Phonemic split

[X99Lynx at aol.com]

I wrote:
<<Either the "sporadic phonemic split" needed to create 3 different obstruents
out of less than 3 happened somewhere along the line, or three obstruents
have always been with us.>>

In a message dated 9/15/1999 2:54:56 AM, kurisuto at unagi.cis.upenn.edu replied:
<<Or a new distinction arose because the conditioning environment for some
earlier alternation was neutralized by regular sound change.  I went into
some detail about this at the beginning of my post.>>

But, in any case, the absolute elimination of celtic based on 3 obstruents
becomes less than absolute.

<<For example, if Italic and Celtic share some characteristic, and if the
languages both higher and lower in the tree share some other value for
that character, it must be case that Italo-Celtic's value for the
character is an innovation and not a retention.>>

Well, we;ve been through this before.  How do you attribute some other value
to the "earlier" PIE node, especially if you are not using reconstructions as
data?  It goes back to how you identify the difference between what is change
and what is a vestige.  Without of course being circular or going outside the
"data" you are using to support your result.

Regards,
Steve Long