minimal pairs (was: PIE e/o Ablaut)

[proto-language]

Dear Stanley and IEists:

 ----- Original Message -----
From: "Stanley Friesen" <sarima at friesen.net>
Sent: Friday, April 14, 2000 10:15 AM

> At 09:54 PM 4/4/00 -0500, proto-language wrote:

>> [PRp]

>> I would have to say that you are wrong.

[SF]

>> There is no phoneme in any language which has not been established as a
>> component of a minimal pair.

> Examples have been given that show otherwise.

[PR]

Sorry, I must have missed those. How about rehearsing those "examples" one
more time?

>> [PRp]

>> I am claiming that the *e/*o-Ablaut can be described by a rule.

[SF]

> Unfortunately, every such rule I have seen proposed requires modifying the
> reconstructed PIE lexicon, or it has too many exceptions to be counted as a
> rule.

[PR]

Generalizations are dandy but specifics are more helpful.

Examples?

Pat

PATRICK C. RYAN | PROTO-LANGUAGE at email.msn.com (501) 227-9947 * 9115 W. 34th
St. Little Rock, AR 72204-4441 USA WEBPAGES: PROTO-LANGUAGE:
http://www.geocities.com/proto-language/ and PROTO-RELIGION:
http://www.geocities.com/proto-language/proto-religion/indexR.html "Veit ek,
at ek hekk, vindga meipi, nftr allar nmu, geiri undapr . . . a ~eim meipi er
mangi veit hvers hann af rstum renn." (Havamal 138)