En réponse à J Y S Czhang <czhang23@...>:
> Hopefully I have the X-SAMPA all right... (Thanx Christophe :)
>
You're welcome!
> _CONSONANTS_:
>
> p b t d t' d' k g
> m n N
> r
> f v s z S Z s' z' h
>
> j
> l l'
>
With retroflexes? Well, I don't find them particularly beautiful, but they
annoy me either :)) . BTW, retroflexes in X-SAMPA are marked by the *back
apostrophe* ` (like rhotic vowels).
>
> aspirated:
> t'_h d'_h v_h
>
Retroflex aspirates? Plus a voiced aspirated fricative? Now you're evil! :)))
Though I do like voiced aspirates :)) .
> _VOWELS_:
>
> Malay 6-vowel system (think: Spanish vowel system with _schwa_
> added!).
> My personal favourite (IMHO makes for a highly marked contrast to the
> richness of the consonants listed above).
>
> i u
> e o
> @
> a
>
Funny enough, that's the system of Astou when it became a dead language which
was mostly written and barely ever vocalised :)) . This contrasts with its
inventory around the 9th century BC (12 vowels and 11 diphtongues) and even
around the 4th century BC (where it had simplified to a system of 14 vowels
with no real diphtongues) :)) .
> <<BTW what is the official Italian (i.e., Tuscan) vowel system
> _really_
> like??? Is it a 5, 6 or what vowel system? I keep hearing "conflicting
> reportage."
> ALSO where on the web can I find other languages' phonologies?>>
>
IIRC Italian has 7 vowels: the five vowels like in Spanish, plus /E/ and /O/ as
phonemes rather than allophones of /e/ and /o/.
Christophe.
http://rainbow.conlang.free.fr
Take your life as a movie: do not let anybody else play the leading role.