Re: The meaning of life: PIE. *gWiH3w-

From: fournet.arnaud
Message: 52583
Date: 2008-02-10

> The innovation of Central PIE
> was the use of e / o to express tenses.

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PIE did not have tenses it had aspects as in Slavic languages.
P R
***
Slavic is fairly peculiar.
PIE certainly did not function like Slavic.
Maybe more in the on-going / finished fashion.
on-going = present
finished = past
Arnaud
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***

So *ga:u-, 'be happy' and *ge:u-, 'bend over', were indistinguishable?
Patrick

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*ga:u is *geH2u
*ge:u is *geH1u

this is not a pair contrasting e and a
but a pair contrasting H1 et H2.

Read again the basics of Phonology.

Arnaud
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