Re: linguolabials (was: Re: Hell hath no Fury)

En réponse à J Matthew Pearson <pearson@...>:

>
> Linguolabial sounds are extremely rare, but not at all hard to
> pronounce,
> IMO.  Just touch the tip of your tongue to your upper lip and release.
> The
> result sounds like a bizarre cross between /p/ and /t/ (which,
> articulatorily speaking, it more-or-less is).  If you're having trouble
> pronouncing linguolabials because of the teeth, then you're probably not
> opening your mouth wide enough.
>
Then there is a problem of speed: by the time I manage to reach my upper lip
with the tip of my tongue, I should already be at the end of the word :)) . A
little like clicks, I can pronounce it in isolation, sometimes followed by a
single vowel, but that's all... (if only I could hear a click actually used in
speech, I would finally know how it really sounds like :) )

> Ladefoged and Maddieson ("The Sounds of the World's Languages", 1996)
> report the existence of linguolabials in a small group of languages
> spoken
> in Vanuatu.  Languages cited include Tangoa, Vao, and Umotina--none of
> which I have heard of.  No other languages are known to have these
> sounds.
>
The wonders of language...

Christophe.

http://rainbow.conlang.free.fr

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