Indo-European Linguistics

This book presents a new view of the development of Indo-European grammar, arguing that this view is as tenable as those which prevail among most specialists. The author's synthesis is offered primarily as a heuristic device, on the ground that any reconstruction of the course of historical events necessarily contains probabilistic and analogical elements. His objection to most prevailing views is that by claiming or implying certainty they stifle investigation beyond established patterns of thought.Among Professor Schmalstieg's specific contentions are: that a morphological change may result from a combination of factors often treated as mutually exclusive (for instance, by structuralists and transformationalists); that different languages may evolve in different ways.The books four substantive chapters cover phonology (chiefly the evolution of the Indo-European vocalic system), the evolution of noun and verb forms, and the relation between morphology and syntax.