Motivating the Root Restrictions of PIE

David L. White dlwhite at texas.net
Tue Nov 28 18:01:26 UTC 2000


        Yes, I am serious.  And yes, what I posit is typologically weird,
but what more normal system motivates the root restrictions?  Are we to
imagine that these were invented out of sheer phonological perversity?  It
is, obviously, a matter of the relative claims of typology versus
motivation.  Some reasons to think that the claims of typology are overrated
have been given before.  In any event, I prefer to value motivation, as long
as there is no clearly understood mundane phonetic reason that the system I
posit should be inherently unviable.
        By the way, I think my observations on the laryngeals are, upon
further refection, almost completely worthless.  I was trying to make
something out of an assymetry that probably nothing can be made of.

                                                        Dr. David L. White



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