Centum and satem languages

Languages of the Indo-European family are classified as either

centum languages or satem languages according to how the
dorsal consonants (sounds of "K" and "G" type) of the
reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) developed. An
example of the different developments is provided by the words
for "hundred" found in the early attested Indo-European
languages. In centum languages, they typically began with a /k/
sound (Latin centum was pronounced with initial /k/), but in
Map showing the approximate extent of
satem languages, they often began with /s/ (the example satem the centum (blue) and satem (red)
comes from the Avestan language of Zoroastrian scripture). areals. The origin of satemization
according to von Bradke's hypothesis is
The table below shows the traditional reconstruction of the PIE shown in darker red (marked as the
dorsal consonants, with three series, but according to some more range of the
recent theories there may actually have been only two series or Sintashta/Abashevo/Srubna
three series with different pronunciations from those traditionally archaeological cultures), but that
ascribed. In centum languages, the palatovelars, which included hypothesis is not accepted by the
the initial consonant of the "hundred" root, merged with the plain majority of linguists.
velars. In satem languages, they remained distinct, and the
labiovelars merged with the plain velars.[1]

*kʷ *gʷ *gʷʰ labiovelars

Merged in satem languages
*k *g *gʰ plain velars
Merged in centum languages
*ḱ *ǵ *ǵʰ palatovelars Assibilated in satem languages

The centum–satem division forms an isogloss in synchronic descriptions of Indo-European languages. It is

no longer thought that the Proto-Indo-European language split first into centum and satem branches from
which all the centum and all the satem languages, respectively, would have derived. Such a division is made
particularly unlikely by the discovery that while the satem group lies generally to the east and the centum
group to the west, the most eastward of the known IE language branches, Tocharian, is centum.[2]

Contents
Centum languages
Satem languages
History of concept
Schleicher's single guttural row
Brugmann's labialized and unlabialized language groups
Von Bradke's centum and satem groups
Brugmann's identification of labialized and centum
Discovery of Anatolian and Tocharian
Alternative interpretations
Different realisations
Only two velar series
Phonetic correspondences in daughter languages
See also
References
Sources
External links

Centum languages
The canonical centum languages of the Indo-European family are the "western" branches: Hellenic, Celtic,
Italic and Germanic. They merged Proto-Indo-European palatovelars and plain velars, yielding plain velars
only ("centumisation") but retained the labiovelars as a distinct set.[1]

The Anatolian branch probably falls outside the centum–satem dichotomy; for instance, Luwian indicates
that all three dorsal consonant rows survived separately in Proto-Anatolian.[3] The centumisation observed
in Hittite is therefore assumed to have occurred only after the breakup of Proto-Anatolian.[4] However,
Craig Melchert proposes that proto-Anatolian is indeed a centum language.

While Tocharian is generally regarded as a centum language,[5] it is a special case, as it has merged all three
of the PIE dorsal series (originally nine separate consonants) into a single phoneme, *k. According to some
scholars, that complicates the classification of Tocharian within the centum–satem model.[6] However, as
Tocharian has replaced some Proto-Indo-European labiovelars with the labiovelar-like, non-original
sequence *ku; it has been proposed that labiovelars remained distinct in Proto-Tocharian, which places
Tocharian in the centum group (assuming that Proto-Tocharian lost palatovelars while labiovelars were still
phonemically distinct).[5]

In the centum languages, PIE roots reconstructed with palatovelars developed into forms with plain velars.
For example, in the PIE root *ḱm̥tóm, "hundred", the initial palatovelar *ḱ became a plain velar /k/, as in
Latin centum (which was originally pronounced with /k/ in spite of various contemporary pronunciations
with /s/, for example), Greek (he)katon, Welsh cant, Tocharian B kante. In the Germanic languages, the /k/
developed regularly by Grimm's law to become /h/, as in the English hund(red).

Centum languages also retained the distinction between the PIE labiovelar row (*kʷ, *gʷ, *gʷʰ) and the
plain velars. Historically, it was unclear whether the labiovelar row represented an innovation by a process
of labialisation, or whether it was inherited from the parent language (but lost in the satem branches);
current mainstream opinion favours the latter possibility. Labiovelars as single phonemes (for example, /kʷ/)
as opposed to biphonemes (for example, /kw/) are attested in Greek (the Linear B q- series), Italic (Latin
qu), Germanic (Gothic hwair ƕ and qairþra q) and Celtic (Ogham ceirt Q) (in the so-called P-Celtic
languages /kʷ/ developed into /p/; a similar development sometimes took place in Greek). The boukólos
rule, however, states that a labiovelar reduces to a plain velar when it occurs next to *u or *w.

