Funny W

[Blair Rudes]

I share with Bob a mistrust of abstract solutions to problems in  historical 
phonology; I would have been one of those skeptical folks who did not  believe 
Saussure’s solution to Indo-European vocalic alternations until the  
discovery of the supporting Hittite data.  
Having said that, I do not know if it will help further the discussion or  
not, but I would be happy to provide the (presumed) cognates in the Esaw and  
Saraw dialects of Catawba, as well as Woccon, for the roots that show *R and *W  
in Siouan if someone (Bob ?, John ?) would send me a complete list of such  
roots. Based on the few such roots I am familiar with, I suspect that *R and *W 
 are internal Siouan developments that post-date the split of Siouan and  
Catawban, and I do not think the conditioning factors will be apparent from the  
Catawba data. But I would love to be proven wrong. In any event, the Catawba  
data would at least push the chronology back somewhat.  
Blair
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