Re: Labiopalatalization

Henrik Theiling wrote:

	[---CUT---]
>>Voiced labial-palatal approximant ("turned h"). (C)XSAMPA is [H].
>>I don't know about Mandarin but French has it.
> An example would be 'yuan' [HEn] and 'quan' [ts\HEn].
>>I also used it in my conlang Shaquelingua. I wanted an "alien" semi-vowel
>>but I can't turn other vowels than [i], [y] and [w] into semi-vowels.
>>Neither can IPA. Any way, [H] in not one of the so common [j] and [w]. That
>>qualifies it as "alien".  ;-)
> What about turning [A] into a pharyngeal semivowel (maybe [?\], but
> that's the fricative.  It still sometimes sounds like an approximant,
> but there is no CXS, I think)? :-)  I personally find pharyngeals
> quite interesting.
If I'm not wrong, that should be [A_?\] but I don't think that's possible.
There should be a reason why all semi-vowel are a variant from a closed vowel.

My theory is that when your mouth is opened, all you can do is to close it
and produce a diphtongue, so from an opened vowel to a closed vowel. And the
semi-vowels are just the opposite, from a closed vowel to an opened vowel.
Some exceptions to this theorical rule are for example the english words
"ye" and "would"... unless you consider that nobody ever pronounce them
[ji:] and [wu:d] but rather [jI:] and [wM:d].   ;-)

In Shaquelingua, I found a way in between the diphtongues and the
semi-vowels with what I call the "double harmonic vowels". When two vowels
are the one behind the other, a higher a tone is applied to the second vowel
so the combination never turns into semi-vowel+vowel nor diphtongue. For
example with identical vowels:

saaru [sa^axu] = language
këjhtii [kEj.ti^i] = rescue
çuugëç [Cu^ugEC] = opinion

And with different vowels:

reëçka [xe^E.Cka] = explanation
vëlhlodai [vE4^4oda^i] = constitution
tókyoe [tO.kwo^e] = error

That's the closer from semi-vowels based on unusual vowels I managed to go.
I'll try to do better in a future conlang.

ji kaçtólu soe, [ji: ka.CtO4u so^e] (one soon until)

--
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Remi Villatel
maxilys_@_tele2.fr
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