long vowels
are not prone to colouring, should we not ask
ourselves whether these roots are in fact long-grade?
Hence: *sqe:r-, *se:q- and *le:GH-.

What shows conclusively that we are dealing with
short *e in these roots?


> It may have been a capricious, incomplete sound
> change, like the lowering of Early Modern
> English /u/, which took place in <butter> but not
> in <butcher>.

Granted, but wouldn't that be the less economical
solution in comparison to a consistent rule? Yes,
I'm still stubborn because I'm not convinced that
those *e's should be there yet :(


= gLeN




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