LL-L "Phonology" 2004.03.17 (02) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 17.MAR.2004 (02) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: Ben J. Bloomgren <godsquad at cox.net>
Subject: LL-L "Phonology" 2004.03.17 (01) [E]

> From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
> Subject: Phonology
>
> It's interesting to find out how different people regard and describe
> aspiration.
>
> Good to know that we got you well on your way to non-aspiration land,
> Uilleam.  Now please go off into your corner and practise, somewhere out
of
> earshot, because I don't want you to get confused by what I'll say now.
>
> Theo:
>
> > So maybe it helps for you to change in mind the
> > initial consonants p/t/k in b/d/g; and to pronounce
> > 'Theo' [and so on...], you think 'Deo'.
>
> I'm not so sure if this is so advisable, because we wouldn't *really* want
> Uilleam and other people with his "problem" to lose their sense of
voiceless
> and voiced plosives being distinctly different, given also that the
> languages we are talking about require you to observe this difference.
>
> > Talking in physics: Aspiration is a proces  of
> > over-pressure [is this still called 'effective
> > pressure' in english?] that you let out. In fact the
> > same process as the 'normal' p/t/k, but you let out
> > more air, or: in a shorter time.
>
> This is an interesting explanation.  It may be useful when we talk about
> Germanic languages only.  Language-universally, however, I am not so sure
if
> it holds water.  There are languages, especially in Southern Asia, in
which
> not only voiceless plosives can be aspirated but voiced ones as well.
This
> is the case in most Indo-Aryan languages (which belong to the
Indo-European
> family as well).  Thus, you can get series like m-b-bh-p-ph, n-d-dh-t-th,
> and ng-g-gh-k-kh.  Surely we can't speak about "over-pressure" in the case
> of voiced plosives.  Or can we?  Or do you think this is a different
> phenomenon?  Also, consider that in the Min-Chinese language ("Hokkien" or
> "Fukienese") you have the series m-b-p-ph (where ph is an aspirated /p/).
>
> Let me ask speakers of Low Franconian language varieties and of other
> language varieties that do not use aspiration.  How was or is it for you
to
> learn English, German, Scandinavian and other Germanic languages in which
> aspiration is (usually) required.  Is it difficult for you to use
> aspiration?  Do you even bother to learn and use it (given the fact that
you
> can usually be understood without using it)?
>
> Regards,
> Reinhard/Ronh

I really didn't have this problem, as my ear for languages allowed me to
take flight extremely early, but I have sat through enough Spanish and
French classes wherein people said words like "petit peu" and it sounded
like "pooTeePoo" with oo being pronounced as in book and tee as English
pronounces it. It maddened me, as I really had no trouble with the
elimination of aspiration from English to the other languages. When one is
accustomed to spitting air, it's difficult to be /p/recise!

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