The centum–satem division refers to the development of the dorsal series at the time of the earliest
separation of Proto-Indo-European into the proto-languages of its individual daughter branches. It does not
apply to any later analogous developments within any individual branch. For example, the conditional
palatalization of Latin /k/ to /t͡ʃ/ or /t͡s/ (often later /s/) in some Romance languages (which means that
modern French cent is pronounced with initial /s/) is satem-like, as is the merger of *kʷ with *k in the
Gaelic languages; such later changes do not affect the classification of the languages as centum.

Satem languages
The satem languages belong to the "eastern" sub-families, especially Indo-Iranian and Balto-Slavic (but not
Tocharian). It lost the labial element of Proto-Indo-European labiovelars and merged them with plain velars,
but the palatovelars remained distinct and typically came to be realised as sibilants.[7] That set of
developments, particularly the assibilation of palatovelars, is referred to as satemisation.

In the satem languages, the reflexes of the presumed PIE palatovelars are typically fricative or affricate
consonants, articulated further forward in the mouth. For example, the PIE root *ḱm̥tóm, "hundred", the
initial palatovelar normally became a sibilant [s] or [ʃ], as in Avestan satem, Persian sad, Sanskrit śatam,
сто / sto in all modern Slavic languages, Old Church Slavonic sъto, Latvian simts, Lithuanian šimtas.
Another example is the Slavic prefix sъ(n)- ("with"), which appears in Latin, a centum language, as co(n)-;
conjoin is cognate with Russian soyuz ("union"). An [s] is found for PIE *ḱ in such languages as Latvian,
Avestan, Russian and Armenian, but Lithuanian and Sanskrit have [ʃ] (š in Lithuanian, ś in Sanskrit
transcriptions). For more reflexes, see the phonetic correspondences section below; note also the effect of
the ruki sound law.

"Incomplete satemisation" may also be evidenced by remnants of labial elements from labiovelars in Balto-
Slavic, including Lithuanian ungurys "eel" < *angʷi- and dygus "pointy" < *dʰeigʷ-. A few examples are
also claimed in Indo-Iranian, such as Sanskrit guru "heavy" < *gʷer-, kulam "herd" < *kʷel-, but they may
instead be secondary developments, as in the case of kuru "make" < *kʷer- in which it is clear that the ku-
group arose in post-Rigvedic language. It is also asserted that in Sanskrit and Balto-Slavic, in some
environments, resonant consonants (denoted by /R/) become /iR/ after plain velars but /uR/ after labiovelars.

Some linguists argue that the Albanian[8] and Armenian[9] branches are also to be classified as satem[10], but
some linguists argue that they show evidence of separate treatment of all three dorsal consonant rows and so
may not have merged the labiovelars with the plain velars, unlike the canonical satem branches.

Assibilation of velars in certain phonetic environments is a common phenomenon in language development

(compare, for example, the initial sounds in French cent and Spanish cien, which are fricatives even though
they derive from Latin /k/). Consequently, it is sometimes hard to establish firmly the languages that were
part of the original satem diffusion and the ones affected by secondary assibilation later. While extensive
documentation of Latin and Old Swedish, for example, shows that the assibilation found in French and
Swedish were later developments, there are not enough records of Dacian and Thracian to settle
conclusively when their satem-like features originated. Extensive lexical borrowing, such as Armenian from
Iranian, may also add to the difficulty.

In Armenian, some assert that /kʷ/ is distinguishable from /k/ before front vowels[11]. Martin Macak (2018)
asserts that the merger of *kʷ and *k occurred "within the history of Proto-Armenian itself".[12]

In Albanian, the three original dorsal rows have remained distinguishable when before historic front
vowels.[13][14][15] Labiovelars are for the most part differentiated from all other Indo-European velar series
before front vowels (where they developed into s and z ultimately), but they merge with the "pure" (back)
velars elsewhere[13]. The palatal velar series, consisting of Proto-Indo-European *ḱ and the merged *ģ and
ģʰ, usually developed into th and dh, but were depalatalized to merge with the back velars when in contact
with sonorants.[13] Because the original Proto-Indo-European tripartite distinction between dorsals is
preserved in such reflexes, Demiraj argues Albanian is therefore to be considered neither centum nor satem,
like Luwian, but at the same time it has a "satem-like" realization of the palatal dorsals in most cases.[14]
Thus PIE *ḱ, *kʷ and *k become th (Alb. thom "I say" < PIE *ḱeHsmi), s (Alb. si "how" < PIE. kʷiH1, cf.
Latin quī), and q (/c/: pleq "elderly" < *plak-i < PIE *plH2-ko-), respectively.[16]

