Don't touch my phonemes (was: minimal pairs ex: PIE e/o Ablaut)

[David L. White]

> No, the answer is:  if there were two brothers named Lith and Lidh then
> the distinction would be phonemic.  As long as there aren't, there is
> no phonemic distinction.  It doesn't matter that the two sounds are
> capable of being distinct phonemes.  Until they are used as phonemes
> by the speakers of the language, they aren't phonemes for all that they
> are recognizably different sounds

    We will just have to agree to differ.

                                                            DLW