Another initial "vl"

[Dennis Preston]

I think "vktbe" is  bisyllabic (vkt-be) with a /v/ nucleus; if so,
"vktb" does not qualify as a cluster. I'll check my Georgian
phonotactics.

This assumes that by "clusters" we mean groups of sounds in an onset
or coda, not bunches of consonants that cross syllable boundaries.

dInIs

>---------------------- Information from the mail header
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>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       James Harbeck <jharbeck at SYMPATICO.CA>
>Subject:      Re: Another initial "vl"
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>>I think I'll start a Polish restaurant and call it "Fog" (in Polish
>>of course) just so y'all can say that you've spotted a /mgw/ onset
>>cluster in English.
>
>Why go halfway? Specialize in Georgian cuisine. "Tbilisi" is tame for
>Georgian; "tskhendze" is just par for the course; I remember a
>Georgian lullaby that included the word "vktbe" (that wouldn't put me
>to sleep!). Call your restaurant _that_! (And yet somehow I have a
>feeling Anglophones wouldn't realize it with the hoped-for [vktb]
>cluster...)
>
>James Harbeck.
>
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--
Dennis R. Preston
University Distinguished Professor
Department of English
Morrill Hall 15-C
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48864 USA

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