The problem of phonology of Hittite stops in terms of modern linguistics

The thesis deals with laryngeal phonology, especially laryngeal realism, an new approach to feature representation which distinguishes structurally tho-way contrasts of "voice" languages (Czech, Spenish) from those of "aspiration" languages (German). Laryngeal realism is the better 4 way of accounting for the laryngeal contrasts in languages with two series of obstruents than traditional approach. The next part of dissertation deals with the the terms fortis and lenis. These terms are controversial, as linguists disagree about their definition and their validity. It is argued that it is a phonetic phenomenon which could emerges when the primary correlates of speech sounds are suppressed and the second correlates are enhanced. The last part of this work is an attempt to contribute to the explanation of the longstanding issue of the Hittite phonology a phonemic opposition between two series of stops