The Prothetic Vowel in Greek

[The so-called prothetic vowel in Greek finds its ultimate explanation in Indo-Hittite. In Indo-Hittite bases beginning with the first, third, or fourth laryngeal, the first syllable was retained everywhere if it was in the full grade. If it was in the reduced grade, it was lost everywhere except in Hittite, Greek, and Armenian. If the second consonant was w, the first three laryngeals could unite with it to form a long voiceless hw which appears as spiritus asper in Greek; this accounts for the Attic and Homeric alteration of δvov and δvov. If the initial syllable began with the second laryngeal (;) and was in the reduced grade, it was lost everywhere, but the laryngeal united with a following liquid or nasal to give the long voiceless λ, , which ‘make position’ in Homer.]

Formant · Linguistics · Mid vowel · Vowel · Vowel harmony · Vowel length · History · Linguistics and language evolution · Philosophy · Psychology

• The development of Indo-European studies since the Neogrammarians

  Edgar C Polome•WORD•1995

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