History of concept
Schleicher's single guttural row

August Schleicher, an early Indo-Europeanist, in Part I, "Phonology", of his major work, the 1871
Compendium of Comparative Grammar of the Indogermanic Language, published a table of original
momentane Laute, or "stops", which has only a single velar row, *k, *g, *gʰ, under the name of
Gutturalen.[17][18] He identifies four palatals (*ḱ, *ǵ, *ḱʰ, *ǵʰ) but hypothesises that they came from the
gutturals along with the nasal *ń and the spirant *ç.[19]

Brugmann's labialized and unlabialized language groups

Karl Brugmann, in his 1886 work Outline of Comparative Grammar of the Indogermanic Language
(Grundriss...), promotes the palatals to the original language, recognising two rows of Explosivae, or
"stops", the palatal (*ḱ, *ǵ, *ḱʰ, *ǵʰ) and the velar (*k, *g, *kʰ, *gʰ),[20] each of which was simplified to
three articulations even in the same work.[21] In the same work, Brugmann notices among die velaren
Verschlusslaute, "the velar stops", a major contrast between reflexes of the same words in different daughter
languages. In some, the velar is marked with a u-Sprache, "u-articulation", which he terms a Labialisierung,
"labialization", in accordance with the prevailing theory that the labiovelars were velars labialised by
combination with a u at some later time and were not among the original consonants. He thus divides
languages into die Sprachgruppe mit Labialisierung[22] and die Sprachgruppe ohne Labialisierung, "the
language group with (or without) labialization", which basically correspond to what would later be termed
the centum and satem groups:[23]

For words and groups of words, which do not appear in any language with labialized velar-
sound [the "pure velars"], it must for the present be left undecided whether they ever had the u-
afterclap.

The doubt introduced in that passage suggests he already suspected the "afterclap" u was not that but was
part of an original sound.

Von Bradke's centum and satem groups

In 1890, Peter von Bradke published Concerning Method and Conclusions of Aryan (Indogermanic) Studies,
in which he identified the same division (Trennung) as did Brugmann, but he defined it in a different way.
He said that the original Indo-Europeans had two kinds of gutturaler Laute, "guttural sounds" the gutturale
oder velare, und die palatale Reihe, "guttural or velar, and palatal rows", each of which were aspirated and
unaspirated. The velars were to be viewed as gutturals in an engerer Sinn, "narrow sense". They were a
reiner K-Laut, "pure K-sound". Palatals were häufig mit nachfolgender Labialisierung, "frequently with
subsequent labialization". The latter distinction led him to divide the palatale Reihe into a Gruppe als
Spirant and a reiner K-Laut, typified by the words satem and centum respectively.[24] Later in the book[25]
he speaks of an original centum-Gruppe, from which on the north of the Black and Caspian Seas the satem-
Stämme, "satem tribes", dissimilated among the Nomadenvölker or Steppenvölker, distinguished by further
palatalization of the palatal gutturals.

Brugmann's identification of labialized and centum

By the 1897 edition of Grundriss, Brugmann (and Delbrück) had adopted Von Bradke's view: "The Proto-
Indo-European palatals... appear in Greek, Italic, Celtic and Germanic as a rule as K-sounds, as opposed to
in Aryan, Armenian, Albanian, Balto-Slavic, Phrygian and Thracian... for the most part sibilants."[26]
There was no more mention of labialized and non-labialized language groups after Brugmann changed his
mind regarding the labialized velars. The labio-velars now appeared under that name as one of the five rows
of Verschlusslaute (Explosivae) (plosives/stops), comprising die labialen V., die dentalen V., die palatalen V.,
die reinvelaren V. and die labiovelaren V. It was Brugmann who pointed out that labiovelars had merged into
the velars in the satem group,[27] accounting for the coincidence of the discarded non-labialized group with
the satem group.

Discovery of Anatolian and Tocharian

When von Bradke first published his definition of the centum and satem sound changes, he viewed his
classification as "the oldest perceivable division" in Indo-European, which he elucidated as "a division
between eastern and western cultural provinces (Kulturkreise)".[28] The proposed split was undermined by
the decipherment of Hittite and Tocharian in the early 20th century. Both languages show no satem-like
assibilation in spite of being located in the satem area.[29]

The proposed phylogenetic division of Indo-European into satem and centum "sub-families" was further
weakened by the identification of other Indo-European isoglosses running across the centum–satem
boundary, some of which seemed of equal or greater importance in the development of daughter
languages.[30] Consequently, since the early 20th century at least, the centum–satem isogloss has been
considered an early areal phenomenon rather than a true phylogenetic division of daughter languages.

