PL-IE-Notations.htm
Tlazoltéotl



CONVENTIONS





Proto-Language



E, A, O,
P[?], P[H], P[?]F, PF[H], F, F[H],
T[?], T[H], T[?]S, TS[H], S, S[H],
K[?], K[H], K[?]X, KX[H], X, X[H],
M, M[H], N, N[H], Q, Q[H],
R, R[H],
?, H, ¿ (formerly $), HH
([?] indicates glottalization; [H] indicates aspiration;
? = voiceless laryngal {glottal} stop; ¿ is a voiced pharyngal fricative {originally, a voiceless pharyngal stop};
H is a voiceless laryngal fricative); HH is a voiceless pharyngal fricative;
Q = /ng/, a voiced dorsal nasal.)









Indo-European

C+A/E/O had become C+a (with - or y/w-glides) during the Pontic-Nostratic stage.

e, a, o

are the result of grammatical Ablaut or
vowel-coloration(for a, see below).

e:, a:, o:

are the result of grammatical Ablaut (Indic vRddhi);
vowel-lengthening
or are the inherited qualities of vowels formerly combined with laryngal-pharyngals (H), and so lengthened and preserved;
or from the aspiration (h) of preceding voiceless aspirated stops
derived from earlier affricates
(e.g. p[h] from P[H]F; t[h] from T[H]S; k[h] from K[H]X),
and from aspirated non-stops:
(e.g. r/l[**h] from R[H]; w[**h] from F[H]; m[**h] from M[H]).


i (i:) and u (u:)

are exclusively the result of avocalic y and w.



b, bh, p, p[h]1, w,
d, dh, t, t[h]1, s,
g, g[^], gh, g[^]h, k, k[^], k[h]1, k[^][h]1,
g[w], g[^][w], k[w], k[^][w],
m, n, (n)g, (n)g[^], (n)k, (n)k[^],
r, l, l(y), L,
y (from PL ¿E [Pontic-Nostratic ¿y]),
H (from PL ?, ¿, H, HH except ¿E).
g[w]h
and g[^][w]h result from combinations of g[w] and g[^][w] + H.

([h] indicates aspiration; [^] and [y] indicate palatalization; [w] indicates velarization;
l[y]
indicates a palatal /l/; L indicates a velar /l/;
H
indicates an unspecified "laryngeal", in Early IE, probably /x/).

[H1(neutral; from ?) is, in my opinion, an unnecessary reconstruction;
all H2/3/4 appear in Hittite as h except those derived from PL ?].

H2(a-color; from H-), H3(o-color; from Hw), H4(e-color; from Hy)


IE b is rare as an initial and even questioned by some scholars as a root final. I have found that Early IE *b (from PL P[?]) appears in the stage of IE normally reconstructed as w or bh when a root initial though usually as b as a root final. It is probable that the presence of a nearby laryngal-pharyngal (H) was the conditioning factor in P[?] becoming IE initial bh as opposed to w; the expected coloring from the H2,3,4 does not, however, seem to occur in this combination.

However, for a better view of the "laryngeals", read the essay entitled The "Laryng(e)al" Theory — applying Occam's Razor at this website. Final Early IE voiced aspirated stops + a can become unaspirated: -bha becomes -b(a); -dha becomes -d(a); -gha becomes -g(a).

When IE s-mobile is combined with an initial voiced stop or affricate, the stop or affricate is de-voiced and de-velarized (e.g. s + b(h)VC(V)) becomes sp(h)VC(V); when s-mobile is combined with r-, a /-t-/ is inserted [s-t-r-] for euphony and ease of pronunciation.







the latest revision of this document can be found at
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Patrick C. Ryan * 9115 West 34th Street - Little Rock, AR 72204-4441 * (501)227-9947
PROTO-LANGUAGE@email.msn.com

1. Many IEists are not willing to accept the existence of voiceless aspirated stops (ph, th, kh) for IE. However, an eminent IEist, Dr. Fredrik Otto Lindeman, in Einführung in die Laryngaltheorie (Sammlung Göschen Band 1247/1247a, Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin, 1970), writes on page 80: "Wir sind geneigt, mit Frisk und anderen Gelehrten . . . der idg. Grundsprache die Existenz von sog. tenues aspiratae (vielleicht in sehr begrenztem Umfange) zuzuschreiben."

According to generally prevalent theory, IE ph, th, and kh can arise from a combination of p+H, t+H, and k+H; in some cases (like pho/o:l-, ‘fall'), an analogous situation seems to be true: H+p, H+t, and H+k seem to give rise to ph, th, and kh.

Just as IE ph, th, and kh can arise from a combination of p+H, t+H, and k+H, it sometimes happens that IE bh, dh, and gh can arise from a combination of b+H, d+H, and g+H.