Re: Phonology question

On Tue, 13 Jul 1999, R. Nierse wrote:

> I'm curious about the arching. Does tip of the tongue arch upwards or does
> the middle part of the tongue arch upwards? If it is the tip, then must be
> a retroflex /s/. If it is middle of the tongue, could it be the 's' in
> Basque (as opposed to 'z' [s] and 'x' [S])? I remember some s-sounds in
> Circassian that have about the some point of articulation and are rounded
> as well, making it a real whistle.
> Rob
> >
> > Dirk
The tip arches up.  Make the /t/ sound, then relax and drop the center of
your tongue until you get a fricative.

Incidently, I transliterate it "ht", as in "Meloht".  It becomes /t/ when
followed by a word beginning with a consonent.  So

 "Meloht a carehk"
beauty   is value

"Beauty is precious"

but


Melotle  carekh a talaht.
beauty.adj value is joy

"The value of beauty is joy."
"The beautiful precious thing is joy."


--Patrick