Don't touch my phonemes (was: minimal pairs ex: PIE e/o Ablaut)

[Larry Trask]

Stanley Friesen writes:

>  Does anybody have any examples of a language that *retains* /t/ vs. /th/
>  finally?

According to Ladefoged and Maddieson, The Sounds of the World's
Languages, p. 67, Eastern Armenian has minimal pairs like these,
where <tS> = t-esh and <h> = aspirated:

	<kap> 'bond'		<kaph> 'club'
	<barts> 'difficult'	<bartsh> 'high'
	<votS> 'phrase'		<votSh> 'no'
	<tak> 'under'		<takh> 'hot'

But L & M cite no examples with final /t/.

Larry Trask
COGS
University of Sussex
Brighton BN1 9QH
UK

larryt at cogs.susx.ac.uk

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