From: fournet.arnaud
Message: 58553
Date: 2008-05-16
----- Original Message -----
From: "Patrick Ryan" <proto-language@...>
>
> Patrick:
>
> The best explanation of my theory is at
>
> http://geocities.com/proto-language/OneLaryngealVocalicTheory.htm
>
> But to answer your question in a word: entropy. If preserving *a: to
> contrast wirh *a maintains a semantic distinction, then the extra effort
> will be made to maintain the distinction by retaining *a:.
>
>
> ***
About all French speakers (in France) have lost the distinction between
patte "paw" [pat] and pâte "pasta" [pa:t]
and the same is true with
bette [e] and bête [e:],
ami [i], amie [i:]
moule [u] "mould" and moules "mussels" [u:]
etc
I suppose that as usual it will ten years untill you discard your entropy
inadequacy.
Arnaud
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