Laryngeals

[Anthony Appleyard]

  Glen Gordon <glengordon01 at hotmail.com> wrote:-
> I agree with *H1 = /?/ and *H2 = /h./ but I don't think that a simple
> voicing of *H2 to make *H3 is adequate to explain the apparent
> "rounding" effect that *H3 has on vowels. A labial quality must be added
> to explain this - thus *H3 = /h.<w>/ and it is a labial *H2. ...

  The moderator commented:-
> The evidence adduced in favour of voicing of *H3 is Skt. pibati, Latin bibit
> "he drinks", a reduplicated present from a root reconstructed as *peH3-, in
> combination with Sturtevant's Rule.  A tad thin, I admit. --rma

In my mouth at least, I find that the /e/ in /h.a/ tries to acquire a distinct
flavour of /a/, and the /e/ in /3e/ (where /3/ is ayin) tries to acquire a
distinct flavour of /o/. It seems that having to nearly close the pharynx at
the epiglottis to produce /h./ or /3/ interferes with the mechanism that moves
the arytenoid cartilages to make the vocal cords operate or not, so that
voicing or devoicing /h./ or /3/ affects the timbre of nearby vowels.

The root H3-D-W = "enemy" or similar meaning occurs in in Greek "odussomai",
and in Arabic "H3aduuw" = "enemy".

[ Moderator's response:
  There exist in the phoneme inventories of several NW Caucasian languages both
  voiceless and voiced labialized pharyngals, which cause rounding in adjacent
  vowels; thus, "o-coloring" need not imply voicing in *H3.
  --rma ]