Abstract
Due to the comparatively small number of reliable etymologies, many details of the historical phonology of Classical Armenian remain obscure or at least questionable. Different interpretations of the history of the phonemic system have also led to divergent reconstructions of the morphological system of Armenian. Based on the belief that a reconstruction that uses fewer intermediate steps from a proto-language to an attested language has to be considered more likely, this paper discusses arguments in favor of a development PIE *V-th2-V > Arm. V -r-V, which allows us to bring certain parts of Armenian morphology more easily into harmony with current models of Proto-Indo-European. The phonetics of this change will be treated within the larger framework of developments of the PIE laryngeals and the weakening of intervocalic stops, especially the often questioned change PIE *V -dʰ-V > Arm. V -r-V.
© 2016 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