Alternative interpretations

Different realisations

The actual pronunciation of the velar series in PIE is not certain. One current idea is that the "palatovelars"
were in fact simple velars *[k], *[ɡ], *[ɡʰ], and the "plain velars" were pronounced farther back, perhaps as
uvular consonants: *[q], *[ɢ], *[ɢʰ].[31] If labiovelars were just labialized forms of the "plain velars", they
would have been pronounced *[qʷ], *[ɢʷ], *[ɢʷʰ] but the pronunciation of the labiovelars as
*[kʷ], *[gʷ], *[gʷʰ] would still be possible in uvular theory, if the satem languages first shifted the
"palatovelars" then later merged the "plain velars" and "labiovelars". The uvular theory is supported by the
following evidence.

The "palatovelar" series was the most common, and the "plain velar" was by far the least
common and never occurred in any affixes. In known languages with multiple velar series, the
normal velar series is usually the most common, which would imply that what have been
interpreted as "palatovelars" were more probably simply velars but the labiovelars were most
likely still just *[kʷ], *[gʷ], *[gʷʰ] due to them being the second most common.

There is no evidence of any palatalisation in the early history of the velars in the centum
branches, but see above for the case of Anatolian. If the "palatovelars" were in fact palatalised
in PIE, there would have had to be a single, very early, uniform depalatalisation in all (and
only) the centum branches. Depalatalisation is cross-linguistically far less common than is
palatalisation and so is unlikely to have occurred separately in each centum branch. In any
case it would almost certainly have left evidence of prior palatalization in some of the
branches. (As noted above, it is not thought that the centum branches had a separate common
ancestor in which the depalatalization could have occurred just once and then have been
inherited.)

Most instances of the rare to non-existent /a/ phoneme without the /h₂/ laryngeal appear before
or after *k, which could be the result of that phoneme being a-coloring, particularly likely if it
 was uvular /q/, similar to the /h₂/ laryngeal which may have been uvular /χ/. Uvulars coloring
and lowering vowels is common cross-linguistically as in languages such as Quechuan or
Greenlandic where /i/ and /u/ lower to /e/ and /o/ when next to uvulars meaning the lowering of
/e/ and /o/ to [a] or [ɑ] would be possible.

On the above interpretation, the split between the centum and satem groups would not have been a
straightforward loss of an articulatory feature (palatalization or labialization). Instead, the uvulars *q, *ɢ,
*ɢʰ (the "plain velars" of the traditional reconstruction) would have been fronted to velars across all
branches. In the satem languages, it caused a chain shift, and the existing velars (traditionally "palatovelars")
were shifted further forward to avoid a merger, becoming palatal: /k/ > /c/; /q/ > /k/. In the centum
languages, no chain shift occurred, and the uvulars merged into the velars. The delabialisation in the satem
languages would have occurred later, in a separate stage.

Only two velar series

The presence of three dorsal rows in the proto-language has been the mainstream hypothesis since at least
the mid-20th century. There remain, however, several alternative proposals with just two rows in the parent
language, which describe either "satemisation" or "centumisation", as the emergence of a new phonematic
category rather than the disappearance of an inherited one.

Antoine Meillet (1937) proposed that the original rows were the labiovelars and palatovelars, with the plain
velars being allophones of the palatovelars in some cases, such as depalatalisation before a resonant.[32] The
etymologies establishing the presence of velars in the parent language are explained as artefacts of either
borrowing between daughter languages or of false etymologies.

Other scholars who assume two dorsal rows in Proto-Indo-European include Kuryłowicz (1935) and
Lehmann (1952), as well as Frederik Kortlandt and others.[33] The argument is that PIE had only two series,
a simple velar and a labiovelar. The satem languages palatalized the plain velar series in most positions, but
the plain velars remained in some environments: typically reconstructed as before or after /u/, after /s/, and
before /r/ or /a/ and also before /m/ and /n/ in some Baltic dialects. The original allophonic distinction was
disturbed when the labiovelars were merged with the plain velars. That produced a new phonemic
distinction between palatal and plain velars, with an unpredictable alternation between palatal and plain in
related forms of some roots (those from original plain velars) but not others (those from original
labiovelars). Subsequent analogical processes generalised either the plain or palatal consonant in all forms
of a particular root. The roots in which the plain consonant was generalized are those traditionally
reconstructed as having "plain velars" in the parent language in contrast to "palatovelars".

Oswald Szemerényi (1990) considers the palatovelars as an innovation, proposing that the "preconsonantal
palatals probably owe their origin, at least in part, to a lost palatal vowel" and a velar was palatalised by a
following vowel subsequently lost.[34] The palatal row would therefore postdate the original velar and
labiovelar rows, but Szemerényi is not clear whether that would have happened before or after the breakup
of the parent-language (in a table showing the system of stops "shortly before the break-up", he includes
palatovelars with a question mark after them).

