User:Chrysophylax/Phonology

Phonology

Vowels

Vocalisation of laryngeals

1. Similar to the geographically close Greek, the Proto-Indo-European laryngeals are reflected as three different vowels.
   1. A PIE laryngeal *H will colour a nearby *e (1,2,3 → e,a,o) and lengthen it except for the sequence -VHR- which becomes -VRR-.

      phrā́tēr ‘brother’ < EPH bʰrā́tēr < PIE *bʰréh₂tēr

      ōphes ‘serpent’ < EPH *ōpʰis < PIE *h₃egʰʷis

      thémmi ‘I say’ < IE *ḱéh₁mi

Short vowels

1. The short vowel system inherited from Late Indo-European remained surprisingly stable with only a raising of IE *o to u and a diphthongisation of IE *e in some phonological contexts.
   1. IE *a was preserved as a
   2. IE *o was preserved as o except between a resonant and a labial where it was raised to u.

      bori ‘hill’ < IE *gʷor̥

      nyps ‘night’ < EPH *núpts < IE *nókʷts

   3. IE *e was preserved initially as e.

      thémmi ‘I say’ < IE *ḱéh₁mi

   4. EPH *e would later diphthongise into je between a resonant and a consonant.

      khirjéthōi ‘harder’ < LPH *χĭrjéθōi < EPH *χrétʲōi < IE *kret-yō-s

   5. IE *i yields i.

      limpimos ‘we allow’ < EPH *linpimós < IE *linkʷm̥ós

   6. IE *u was preserved as u