Re: Re[2]: [tied] Origins of Indo-European, and naturalness of lary

From: Patrick Ryan
Message: 46460
Date: 2006-10-24

 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, October 23, 2006 10:29 PM
Subject: Re[2]: [tied] Origins of Indo-European, and naturalness of laryngeals

At 9:41:14 PM on Monday, October 23, 2006, Patrick Ryan
wrote:

> From: P&G<mailto:G.and.P@... net>

>>> The "Laryngeal Theory" is based on several false
>>> premises, the most notable of which is that "laryngeals"
>>> can "color" vowels. In languages like Arabic, ...

>> Your argument from Arabic fails. It is suggested that in
>> PIE, laryngeals colour vowels when they are lost - but
>> you argue from a situation where laryngeals are not lost,
>> but survive. [...]

> I am simply at a complete loss to understand the "logic"
> of this argument - if it may even be termed that.

Presumably the argument is that allophonic variation is
phonemicized when the conditioning segments are lost.

[...]

***

Well, that could, I suppose, happen.

Do you have any examples where, because of actual historical data, we know that has happened?

Also, I would ask what persuades us that the allophonic variation had not been phonemicized prior to the loss of the conditioning segment?

 

Patrick

***

 

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