Glottalic theory of Proto-Indo-European (Gamkrelidze and Ivanov)
Teoría glotálica del indoeuropeo (Gamkrelidze e Ivánov)
- Date
- 1972-1973 · confidence high
- Place
- Tbilisi, Georgia
- Credited to
- Tamaz Gamkrelidze and Vyacheslav Ivanov (with Paul Hopper, independently)
- Field
- Communication
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What was discovered
A proposal that the reconstructed «plain voiced» stops (*b, *d, *g) of Proto-Indo-European were actually glottalised (ejective), resolving the typological oddity of the traditional system. Gamkrelidze and Ivanov developed it in Tbilisi drawing on Kartvelian.
It is not a generally accepted theory: most specialists keep the traditional reconstruction and the proposal is still debated. Their Anatolia-Armenia homeland hypothesis (1984) competes with Gimbutas's Kurgan hypothesis.
What it led to
- debate over reconstructed Indo-European phonology
- the Anatolia-Armenia hypothesis as Indo-European homeland (1984)
- the relation between Indo-European and Kartvelian languages