Reduced or Absent Vowel Letters in Proto-Indo-European Lexemes: A Hypothetical Aspect
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This article explores the hypothesis of the absence of vowel letters in the written representation of Proto-Indo-European lexemes, while acknowledging the presence of vowel sounds in the pronunciation of consonants, which could vary across different dialects. The analysis is conducted using examples from Slavic lexemes, where even in modern language, words with a minimal number or apparent absence of vowel letters are observed, as well as their comparison with Germanic equivalents and root bases presumably containing only consonant letters. The possibility that ancient writing might have initially recorded primarily consonant letters, with specific vocalization marks appearing later to facilitate reading and capture phonetic nuances, is considered. An attempt is made to explain the absence of graphic vowel representation in early forms of writing by their "obviousness" to native speakers and the inherent vowel elements in the pronunciation of consonants themselves. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the phonetic nature of consonant sounds that contain peculiar vowel components. Finally, an etymological analysis of the word "работа" (work) and its comparison with a hypothetical root written without vowel letters is presented. The author refers to A. A. Zaliznyak's lecture "On Amateur Linguistics" not as an endorsement of his conclusions, but to highlight an alternative evidentiary basis that, unlike some academic approaches, finds support in several modern Slavic lexemes that retain the absence of vowel letters in their structure.
Author: Pogrebnoj-Alexandroff, Aleksey
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6930985340
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