Re: *a/*a: ablaut

I think you will find few languages that lack /a/, the central low to mid
vowel.

Patrick

----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Wordingham" <richard@...>
To: <cybalist@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2008 5:47 PM
Subject: Re: [tied] *a/*a: ablaut


--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "fournet.arnaud" <fournet.arnaud@...>
wrote:

> > The major objection I would have to it (*i, *u, *&, *a) is, that to
> my way
> > of thinking, it is asymmetrical: one height level for front and back
> but two
> > heights for central.

and then added:

> It can be solved if we conclude
> that Ablaut-joker *& is /o/
> and *a is /e/.
> So that we have a nice system
> open o (Joker) versus e (a)
> closed u versus i

But that nice system is relatively rare among 4-vowel systems! I
believe /a, i, o, u/ is actually commoner than /E, i, O, u/.

Richard.