[Ads-l] Q: M silent in MN?

[Dan Goncharoff]

You must remember this. A kiss is still a kiss. A xi is but a xi...
On Jan 3, 2015 12:16 AM, "Laurence Horn" <laurence.horn at yale.edu> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Q: M silent in MN?
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Yes, I'm assuming it's underlying /'gzailofon/ or /'ksailofon/ or =
> something like it, and the first consonant, the /g/ or /k/, is deleted, =
> like the /m/ in "mnemonic" or /p/ in "psychology".
>
> LH
>
>
> On Jan 2, 2015, at 11:07 PM, Dan Goncharoff wrote:
>
> > Xylophone?
> > On Jan 2, 2015 11:01 PM, "Laurence Horn" <laurence.horn at yale.edu> =
> wrote:
> >=20
> >> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >> -----------------------
> >> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> >> Subject:      Re: Q:  M silent in MN?
> >>=20
> >> =
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> -----
> >>=20
> >> I just now "Mnemosyne", and that's really a name, so it doesn't =
> count, =3D
> >> at least in Scrabble.  ("Mnemonic" also has the nice feature of =3D
> >> containing different grades of the same PIE etymon in the first two =3D=
>
> >> syllables, so it's a good mnemonic for remembering "men-".)
> >>=20
> >> Is there some sort of principle that dictates that we always =
> pronounce =3D
> >> the second consonant of those phonotactic-violating initial clusters, =
> =3D
> >> especially the ones from Greek  (psychology, pneumonia, xylophone, =3D
> >> gnostic,=3D85)?  Is this discussed somewhere?   =3D20
> >>=20
> >> LH
> >>=20
> >> On Jan 2, 2015, at 10:07 PM, Joel S. Berson wrote:
> >>=20
> >>> Thanks (and there are 19 other words beginning "mnem", none of which =
> I =3D
> >> am familiar with).  My morbid mind ran rather to words like =
> "condemn".
> >>> =3D20
> >>> Joel
> >>> =3D20
> >>> =3D20
> >>> At 1/2/2015 09:54 PM, Laurence Horn wrote:
> >>>> Well, we'd need a "mnemonic" for that.
> >>>> =3D20
> >>>> LH
> >>>> =3D20
> >>>> On Jan 2, 2015, at 9:33 PM, Joel S. Berson wrote:
> >>>> =3D20
> >>>>> Are there words containing "mn" for which the "m" is silent, so =
> the =3D
> >> result is "n"?
> >>>>>=20
> >>>>> Joel
> >>>>>=20
> >>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >>>>> The American Dialect Society - =3D
> >> =
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v1/url?u=3D3Dhttp://www.americandialect.=
> or=3D
> >> =
> g/&k=3D3DdpQisR3avULHgiNaNeY%2Btg%3D%3D%0A&r=3D3DMW6Q85EuQFDFs0kj9ASwdaXoh=
> usE8=3D
> >> =
> 33r9bFEf66m5kA%3D%0A&m=3D3DgRGrTTg2dTadex1%2BWWSzRa6Hk3%2Bqo8sawHHqKjrTtRI=
> %3=3D
> >> =
> D%0A&s=3D3D931e3d41c55df29616a76a9d680df839d70e3fc4f68050c3bc10d25b5788d75=
> 5
> >>>> =3D20
> >>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >>>> The American Dialect Society - =3D
> >> =
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v1/url?u=3D3Dhttp://www.americandialect.=
> or=3D
> >> =
> g/&k=3D3DdpQisR3avULHgiNaNeY%2Btg%3D%3D%0A&r=3D3DMW6Q85EuQFDFs0kj9ASwdaXoh=
> usE8=3D
> >> =
> 33r9bFEf66m5kA%3D%0A&m=3D3Dr5JEMQdDpYlURAC3M1wa6vStz5iDF7mpmnKwYwgCEgU%3D%=
> 0A=3D
> >> &s=3D3Dc8f5b6ffdb6a9e46ab844310ac20efc468f9c9ceb469ac71ecb6f9f8d32424d6=
>
> >>> =3D20
> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >>> The American Dialect Society - =3D
> >> =
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v1/url?u=3D3Dhttp://www.americandialect.=
> or=3D
> >> =
> g/&k=3D3DdpQisR3avULHgiNaNeY%2Btg%3D%3D%0A&r=3D3DMW6Q85EuQFDFs0kj9ASwdaXoh=
> usE8=3D
> >> =
> 33r9bFEf66m5kA%3D%0A&m=3D3Dr5JEMQdDpYlURAC3M1wa6vStz5iDF7mpmnKwYwgCEgU%3D%=
> 0A=3D
> >> &s=3D3Dc8f5b6ffdb6a9e46ab844310ac20efc468f9c9ceb469ac71ecb6f9f8d32424d6=
>
> >>=20
> >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> The American Dialect Society - =
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v1/url?u=3Dhttp://www.americandialect.or=
> g/&k=3DdpQisR3avULHgiNaNeY%2Btg%3D%3D%0A&r=3DMW6Q85EuQFDFs0kj9ASwdaXohusE8=
> 33r9bFEf66m5kA%3D%0A&m=3D1ukSmQWPJZ0P7rMe%2F%2BiZaIJO8AFp7281ubj1OWhL3p0%3=
> D%0A&s=3Df4515bbea2fa126757192faa2be663c9e8d56bf76ccbaca0a64622c2051c4056
> >>=20
> >=20
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - =
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v1/url?u=3Dhttp://www.americandialect.or=
> g/&k=3DdpQisR3avULHgiNaNeY%2Btg%3D%3D%0A&r=3DMW6Q85EuQFDFs0kj9ASwdaXohusE8=
> 33r9bFEf66m5kA%3D%0A&m=3D1ukSmQWPJZ0P7rMe%2F%2BiZaIJO8AFp7281ubj1OWhL3p0%3=
> D%0A&s=3Df4515bbea2fa126757192faa2be663c9e8d56bf76ccbaca0a64622c2051c4056
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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