Widely accepted hypothesis concerning the reconstruction of a portion of basic Indo-European. In general, three consonantal laryngeals (notation: h1, h2, h3) are reconstructed. The existence of laryngeals is surmised based on morphological structural evidence. More-over, these phonemes can be inferred from reflexes in individual languages: for example, compensatory lengthening of tautosyllabic vowels accompanied by a simultaneous change in vowel coloring are found in IE e to a (in certain languages, e.g. Greek) in the environment of h2, and to o in the environment of h3; in Hittite,h2 has been retained in many positions as a consonantal phoneme. The workings of the morphological system of Indo-European, which is characterized by the phenomenon of ablaut, is made more transparent in view of the laryngeal theory. Accordingly, the verbal present singular in Indo-European had an e-grade ablaut form (cf. Lat. est, Hit. eszi ‘is’). The Latin verb pasco (‘I protect’) which corresponds to Hit. pahsmi shows no e and would, therefore, have to be considered an exception. Laryngeal theory, however, explains the verb as deriving from *peh2- with e-grade ablaut. In Latin and Hittite, this laryngeal colors the e to a; in Latin h2 disappears with compensatory lengthening; in Hittite it is retained as an h.
De Saussure’s structurally motivated theory was empirically proven in the early twentieth century with the deciphering of Hittite, when h was found in places where the laryngeal h2 had been reconstructed by de Saussure, who spoke of ‘coefficients sonantiques.’
References
Bammesberger, A. (ed.) 1988. Die Laryngaltheorie und die Rekonstruktion des urindogermanischen Laut- und Formensystems. Heidelberg.
Beekes, R.S.P. 1969. The development of the Proto-Indo-European laryngeals in Greek. The Hague.
Kuryłowicz, J. 1927. ә indoeuropéen et: symbolae grammaticae in honorem Ioannis Rozwadowski. Cracow.
Lindeman, F.O. 1988. Introduction to the ‘Laryngeal theory.’ Oxford.
Saussure, F.de. 1879. Mémoire sur le système primitif des voyelles dans les langues indoeuropéennes. Leipzig.
Schrijver, P. 1991. The reflexes of the Proto-IndoEuropean laryngeal in Latin. Amsterdam and Atlanta, GA.
Winter, W. (ed.) 1965. Evidence for laryngeals. London.
: symbolae grammaticae in honorem Ioannis Rozwadowski. Cracow.
