Syllabicity

[Jens Elmegaard Rasmussen]

[ moderator re-formatted ]

On Thu, 20 May 1999, [discussing with Leo Conolly] Patrick C. Ryan wrote:

> [...] I will not be able to convince you that my answer is right but I will,
> at least, tell you what I think.  I believe that all IE roots of the form CVC
> were earlier "CV-CV. The thematic vowel is a faint reminder of forms that
> were stress-accented (at one point) CV-"CV.

[...]

> I do not think I will convince you of this either but, for whatever it may
> be worth, I will give you my view,

[...]

Pardon my barging in again, but this promts a fundamental question in my
head: How can you form an _opinion_ about a matter, if you have no
decisive arguments? Who would give a damn if I were to declare my belief
in the existence of PIE front rounded vowels (/u"/, /o"/) if I must
confess in the same breath that I have no evidence for it? Who would care
that I "think" or "believe" so, and that it is "my view"? I hope I am not
on record to have done anything of the sort.

Jens