Re[4]: [tied] PIE *a -- a preliminary checklist

From: Brian M. Scott
Message: 53031
Date: 2008-02-14

At 12:16:55 AM on Thursday, February 14, 2008, Rick
McCallister wrote:

> --- "Brian M. Scott" <BMScott@...> wrote:

>> At 6:41:07 PM on Wednesday, February 13, 2008, Richard
>> Wordingham wrote:

>>> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Rick McCallister
>>> <gabaroo6958@...> wrote:

>>>> If so, was there a stage when Gmc had laryngeals?

>>> Will a single one do? German has merged initial
>>> laryngeals to a glottal stop, [...]

>> What is the evidence that the German glottal stop before
>> word-initial vowels has anything at all to do with IE
>> laryngeals? It seems on the face of it both unlikely and
>> virtually impossible to demonstrate even if true.

> I'd like to see both sides of this argument Why do you say
> unlikely and impossible to demonstrate?

Because the German glottal stop is predictable.

Brian