Re: THEORY: Semivowels

On Wed, 8 Sep 1999, Gustavo Eulalio wrote:

>         What really are the semivowels? I mean, are [j] and [w],
> respectively, just short [i] and [u], or are they really different
> sounds?
Semivowels (glides) are vowels which function as consonants. Vowels are
syllabic peaks, glides are syllabic margins.

On Wed, 8 Sep 1999, Tom Wier wrote:
>
> Semivowels are what phoneticians call "glides":  they obstruct the
> airflow very slightly in the process of "gliding" from one vowel's
> place of articulation to the next, and as such, are classfied as
> consonants (since the fundamental difference between consonants
> and vowels is that consonants, to varying degrees, obstruct the
> air flow, and vowels don't; it's just a matter of terminology).
Glides don't obstruct airflow any more than the corresponding vowels;
they just have consonantal rather than vocalic function.

>         Can semivowels be nasalized?
Of course. Shoshoni has both nasalized [w] and nasalized [y]. The former
is an allophone of /m/, and the latter is an allophone of /n/.

Dirk

--
Dirk Elzinga
dirk.elzinga@m.cc.utah.edu                   "All grammars leak."
http://www.u.arizona.edu/~elzinga/                 -Edward Sapir