Re: Parsing Open Syllables

--- In conlang@yahoogroups.com, Gary Shannon <fiziwig@Y...> wrote:

> I've always favored open syllables.  They are neat and
> tidy and east to synthesize.  But there's a parsing
> probelem with the spoken language.  When you hear
> "konali" is that "ko nali" or is it "kona li"?
In real languages, such ambiguity is often just accepted.

You can avoid it in many ways, though.  For example, if
the accent always falls on the first syllable of the word,
/ko'nali/ must be "ko nali", nice "kona li" would be
/'konali/.  If you want to distinguish "kona li" from
"konali", simply demand that even monosyllabic words are
always accented (at least with a secondary accent).  Then
"konali" is /'konali/, "kona li" /'kona'li/, "ko nali"
/'ko'nali/.  The accent could be stress or a different
tone.

BTW, I loathe synthetic languages with simplistic
phonologies.  They're often very inefficient with the
number of syllables needed, often pack a lot of unwanted
information into a word, and most importantly, they are
just boring.  =P


-- Christian Thalmann

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