[Lexicog] new nosey word

[Koontz John E]

On Sat, 10 Apr 2004, Preslav Ivanov Nakov wrote:

> How can one pronounce a word like "vlk"?
> I see no way without putting a vowel somewhere. There are two options:
>
> v'lk
> vl'k
>
> where ' stands for the place the vowel is put. Try "valk" and "vlak" to see
> which one sounds closer to the pronunciation. That way you know where the
> vowel appears.

I don't know enough about Czech or Serbian to elucidate the detailed
phonetics of either, but this is an old argument in linguistics.  I
believe I can manage vlk, v<schwa>lk, and vl<schwa>k distinctively,
without knowing if I approximate Czech in any case.  There are basicly two
levels at which this argument can be fought - the phonetic and the
phonological.  At the phonetic level it appears that any sound that is
extendible can be the peak of sonority of a syllable, e.g., the range of r
and l sounds, nasal "stops", fricatives, and stop releases.

At the phonological level much depends on the internal logic of the system
and whether, for example, there are reduced vowels that pattern with
potential instances of non-vocalic syllable peaks.  At this level I can
well imagine that things might work differently in different branches of
Slavic.

This isn't much of an answer, but it seems to come down to "There is
something to be said for both approaches."

Those who are interested in the subject may be interested in:

Hoard, James E.  1978.  Syllabification in Northwest Indian Languages,
  with remarks on the Nature of Syllabic Stops and Affricates.
  pp. 59-74 in Syllables and Segments, eds. Alan Bell and Joan Bybee
  Hooper. Amsterdam, etc.:  North-Holland Publishing.

In connection with reading this some years ago in a class conducted by
Alan Bell, he played a tape (by Aert Kuipers and various speakers of NW
languages, I think) which was fairly astounding to listen to.  On the
other hand, I think Alan said at the time that [Ilse Lehiste?]'s reaction
to the tape had been "Short voiceless vowels."



------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-->
Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark
Printer at MyInks.com.  Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada.
http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511
http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/HKE4lB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->


Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lexicographylist/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
     lexicographylist-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
     http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/