Re: Diom Phonetics

In a message dated 6/1/01 5:14:43 PM, dstokes@BLOOMINGTON.IN.US writes:

<< Preposistions tend to be single consonants attached to their object with
an apostrophe (There's another use for you, Yoon Ha). Ex. t'aron "to the
woods", s'amaren "with friends". These are pronounced with a short break
between the preposistion and the word. The preposistions sound like a
short, intense puff of air. When I say them it feels like I build up the
air pressure behind my tounge for a moment before releasing the sound. >>

    The first time I saw it, I thought it was consonant+glottal stop.  But
what you're describing sounds either like an ejective or intense aspiration
(like the Klingon aspirate sounds).  I'd have to hear, though, to tell.  An
ejective, if it helps, feels like you're holding your breath and you really,
really just shove that sound out there, despite the fact that you're holding
your breath the whole time.

-David

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