Glottalic Theory - Traditional Reconstruction

Traditional Reconstruction

The traditional reconstruction of Proto-Indo-European includes the following stop consonants:

The Proto-Indo-European plosives (traditional)
labials dentals palatalized velars velars labialized velars
voiceless stops p t k
voiced stops (b) d ɡʲ ɡ ɡʷ
breathy voiced stops 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.

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