Thread:User talk:CodeCat/PIE transcription question/reply (3)

In any case, I think that the final -y- would have followed the regular syllabification rules. So a hypothetical root noun like *seh2y- + -s would be *seh2is, a two-syllable form despite being a root noun. With a vocalic ending, like the plural -es, the consonantal allophone would appear, so *seh2yes. I don't think PIE phonotactics would have allowed *seh2ys. After all, *h2 was probably some kind of fricative, often reconstructed as a uvular [χ]. Something like [saχjs] would be very hard to pronounce as one syllable.