Re: *a/*a: ablaut

May I mention that I have been using <6> for schwa; it even resembles it a
bit? - but, of course, I am just a hick Arkansan.

Patrick

----- Original Message -----
From: "Roger Mills" <rfmilly@...>
To: <cybalist@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2008 5:57 PM
Subject: [tied] Re: *a/*a: ablaut


> Richard Wordingham wrote:
> > 4 vowel systems are usually more asymmetric. For yet more examples, we
> > have the
> > Proto-Austronesian system of /a, e, i, u/...
>
> I'm sure you're aware of this, but others may not be: PAN *e represents
> central schwa, not a mid/low front vowel. (At least, last I heard...) Its
> use dates from days of the typewriter, when inserting a real schwa into
> your
> ms. was laborious and prone to omission, no longer a problem thanks to
> computers, except in email. But the system was indeed asymmetric, and *e
> was
> somewhat restricted as to occurrence in the proto-language, probably was
> always unstressed, and shows many peculiarites in later development.
>
>