Re: THEORY: Semivowels

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 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).

There are two subsets to this: on- and offglides.  For example,
in my dialect of English, /w/ and /j/ are only onglides;  they exist
as separate phonemes only *before* the vowel they're anticipating,
not after. When I transcribe my dialect, I must transcribe the offglides
as allophones of /u/ or /i/, hence my frequent use of /au/ and /ai/,
where in a narrower transcription they'd be [aw] and [aj].

>         Can semivowels be nasalized?
Well, technically I suppose they could, because nasality is merely
the opening up of the nasal cavity an an additional cavity for
the resonating of the sound.  But I've never heard or read about
any language that does this.  They can, and often do, have
voiceless equivalents, however. My dialect of English has four
glides: /w/, /w_0/, /j/, and /j_0/, as does the Atkan Aleut I'm
studying right now in class.

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Tom Wier <artabanos@...>
ICQ#: 4315704   AIM: Deuterotom
Website: <http://www.angelfire.com/tx/eclectorium/>
"Cogito ergo sum, sed credo ergo ero."

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