Woodhouse (1998; 2005) introduced a "bitectal" notation, labelling the two rows of dorsals as k1, g1, g1h
and k2, g2, g2h. The first row represents "prevelars", which developed into either palatovelars or plain velars
in the satem group but just into plain velars into the centum group; the second row represents "backvelars",
which developed into either labiovelars or plain velars in the centum group but just plain velars in the satem
group.[35]

The following are arguments that have been listed in support of a two-series hypothesis:
 The plain velar series is statistically rarer than the other two, is almost entirely absent from
affixes and appears most often in certain phonological environments (described in the next
point).
The reconstructed velars and palatovelars occur mostly in complementary distribution (velars
before *a, *r and after *s, *u; palatovelars before *e, *i, *j, liquid/nasal/*w+*e/*i and before o in
o-grade forms by generalization from e-grade).
It is unusual in general for palatovelars to move backwards rather than the reverse (but that
problem might simply be addressed by assuming three series with different realizations from
the traditional ones, as described above).
In most languages in which the "palatovelars" produced fricatives, other palatalisation also
occurred, implying that it was part of a general trend;
The centum languages are not contiguous, and there is no evidence of differences between
dialects in the implementation of centumization (but there are differences in the process of
satemisation: there can be pairs of satemized and non-satemized velars within the same
language, there is evidence of a former labiovelar series in some satem languages and
different branches have different numbers and timings of satemization stages). This makes a
"centumisation" process less likely, implying that the position found in the centum languages
was the original one.
Alternations between plain velars and palatals are common in a number of roots across
different satem languages, but the same root appears with a palatal in some languages but a
plain velar in others (most commonly Baltic or Slavic, occasionally Armenian but rarely or
never the Indo-Iranian languages). That is consistent with the analogical generalisation of one
or another consonant in an originally-alternating paradigm but difficult to explain otherwise.
The claim that in late PIE times, the satem languages (unlike the centum languages) were in
close contact with each other is confirmed by independent evidence: the geographical
closeness of current satem languages and certain other shared innovations (the ruki sound
law and early palatalization of velars before front vowels).

Arguments in support of three series:

Many instances of plain velars occur in roots that have no evidence of any of the putative
environments that trigger plain velars and no obvious mechanism for the plain velar to have
come in contact with any such environment; as a result, the comparative method requires
three series to be reconstructed.
Albanian[36] and Armenian are said to show evidence of different reflexes for the three different
series. Evidence from the Anatolian language Luwian attests a three-way velar distinction *ḱ >
z (probably [ts]); *k > k; *kʷ > ku (probably [kʷ]).[37] There is no evidence of any connection
between Luwian and any satem language (labiovelars are still preserved, the ruki sound law is
absent) and the Anatolian branch split off very early from PIE. The three-way distinction must
be reconstructed for the parent language. (That is a strong argument in favor of the traditional
three-way system; in response, proponents of the two-way system have attacked the
underlying evidence by claiming that it "hinges upon especially difficult or vague or otherwise
dubious etymologies" (such as Sihler 1995).) Melchert originally claimed that the change *ḱ > z
was unconditional and subsequently revised the assertion to a conditional change occurring
only before front vowels, /j/, or /w/; however, that does not fundamentally alter the situation, as
plain-velar *k apparently remains as such in the same context. Melchert also asserts, contrary
to Sihler, the etymological distinction between *ḱ and *k in the relevant positions is well-
established.[38]
According to Ringe (2006), there are root constraints that prevent the occurrence of a
"palatovelar" and labiovelar or two "plain velars", in the same root, but they do not apply to
roots containing, for example, a palatovelar and a plain velar.
The centum change could have occurred independently in multiple centum subgroups (at the
very least, Tocharian, Anatolian and Western IE), as it was a phonologically natural change,
 given the possible interpretation of the "palatovelar" series as plain-velar and the "plain velar"
series as back-velar or uvular (see above). Given the minimal functional load of the plain-
velar/palatovelar distinction, if there was never any palatalisation in the IE dialects leading to
the centum languages, there is no reason to expect any palatal residues. Furthermore, it is
phonologically entirely natural for a former plain-velar vs. back-velar/uvular distinction to have
left no distinctive residues on adjacent segments.

Phonetic correspondences in daughter languages

The following table summarizes the outcomes of the reconstructed PIE palatals and labiovelars in the
various daughter branches, both centum and satem. (The outcomes of the "plain velars" can be assumed to
be the same as those of the palatals in the centum branches and those of the labiovelars in the satem
branches.)

