Proto-Indo European

siever’s law

heavy syllable (long vowel + consonant, or two vowel + consonant): add i/u before y/w

lindeman’s law

same as seivers in monosyllable: addition of i/u before y/w

dental clusters

first dental in a series affricates: t - t > ts - t

dental-dorsal clusters

dental before a dorsal affricates and then they switch places: t-k > ts-k > k-ts

bartholomae’s law

voicing is progressive

szmeryini’s law

compensatory lengthening: vowel before l, m, n, r legnthens and the ‘s’ is dropped

stang’s law

compensatory lengthening: vowel before a semivowel/laryngeal is legthened and the semivowel/laryngeal is dropped

boukolos rule

in presence of /w/, labiovelar loses its labial articulation (kw > k)

Grassman Law

1st aspirated stop in series loses aspiration (dh - dh > d - dh)

h2 laryngeal

• Colors e > a 

• May also aspirate a preceding consonant

• Realized as h in most positions in Hitt.

h3 laryngeal

• Colors e > o 

• May also voice a preceding consonant 

Centum languages

• velars and palatals merge to be velars

• labiovelars maintain

Satum languages

• velars and labiovelars merge to be velars

• palatals become affricates

thematic noun

• never ablaut

• no accent movement

• thematic vowel *o before ending

athematic noun

• ablaut (in acrostatic)

• accent movement

• no thematic vowel

proterokinetic

accent moves root > suffix

hysterokinetic

accent moves suffix > ending

amphikinetic

accent moves root > ending

athematic present tense

• mobile root

• acrostatic root

• reduplicated present

• nasal infix present

thematic present tenses

• root + e/o ending

• root + suffix + e/o ending

• reduplicated thematic (-e/-o) ending

primary endings

used in present, active voice. add a -i, -s

secondary endings

used in aorist, imperfect, middle voice.

aorist tense

same as present but secondary endings.

• thematic

• reduplicated thematic

• athematic mobile root

• athematic sigmatic aorist (-s) suffix

perfect tense

reduplicated, athematic, with o-grade root in singular and zero grade elsewhere

stative verbs

-eh1-

factive verbs

-eh2-

denominative verbs

-yi- (thematic)

causative verbs

-eyi- (thematic, with o grade root)

desiderivative

-s(yi)-

subjunctive mood

athematic formations become thematic by changing to secondary endings
thematic formations add an extra vowel

optative mood

-yi(e)h1- and secondary endings

PIE verb syntax

• pro-drop + copula drop

• main verb is prosodically weak (no accent)

• vocative case ahs no accent unless clause initial

topicalization

• element moves left of subject/right of verb to topicalize

WH-fronting

who, what, where, when to front

Complementizer slot

words that introduce subordinate clauses such as if are left of subject

wackernagal’s law

clitics that follow pronouns (enclitics) must be second constituent of clause

Anatolian: scriptio-plena

pure vowel added to indicate vowel length (ē = e-e)

Hittite conjugations

-mi = athematic/thematic verbs, present SG, PL, imperfect

-hi = perfect? sigmatic aorist? who knows

simple hittite consonant

PIE voiced stop (t,d = d)

geminated hittite consonant

PIE unvoiced stop (tt, dd = t)

Tocharian phonology

• no distinctions in voice, aspiration

• t/dh > ts

Law of Palatals

before e/ē or i/ī, consonants are paletized (t>c, ts>ś, l>ly, etc)

Fremdvokal

• i, e u all become barred i (spelled ä)

• can tell which one it came from based off if preceding consonant is palletized or not

Tocharian case

• 10 cases

• PIE nom. voc. gen. oblique

• 6 obliques

gruppenflexion

one nominal element in sentence with multiple is marked for case

Italic phonology

vowel weakening (fronted/raised) in non initial syllables

Voiced fricative conspiracy

Proto Italic turns all voiced aspirated stops > voiced fricatives. Latin turns them back into stops (and z becomes r)

Italic morphology

• future tense made from PIE subjunctives

• subjunctive tense made by -ieh1- and -a-

Celtic phonology

• *p lost everywhere except clusters

• aspiration lost, gu > b

• preserves laryngeal before resonant

Celitc morphology

• loses optatives and duals

• gen sing ending = ī

• subjuncitve ending = ā

Old Irish orthography

• word initial stops pronounced normally

• word medial p, t, k pronounced b, d, g

• word medial b, d, g pronounced v, th, y

Old Irish phonology

stress accent on first syllable, final syllables are lost

Lenition

word final vowels voice/fricatize/delete word initial consonant of next word

Old Irish Nasalization

word final nasals nasalize word initial consonant of next word

Old Irish: Gemination

word final s geminates next word initial consonant

slender consonant

• written with i before

• originally had i, e after it

broad consonant

• originally had a/o after

• spelled with no i/e after