A Methodological Problem in Comparative Procedure

The MP.*γ.

Abstract

Mr. I. Dyen of Yale (Lg. 29) has rigorously distinguished five series of phonological correspondences or ‘reflexes’ of the MP.*γ Awhich he replaces with *R (cf.§3, with examples §1 to §4). In reality, however, one can, by way of rigorous procedure, establish or distinguish much more series of correspondences almost to the infinity (§6-§8) and is thence enforced to establish infinite distinctions in the similar-a fact which, in linguistic comparison, would annul the meaning of the distinctions “rigorously” established. Where the meaning of the distinctions is lost, they might be methodologically meaningless, too (§9).