Re: A question on palatalization.

En réponse à Tristan <kesuari@...>:

>
> However, /nj/ remains as /nj/ (in words like 'news'). Is /nj/ less
> likely to change? (Though come to think of it, the /n/ in 'new' is
> pronounced further back than the /n/ in 'noon' or 'need'.)
>
So maybe your /n/ in 'new' is properly palatal [J] instead of being palatalised
[n_j]. That would explain why it doesn't change while your other palatalised
consonants change, and why you feel that it's pronounced further back than the
proper /n/ of 'noon'.

> >
> But don't let that put you off. Unless I'm mistaken, English has had
> /dZ/ for some time (in words like 'bridge' < _bricg_, though I think
> the
> OE <cg> was a voiced palatal stop originally?) and took some time to
> develop /Z/.*
>
But at the same time didn't English have already /tS/ and /S/? In this case,
even in the absence of /Z/, /dZ/ is not properly solitary. It has /tS/ to keep
it company ;))) . But as somebody pointed out, there's at least one example of
a language with /tS/ without /S/, /Z/ or /dZ/ (at least phonemically):
Castillan Spanish.

> >
> Really? English seems to hate this tendency, with many dialects having
> /ei/ but no [e], /ou/ but no [o]. And the point about Old English above
> ;)
>
Well, I answered the point about Old English. In that case, /dZ/ is not really
orphan. As for the vowel inventory, on the other hand, I heartily agree with
you. But it's not for nothing that the English vowel inventory is considered
exceptional ;))) .

 However, velars seems
> to
> pull other vowels towards /i/ or /I/---OE _thenc_ became 'think',
> 'England' is pronounced with an /I/, enque > ink, or the fact that the
> only places a /I/ is allowed in an unstressed syllable (and there it's
> required, hammock /"h&mIk/) in my dialect of English is before velars
> and post-alveolars (/tS, Z/ etc). I had some more examples but I've
> forgotten them. Is there any reason for this? Why would a sound commit
> suicide, as it were?
>
Strange tendency. I had never heard of it. I'd be interested to know if there's
an acoustical reason for it...

Christophe.

http://rainbow.conlang.free.fr

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