--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "fournet.arnaud"
<fournet.arnaud@...> wrote:
> > This is still a major concern of mine. What would a counter-
example
> > look like? Haven't you achieved complete circularity?
> > Anders
>
> What do you call "circularity" ?
> When we see e a o in Greek, we point at H1 H2 H3
> Is it not complete circularity as well ?
>
> Why don't you try to understand what I'm saying
> instead of looking for counter-examples,
> before you have understood what's going on.
> I'm looking for examples,
> I don't know what a counter-example would be.
> You mean onuma and odontos are a counter-example for H1 ?
Yes, they are apparent counter-examples. And they have to be
explained, either by changing the reconstruction (to h3-) or by a
Umlaut-tendency.
However, your approach, if I understand it correctly, would be to
posit a new phoneme, and thus in this particular case say that onuma,
odont- have initial h1.2, that produces exactly the same result as
normal h1... apart from when it is "prothetic" in Greek, where it
gives o-. This seems impossible to disprove.
Now that may not even be wrong, sometimes distinctions survive in the
oddest of places. And if we really _did_ find a number of instances
where apparent *-h2g- in non-Italo-Celtic corresponded to *-kk- (>
Lat. -k-) in Italo-Celtic, there might even be something in favor of
considering such a sound change. Only if we then were unable to
predict when the change happens could we consider positing a new h2-
phoneme (or look at other factors, such as the accent).
However, and this is my most important point, we have yet to see
_one_ good example of Eastern -h2g- : Italo-Celt. -kk-, let alone
enough to begin considering changing the phonemic inventory of PIE.
Or have I completely misunderstood what you are saying? Please let me
know, I don't mind being corrected.
Anders