Danny:

> (And I'll add the laterals hl, tl, tl'; there seems to be little >or no
>evidence of a separate dl.)

I'll comment on sibilants soon when I find the time. However, some
quick comments:

1. There seems to be little or no evidence of the entire
lateral series, let alone *dl. Why does one insist on
laterals in Nostratic, other than to maintain a
dysfunctional status quo?

2. Of _course_ there is a "schwa stage" in earlier IE!
(That is, a stage where schwa existed as a full vowel as
one finds in NWC languages.) However to claim that a single
schwa can explain away all the various ablauts existant in
IE is entirely ridiculous. I'm afraid we need two vowels
*& and *a, other than syllabic semivowels *i and *u, starting
at the IndoTyrrhenian stage, to explain the very long
development of these grammatical curiosities. And again,
please note Bomhard's specific mention of NWC contacts with
early IE that can help explain the peculiar centralized
vowel system. (Have a lookie at my Central Asia map)


- gLeN

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