PIE *ḱ *ǵ *ǵʰ *kʷ *gʷ *gʷʰ

Celtic k g g kw, p[* 1] b gw

Italic k g g, h[* 2] kw, p[* 3] gw, v, b[* 3] f, v

Venetic k g h kw ? ?

Hellenic k g kh p, t, k[* 4] b, d, g[* 4] ph, kh, th[* 4]

Phrygian k[* 5] g[* 5] g, k k b g

Germanic h k g ~ ɣ[* 6] hw kw gw[* 7] ~ w[* 6]

Anatolian k[* 8], kk[* 9] g[* 10], k[* 11] g[* 10], k[* 11] kw, kkw[* 9] gw[* 12], kw[* 11] gw[* 12], kw[* 11]
Tocharian k k k k, kw k, kw k, kw

Albanian[39] θ, c, k[* 13] ð, d[* 13] ð, d[* 13] k, c, s g, ɟ, z g, ɟ, z

Thracian s z z k, kh g, k g
Armenian s c dz kh k g
Slavic s z z k g g
Baltic š ž ž k g g

Indic ç[* 14] dž h[* 15] k, č g gh

Iranian s z z[* 15] k, č g g

1. Within Celtic, the "p-Celtic" and "q-Celtic" branches have different reflexes of PIE *kʷ: *ekwos
→ ekwos, epos. The Brythonic and Lepontic languages are P-Celtic, Goidelic and Celtiberian
are Q-Celtic and different dialects of Gaulish had different realisations.
2. PIE *ǵʰ → Latin /h/ or /ɡ/, depending on its position in the word, and → Osco-Umbrian *kh →
/h/.
3. PIE *kʷ and *gʷ developed differently in the two Italic subgroups: /kw/, /w/ in Latin (*kwis →
quis), and /p/, /b/ in Osco-Umbrian (*kwis → pis).
4. PIE *kʷ, *gʷ, *gʷʰ have three reflexes in Greek dialects such as Attic and Doric:

/t, d, th/ before /e, i/ (IE *kʷis → Greek tis)

/k, ɡ, kh/ before /u/ (IE *wl̥kʷos → Greek lukos)
/p, b, ph/ before /a, o/ (IE *sekʷ- → Greek hep-)

However, in Mycenaean Greek, *kw remained, and in Aeolian, it became /p/.

 5. The Phrygian evidence is limited and often ambiguous so the issue of centum vs. satem
reflexes is not completely settled, but the prevailing opinion is that Phrygian shows centum
reflexes along with secondary palatalisation of /k/ to /ts/ and /ɡ/ to /dz/ before front vowels, as
in most Romance languages, see Phrygian language § Phonology.
6. Proto-Germanic reflexes of Indo-European voiced stops had spirant allophones, retained in
intervocalic position in Gothic.
7. This is the reflex after nasals. The outcome in other positions is disputed and may vary
according to phonetic environment. See the note in Grimm's law § In detail.
8. In Luvic languages, yielding ts, at least under most circumstances.
9. Non-initial
10. In Luvic languages, usually becoming *y initially, lost intervocalically.
11. Non-initial
12. In Luvic languages, yielding simple w.
13. PIE *ḱ, *ǵ, *ǵʰ mostly became affricates in Early Albanian /ts/ and /dz/ and then were fronted
further to /θ/ and /ð/. However in specific contexts, one or both processes didn't occur so some
instances were preserved as velar (Alb. krah, for example) while others ended up as /s/ and
/z/, /ts/ and /dz/ or /c/ and /ɟ/ according to context. Furthermore the fricative /ð/ has become a
stop /d/ in specific contexts in the modern language
14. In Indic languages, ç represents a palatalized š sound
15. pIE *ǵʰ → proto-Indo-Iranian *džjh → Indic /h/, Iranian /z/.

See also
Hard and soft C
Hard and soft G
Hittite language
Illyrian languages
Indo-European languages
Isogloss
Proto-Indo-European phonology

