Multiple copies of Re: Paraplegic.

[Herb Stahlke]

I've received over a hundred copies of this message in the last couple of days.  Is there a problem with the listserv or is it closer to the Ball State network?  I'm beginning to suspect the latter because I've just started getting multiple copies of a message on the IE list too.  I apologize to all of the list members for posting this publicly.  I would have sent this message to ADS, but I couldn't access their page this morning.

Herb

>>> Mark_Mandel at DRAGONSYS.COM 04/17/01 03:17PM >>>
Herb replied to me in such wise:

>>>>>
Entertaining but improbable.  Aspiration, or delayed onset of voicing, is
not aerodynamic in cause but neuro-muscular.  The neural signal to close
the glottis so that voicing can begin does not come until significantly
after the release of the [p], a delay of about 50-60ms.  After a [b] the
delay is only about 10ms.  For heavy aspiration, the delay is simply
longer, but the air pressure doesn't rise to a level that would hinder
tongue movement.  The tongue's a pretty strong muscle.  However, the
perceptual effect might be as you suggest in (1).  As to "naptha" and
"dipthong", I suspect that those are simply dissimilatory.  We don't like
fricative clusters in English except for those involving a final -s suffix.
<<<<<

Thanks for the data. I shouldn't have said "hinder tongue movement", but
rather "create a perceptible resistance that speakers would rather avoid
than fight". As you point out, though, that's purely speculative.

-- Mark