Loaded "HOW LIKELY" questions

[Stanley Friesen]

At 02:45 AM 3/26/00 -0500, X99Lynx at aol.com wrote:

>In a message dated 3/25/2000 12:55:59 AM, JoatSimeon at aol.com wrote:

>> -- the general rule is that if there are cognates in more than three
>> otherwise unrelated and geographically widely separated branches of IE.,
>> it's a PIE word.

>I don't know how three IE languages can be "otherwise unrelated."  Is this
>another one of the special concepts in your version of historical linguistics?

It means "not having a more recent common ancestor than PIE itself". (Or,
at least that no such more recent ancestor is *demonstrable* using
comparative methods).

>With regard to "geographically widely separated" - I have no idea how those
>languages could always be "widely separated" and still have been once the
>same language.

Nobody denies this.  The "widely separated" applies to the time of earliest
attestation.

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May the peace of God be with you.         sarima at ix.netcom.com