Re: initial mutation or trigger? Re: re Mutations

Mark J. Reed wrote:

>On Fri, Oct 15, 2004 at 12:13:05AM +0200, Rodlox wrote:
>
>
>>>Explain what you now understand a trigger to be.
>>>
>>>
>> an isolate either at the beginning of a sentance (common), or just before
>>the word...and the trigger can change the meaning of a sentance by simply
>>being one letter different.
>>
>>
>
>Well, it seems to me that what we were talking about was pretty much the
>opposite of that.  The meaning doesn't change, but one of the sounds
>does, do to the phonetic environment.  I mean, I don't know Welsh, but
>the initial consonant mutation seems fundamentally similar to the final
>consonant mutation in the English indefinite article: the final
>consonant is normally zero, but becomes [n] before a vowel.
>
>

Usually doesn't change the meaning.  But in colloquial spoken Welsh, at
least in some dialects, I hear 'nhad'(that is, with nothing else that
could cause a nasal mutation surrounding it.) means 'my father', as
opposed 'tad', meaning 'father'.  This comes, of course, from 'fy nhad',
but 'fy' is often dropped, from what I hear.