The Quick and the Dead

Abstract The second chapter introduces readers to linguistic reconstruction by explaining the use of sound laws and the techniques of comparative grammar. Using cognate sets from Romance and Indo-European as examples, it first defines just what is meant by Indo-European, then explains how comparative linguists reconstruct the phonology, morphology, and semantics of lost forms, especially when there can be fairly drastic changes of meaning over time. The concept of markedness is introduced, and the chapter concludes by refuting many misconceptions and misstatements about linguistic palaeontology and shows how patterns of distribution and the regularity of sound change enable historical linguists to provide reliable reconstructions of prehistory, and it demonstrates how using the correct techniques of linguistic palaeontology will help to ascertain whether or not the Indo-Europeans bred, harnessed, or rode horses.