Re: [tied] Greek labiovelars

Andrew Jarrette asked:

But why is *gW so special? That's what I don't understand. Is it
because it was a glottalic stop, as some theorize? I see no reason
why *kW and *gWH should remain as /kW/ and /gW/ but *gW must
become /b/. Why not also *kW > /p/ and *gWH > /b/? Or conversely
*gW remain /gW/ like the other two? And in Greek (Attic, Ionic) *gW
is special also since although like *kW > /t/ before /e/, *gW > /d/
before /e/, nevertheless unlike *kW > /t/ before /i/, *gW > /b/
before /i/. I can see absolutely no phonological basis for this,
except dialect mixing, as Sean Whalen suggested. But these
developments in Irish, Greek, and the tentative ones in Albanian
suggest that the labiovelars were very special in a number of Indo-
European languages, undergoing phonological changes that seem to
defy natural expectations (or normal phonological tendencies). It
seems much more natural to me for *kis or *k'is to become /tis/ than
it does for *kWis to become /tis/, yet a sequence *kis or *k'is
would remain /kis/ in Greek, while *kWis becomes /tis/. I find this
truly remarkable and would never believe it were it not documented
fact.

Andrew Jarrette

==> I reply:

Good and fair questions. It would seem to me that the main
difference setting off /kW/ and /gWH/ from /gW/ would be the
parameter of voice which is strongest with absence of aspiration.
Thus it would be the woofer effect of the voicing that has caused
the rounded velar to become indistinguishable from a simple labial.
In /kW/ and /gWH/ there was not so much noise for the original
features to be buried in. Note that this can be understood on the
basis of the phonetic values of good classical Brugmannian Indo-
European.

Jens