References
1. J.P. Mallory and D.Q. Adams (eds.), The Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture (1997), p.
461.
2. Fortson 2010, chpt. 3.2–3.25
3. Fortson 2010, p. 59, originally proposed in Melchert 1987
4. Fortson 2010, p. 178
5. Fortson 2010, p. 59
6. Lyovin 1997, p. 53
7. Mallory 1997, p. 461.
 8. Matasović, Ranko (2012). "A Grammatical Sketch of Albanian for students of Indo-European"
(http://mudrac.ffzg.unizg.hr/~rmatasov/Albanian.pdf). Page 13:"It has been claimed that the
difference between the three PIE series of gutturals is preserved in Albanian before front
vowels. This thesis, sometimes referred to as Pedersen’s law, is often contested, but still
supported by the majority of Albanologists (e. g. Hamp, Huld, and Ölberg). In examining this
view, one should bear in mind that it seems certain that there were at least two palatalizations
in Albanian: the first palatalization, whereby labiovelars were palatalized to s and z before front
vowels and *y, and the second palatalization, whereby all the remaining velars (*k and *g) were
palatalized to q and gj, in the same environment. PIE palatalized velars are affected by neither
palatalization (they yield Alb. th, d, dh, cf. Alb. thom ‘I say’ < *k’ensmi, cf. OInd. śa m s-
‘praise’, L c e nse o ‘reckon’). It may be that th yielded f before a consonant, if Alb. ënfle ‘sleep’
is from *nthle < *n-k’loye- (cf. G klínō ‘recline’). "
9. Mayer, Harvey E. (1980), "Baltic Membership in the West Satem Group", Journal of Baltic
Studies, 11 (4): 356–366
10. Andrew Miles Byrd (2018). "121. The phonology of Proto-Indo-European". In Fritz, Matthias;
Joseph, Brian; Klein, Jared (eds.). Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European
Linguistics. De Gruyter Mouton. p. 2061. ISBN 978-3-11-054036-9.
11. Holger Pedersen, KZ 36 (1900) 277–340; Norbert Jokl, in: Mélanges linguistiques offerts à M.
Holger Pedersen (1937) 127–161.
12. Martin Macak. "61. The phonology of Classical Armenian". In Klein, Jared; Joseph, Brian; Fritz,
Matthias (eds.). Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics. de
Gruyter Mouton. p. 1048. ISBN 978-3-11-052161-0. "A characteristic feature of satem
languages, the merger of *K and *K u̯ , seems to have taken place within the history of PA
itself... After the merger of *K and *K u̯ , a preceding labial segment “satemizes” the velar so
that the latter shows reflex- es identical to those of the original PIE palatovelar *K..."
13. Orel, Vladimir (2000). A CONCISE HISTORICAL GRAMMAR OF THE ALBANIAN
LANGUAGE: Reconstruction of Proto-Albanian. Leiden: Brill. p. 66,70-71. ISBN 90-04-11647-
8.
14. Bardhyl Demiraj (2018). "100. The evolution of Albanian". In Fritz, Matthias; Joseph, Brian;
Klein, Jared (eds.). Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics. De
Gruyter Mouton. p. 1812. ISBN 978-3-11-054036-9. "and the outcomes of the three dorsal
series suggest that Albanian, like Luwian, may have originally retained this three-way
opposition intact and therefore is neither centum nor satem, despite the clear satem-like
outcome of its palatal dorsals in most instances"
15. Don Ringe (2018). "1. General and methodological issues". In Fritz, Matthias; Joseph, Brian;
Klein, Jared (eds.). Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics. De
Gruyter Mouton. p. 65. ISBN 978-3-11-054036-9.
16. Matthew C. Curtis (2018). "99. The dialectology of Albanian". In Fritz, Matthias; Joseph, Brian;
Klein, Jared (eds.). Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics. de
Gruyter Mouton. p. 1807-1808. ISBN 978-3-11-054036-9.
17. Schleicher 1871, p. 10
18. Bynon, Theodora, "The Synthesis of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Studies:
August Schleicher", in Auroux, Sylvain (ed.), History of the language sciences: an international
handbook on, Volume 2, pp. 1223–1239
19. Schleicher 1871, p. 163
20. Brugmann 1886, p. 20
21. Brugmann 1886, pp. 308–309
22. Brugmann 1886, p. 312
23. Brugmann 1886, p. 313. The quote given here is a translation by Joseph Wright, 1888.
24. von Bradke 1890, p. 63
25. von Bradke 1890, p. 107
26. "Die Palatallaute der idg. Urzeit... erscheinen in Griech, Ital., Kelt., Germ. in der Regel als K-
Laute, dagegen im Ar., Arm., Alb., Balt-Slav., denen sich Phrygisch und Thrakisch... meistens
als Zischlaute." Brugmann & Delbrück 1897 p. 542.
27. Brugmann & Delbrück 1897 p. 616. "...die Vertretung der qʷ-Laute... ist wie die der q-Laute,..."
28. von Bradke 1890, p. 108
29. K Shields, A New Look at the Centum/Satem Isogloss, Zeitschrift für vergleichende
Sprachforschung (1981).
30. "...an early dialect split of the type indicated by the centum–satem contrast should be expected
to be reflected in other high-order dialect distinctions as well, a pattern which is not evident
from an analysis of shared features among eastern and western languages."Baldi, Philip
(1999). The Foundations of Latin (https://books.google.com/books?id=gWY7-DBWPW4C&pg=
PA39). Trends in Linguistics: Studies and Monographs 117. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter & Co.
p. 39. ISBN 978-3-11-016294-3.
31. Kümmel, M.J. (2007), Konsonantenwandel. Bausteine zu einer Typologie des Lautwandels
und ihre Konsequenzen für die vergleichende Rekonstruktion. Wiesbaden: Reichert. Cited in
Prescott, C., Pharyngealization and the three dorsal stop series of Proto-Indo-European.
32. Lehmann 1993, p. 100
33. Such as Szemerényi (1995), Sihler (1995)
34. Szemerényi 1990, p. 148
35. R. Woodhouse, Indogermanische Forschungen (2010), 127–134.
36. Matthew C. Curtis (2018). "99. The dialectology of Albanian". In Fritz, Matthias; Joseph, Brian;
Klein, Jared (eds.). Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics. de
Gruyter Mouton. p. 1808. ISBN 978-3-11-054036-9. "the evidence of Albanian’s support for the
three-way distinction of gutturals in IE"
37. Craig Melchert (1987). "PIE velars in Luvian" (http://www.linguistics.ucla.edu/people/Melchert/g
scowgill.pdf) (PDF). Studies in Memory of Warren Cowgill. pp. 182–204. Retrieved
2008-10-27.
38. Craig Melchert (2013). "The Position of Anatolian" (https://web.archive.org/web/201007092013
29/http://www.linguistics.ucla.edu/people/Melchert/The%20Position%20of%20Anatolian.pdf)
(PDF). Handbook of Indo-European Studies. pp. 18–22. Archived from the original (http://www.
linguistics.ucla.edu/people/Melchert/The%20Position%20of%20Anatolian.pdf) (PDF) on 2010-
07-09. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
39. Orel, Vladimir (2000). A CONCISE HISTORICAL GRAMMAR OF THE ALBANIAN
LANGUAGE: Reconstruction of Proto-Albanian. Pages 66-72. Historic palatalizations further
discussed on pages 72-77, palatalization of former velar sounds specifically 72-74.

