gender

[Patrick C. Ryan]

[ moderator re-formatted ]

Dear Rich and IEists:

-----Original Message-----
From: Patrick C. Ryan <proto-language at email.msn.com>
Date: Thursday, February 25, 1999 6:16 AM

<snip>

>But, I believe that all "laryngeals" were coloring-equal; and that the vowel
>that is seen is a result of a retention of an earlier vowel quality through
>length.

<snip>

>[ Moderator's response:
>  In other words, you reject the laryngeal theory completely, substituting in
>  its place a set of vowels which still exhibit the odd behaviours which led
>  Saussure to post a lost set of consonants in the first place--with _ad hoc_
>  segments which you call laryngeals but which are otherwise no better than
>  Hirt's various reduced vowels, his answer to Saussure.

That is not, in my opinion, a correct characterization of what I have
written above. I believe that <H> was a real consonant, and had a
phonological reality, and like some consonants do, eventually disappeared.

>  Sorry, the laryngeal theory as it has developed in mainstream Indo-European
>  linguistics explains far too much to be thrown out like this.

I have not thrown it out. I have modified it. The theory is called
"laryngeal" not "vowel-coloring"! The structurally most important part of it
is that it identifies four consonants (or three if your prefer), which have
subequently disappeared except for their affects on neighboring vowels and
consonants.

I believe four consonants became two "laryngeals": /?, h, $, H/ became H1
(no h in Hittite) and H2 (h in Hittite). When we can correctly identify the
nature of the "laryngeal" by its *position* in a root, we frequently a
corresponding /?, h, $, H/ in Semitic (Arabic).

I do not believe that there is anything which the current "laryngeal" theory
explains that tis re-formulation of it will not equally well explain.

Pat

[ Moderator's response:
  What does your version of the laryngeal theory have to say about the Greek
  anatyptic vowels?  How does it deal with the Indo-Iranian data (Skt. -i-,
  Iranian -0-)?  For that matter, how does it explain the other ablaut data
  that led Saussure to his formulation in the first place?
  --rma ]