--- In Nostratica@yahoogroups.com, "Richard Wordingham" <richard@...>
wrote:

>
> --- In Nostratica@yahoogroups.com, "etherman23" <etherman23@> wrote:
> >
> > --- In Nostratica@yahoogroups.com, "Richard Wordingham" <richard@>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > Okay, rather than trying to debate that *h2 couldn't be /x/ (indeed,
> > in my first post I admitted the possibility), would you know of any
> > evidence that *h1 couldn't be /S/?
>
> Having seen evidence that the PIE subjunctive/thematic suffix is
> -h1e-, I think we need it to lenite further before we reach core-IE
> where the thematic suffix becomes common. On the other hand, it's
> tempting to speculate about a phonetically conditioned split of */Se/
> into subjunctive/thematic -h1e- and future -se- (not sure if this has
> to be reconstructed as -sh1e-).

Possible but I haven't given that any thought. incidentally what is
the basis for assimg the suffix is -h1e instead of just -e?

> As I think Miguel pointed out, it seems odd for a language with
> mandatory initial consonants not to have a glottal stop.

But what evidence do we have that initial consonants were mandatory?
All non-Anatolian languages have numerous examples of vowel initial
words. That would point to Anatolian as the basis for the claim. I
don't know about Luwian, but Hittite has many words beginning with *a
or *e.

> The simplest
> hypothesis is that such was one of the origins of what is
> reconstructed as *h1.

I proposed that *h3 is the glottal stop.