Traditional Reconstruction
The traditional reconstruction of Proto-Indo-European includes the following stop consonants:
| labials | dentals | palatalized velars | velars | labialized velars | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| voiceless stops | p | t | kʲ | k | kʷ |
| voiced stops | (b) | d | ɡʲ | ɡ | ɡʷ |
| breathy voiced stops | bʱ | dʱ | ɡʲʱ | ɡʱ | ɡʷʱ |
/b/ is parenthesized because it is at best very rare and perhaps nonexistent.
Historically, this inventory was not introduced as an independent proposal, but instead arose as a modification of an earlier, typologically more plausible theory. In the original Proto-Indo-European proposal, there was a fourth phonation series, aspirated /pʰ, tʰ, kʲʰ, kʰ, kʷʰ/, assumed to exist on the basis of what is found in Sanskrit, which at the time was thought to be the most conservative Indo-European language. However, it was later realized that this series was unnecessary and was generally the result of a sequence of a tenuis stop such as /t/ and a laryngeal such as /h/. The aspirate series was removed, but the breathy voiced consonants remained.
Read more about this topic: Glottalic Theory
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“The greatest impediments to changes in our traditional roles seem to lie not in the visible world of conscious intent, but in the murky realm of the unconscious mind.”
—Augustus Y. Napier (20th century)