Lesson 3: the comparative method

v
instead of 
f
. Does this refute the theory of regular phonetic change? No, it does 
not if we find another explanation for the v in 
vixen
, which is that 
vixen
, is borrowed 
from a dialect of Southern English speech in which f regularly became v.
Phonetic formulae testifying to the close connection between Indo-European 
languages are based upon close observation of phonetic relations, and there are regular 
sets of phonetic, morphological, and syntactical laws. For instance, in the field of 
phonetics comparison shows the following law: Indo-European p corresponds to
Greek p, Latin
p
, Lithuanian
p
, and Armenian
h 
or
w
. In Armenian,
h
appears 
where in Greek we find 
p
: the Greek 
pyr
"fire" is 
hur
in AFmenian; the Greek 
pater
is 
hair
in Armenian.

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Changes like these may show the evolution of a single, or of a combination of 
sounds, from the earliest available records down to the latest innovations.
One important figure in the development of comparative linguistics as a 
science is the German scholar Franz Bopp, (1791-1867) who wrote a book, 
Uber das 
Konjugationssystem der Sanskrit Sprache ("On the Conjugation System of Sanskrit")
(1816) comparing this subject with the conjugation of verbs in Greek, Persian, and 
German languages, and virtually creating the science of comparative linguistics;
Sanskrit, supposed to be a more primitive language than Greek or Latin, became 
from then on the mainspring of linguistic research.
The merit of his book lies in its study of inflections; Bopp's main contribution 
was his systematic comparison of the inflectional endings of all the Indo-European 
languages.
He was dominated by one great idea, which he thought could be applied 
everywhere: the idea that every verb-form contains the concept "to be", and that in all 
verbal endings one may expect to find elements with this meaning. In all s-endings he 
sought the root