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Consonantal length

From:Brian Betty <bbetty@...>
Date:Friday, May 14, 1999, 13:50
Mathias wrote, "I can think of Japanese (and Finnish)  although the
"length" of consonant is  rather like a glottal stop. So maybe not Japanese
(and Finnish) :-). Maybe try with "emphatic" Chinese "s" and Arabic "t" ?"

What is the emphatic chinese S? Do you mean the Arabic emphatics? As far as
I know, the only emphatics in North Asia are in Korean. Which has a
nostrilfull, that for sure. Ever try and say a word like:

ttok.ttok-hae.yo^

where the tt (written with 2 separate Ts in Korean, by the by) is strongly
glottalised, voiced, and given length? Aiya! It makes Mandarin a walk in
the park IMHO.

It reminds me of that seminal moment in my conlanging history when I was
reading "Spock's World" by Vonda D. MacIntyre and she writes how a human
learning standard Vulcan practices "those vowels that made his throat ache."

BB

*********
You! Off my planet!

I'm not a cranky person, I've just been in a very bad mood for 24 years.