Re: The Two Faces of PIE *K^

At 4:24:53 AM on Wednesday, April 16, 2008, Patrick Ryan
wrote:

> Rather fortuitously, we have been discussing to words,
> 'dog' and 'fast' which reveal some important structural
> strategies of pre-PIE word-formation.

> As Pokorny records them, they are virtually the same if
> one assumes 'laryngeals':

> 1) *k^A-, 'gray'; and

> 2) *k^A(H)-, 'fast'.

As Pokorny records them, (1) is *k^as-, and (2) is
non-existent.

[...]

> I assert that every correctly reconstructed root beginning
> with *k^A [no lengthened vowel!] is based on a morpheme
> meaning 'gray/shadow' primarily, and, 'other',
> secondarily.

> I also assert that every correctly reconstructed root
> beginning with *k^e:- [snd not subsequently shortened to
> *e] is based on a morpheme meaning 'deer, fast'.

> The reason we have *k^e:- is because it derives from
> *k^he-; in giving up its aspiration, the vowel was
> lengthened compensatorily. So every naturally occurring
> *ke:- is, according to conventional notation: *k^(h)e:-.

> Now, to falsification.

You have it backwards. First you need to make a case for
these hypotheses. Absent such a case, there's nothing to
refute.

Brian