2.7. Vowel Change

2.7.1.  Syllable creation is the most common of the various phonetic changes that the modern European languages have undergone all along these millennia of continuous separation. Anaptyxis is a type of phonetic epenthesis, involving insertion of a vowel to ease pronunciation. Examples in English are ath-e-lete, mischiev-i-ous, or wint-e-ry. It usually happens by adding first a supporting vowel or transition sound (glide, Gleitlaut). After this, in a second stage, the added vowel acquires a fix tone, becoming a full vowel.

2.7.2. The sonants form unstable syllables, and thus vowel epenthesis is very common. For example, dn-ghu becomes, as we have seen, tongue in English and dingua in archaic Latin, while wl-qos becomes wolf in English and lykos (probably from *wluqos) in Greek (λύκος). In modern Europaio a possibly easier, although not recommended, pronunciation is obtained by adding an auxiliary schwa, either before or after the sonant.

The semi-vowels y, w are more stable than the sonants when they are centre of syllable (being then vowels, i or u). But they have also some alternating pronunciations. When they are pronounced lento they can be heard as iy or uw, what actually doesn't mean a vowel epenthesis, but an extended pronunciation. Thus, the alternating forms medhijos (which gives the latin medius) and medhjos (which gives the Old Indian mádhyas or the Greek messos) coexisted probably somehow freely in IE III times.

NOTE. With the creation of zero-grade stems, vocalization appears, as the original radical vowels disappear and new ones are added. So, for example, in bhr- (to carry, cognate of to bear), which can be reconstructed from modern languages as bher-, bhor- or bhr-. The same can be said of the semi-vowels j and w when they are syllable edges, being syllable centres - u and i - in zero-grades.

2.7.3. The laryngeals were a probable feature of the proto-language, in which there were possibly three aspirated phonemes. In this limited grammar there is no place for explaining these theories related to PIE (or, for some, to IE II), or even how these laryngeals (and which of them) influenced the vowel changes we encounter in IE III times. Let's only say here that the Hittite, which is the other known dialect of the second stage of the language, had laryngeal remains, while IE III only had some vowel changes of what could easily be a proof of a previous laryngeal-stage.

2.7.4. There are also some other possible vocalizations. Thus, in some phonetic environments, like two occlusives in zero-grade: skp, impossible to pronounce without adding a vowel, derives in lat. scabo or got. skaban. Although the solution to this consonantal groups is not generalized, as with sonants, we can find some general timbres, like a, i (especially in Greek and Baltoslavic, with following dental), or u (also considered general, like a, but probably influenced by the context, possibly when in contact with labial, guttural or labiovelar, as in quqlos, circle).

2.7.5. Vocalic prothesis (from Greek pro-thesis, pre-putting), is the appending of a vowel in front of a word, usually to facilitate the pronunciation. This kind of prothesis differ, not only among Europaio-derived languages, but also and frequently into the same language or linguistic group. Especially before r, but also before l,m,n,w, more or less systematically, a vowel is added to ease pronunciations. The timbre of the added vowel is neither related to a linguistic group or modern language, or even to the phonetic or morphological environment. It is therefore not a good practice in Europaio to add vowels.

2.7.6. Syllable losses are often observed in Europaio dialects, but has actually no relevance to the revived language. Syncope refers to the loss of an inner vowel, as with brief vowels in Gothic: gasts instead of ghostis; or after w, long vowel, diphthong or sonant in Latin: prudens instead of prowidens, corolla instead of coronala, or ullus instead of oinolos. Haplology, which consists of the loss of a whole syllable when two consecutive identical or similar syllables occur, as in Latin fastidium instead of fastitidium, or in Mycenic aporeu instead of apiporeu. Apheresis and Apocope haven't almost relevance for the Europaio studies.