Sources
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Sprachen (in German). Erster Band. Strassburg: Karl J. Trübner.
Brugmann, Karl; Delbrück, Berthold (1897–1916). Grundriss der vergleichenden grammatik
der indogermanischen sprachen. Volume I Part 1 (2nd ed.). Strassburg: K.J. Trübner.
Fortson, Benjamin W. (2010). Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction.
Blackwell Textbooks in Linguistics (2nd ed.). Chichester, U.K.; Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Kortlandt, Frederik (1993). "General Linguistics & Indo-European Reconstruction" (http://www.k
ortlandt.nl/publications/art130e.pdf) (PDF). Frederik Kortlandt. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
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Francis Group.
Lyovin, Anatole (1997). An introduction to the languages of the world. New York: Oxford
University Press.
 Mallory, J.P.; Adams, D.Q., eds. (1997). "Proto-Indo-European". Encyclopedia of Indo-
European Culture. London, Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. ISBN 1-884964-98-2.
Melchert, Craig (1987), "PIE velars in Luvian" (http://www.linguistics.ucla.edu/people/Melchert/
gscowgill.pdf) (PDF), Studies in Memory of Warren Cowgill, pp. 182–204, retrieved
28 November 2009.
Remys, Edmund (2007). "General distinguishing features of various Indo-European languages
and their relationship to Lithuanian". Indogermanische Forschungen. 112: 244–276.
Schleicher, August (1871). Compendium der vergleichenden grammatik der indogermanischen
sprachen (https://archive.org/details/compendiumderve07schlgoog) (in German). Weimar:
Hermann Böhlau.
Solta, G.R. (1965). "Palatalisierung und Labialisierung". Indogermanische Forschungen (in
German). 70: 276–315.
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External links
Anderson, Deborah. "Centum and satem Languages" (https://web.archive.org/web/200902160
42336/http://popgen.well.ox.ac.uk/eurasia/htdocs/anderson.html). EurAsia '98. Archived from
the original (http://popgen.well.ox.ac.uk/eurasia/htdocs/anderson.html) on 16 February 2009.
Retrieved 5 December 2009.
Baldia, Maximilian O. (2006). "Tombs and the Indo-European Homeland" (https://web.archive.o
rg/web/20090818002723/http://www.comp-archaeology.org/18LINGUI.htm#). The Comparative
Archaeology Web. Archived from the original (http://www.comp-archaeology.org/18LINGUI.ht
m) on 2009-08-18. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
Wheeler, L. Kip. "The Indo-European Family of Languages" (http://web.cn.edu/KWHEELER/IE
_Main.html). L. Kip Wheeler. Retrieved 5 December 2009.

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