Observation on the Laryngeals

[David L. White]

       It is interesting that these affect only /e/, leaving original /o/
alone.  What this suggests, very strongly as far as I can see, is that the
laryngeals affected tongue-position, not general acoustics.  Otherwise a
back/rounding (from H3) of /e/ and a fronting (from H1) of /o/ should have
produced more or less the same result.  This in turn suggests that the
laryngeals were not really laryngeals in the sense that that term is
traditionally intended (sounds produced behind the velum) but rather were,
as various German linguists these days suggest, dorsal sounds of the normal
kind, produced in front of the velum.  Thus the original effects would have
been motivated by articulation, not perception, and the resistiance of /o/
(reminiscent of Greek vowel contraction, where /o/ dominates /e/) can be
explained.
        This would, however, be a pretty much fatal blow to attempts to
connect IE laryngeals with what might be called true laryngeals in Semitic,
and therefore to Nostratic.  (Please, let's not get into that.)

                                                            Dr. David L. White