Re: [tied] *kap-

> One has to remember that the
> frequency of use can scarcely be estimated for PIE. *h1esti and

*h1senti

> were probably amongst the most frequently used words in the
> protolanguage, but they somehow managed to survive with little
> deformation, so I'm not happy when somebody almost takes irregular
> development for granted for any lexeme that _might_ have been

frequent.


Erm, I thought PIE was copula-less?

> Germanic *sunuz and *wiraz show an irregularly shortened vowel --

why?

> Because they were frequently used? But so were many other words

that

> don't display any such shortening. And *suHnu- yields regular

reflexes

> outside of Germanic despite being presumably so common.

Perhaps

'normal' u: > eu/ou/u
'low, intimate' u: > u:

cf. the dialects of Dutch that differentiate huis/mu:s.

"Son" would belong to the 'intimate' sphere (like "mouse").


Torsten