"syllabicity"

[Patrick C. Ryan]

Dear Peter and IEists:

 ----- Original Message -----
From: petegray <petegray at btinternet.com>
Sent: Saturday, May 01, 1999 11:43 AM

[ moderator snip ]

> I don't understand your argument, Pat.   If the H's had lost their
> consonantal value, as you claim, then they are either vowels or
> non-existent.
> (a) If they were vowels, there is no explanation for the non-appearance of
> them at the beginning of these sanskrit roots.

I think there may be two explanations for their non-appearance initially:

1) the effects of stress-accent;

2) a restriction on the number of segments that can be re-duplicated.

> (b) If they were non-existent, they could not magically produce an -i- when
> the root is reiterated.

Agreed.

> In other words,
> (a) an original IE *Vgen  would not produce the attested root gan, but
> *Vgan.
> (b) an original IE root *gen would not produce the attested gan-i-gm-, but
> gan-gm-.
> (c) Only an original IE root *Hgan can produce this pattern of attested root
> gan, but repeated gan-i-gam < Hgen-Hgn.

To be explicit, I am saying that I think it is possible for Vgen to be
reduplicated as *gen-Vgen, possibly through *VgenVgen.

Pat

PATRICK C. RYAN (501) 227-9947; FAX/DATA (501)312-9947 9115 W. 34th St.
Little Rock, AR 72204-4441 USA WEBPAGES:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/2803 and PROTO-RELIGION:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/2803/proto-religion/indexR.html "Veit
ek, at ek hekk, vindga meipi, nftr allar nmu, geiri undapr . . . a ~eim
meipi er mangi veit hvers hann af rstum renn." (Havamal 138)