Re: Parsing Open Syllables

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

> >  When you hear
> > "konali" is that "ko nali" or is it "kona li"?
>
> In real languages, such ambiguity is often just
> accepted.
>
<snip>

>
> 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
The phonology I have in mind is not quite simplistic,
and I think it leaves lots of room for interesting,
yet fluid words.  Here's the summary so far:

Roman Alphabet minus C J Q R X Y

ABDEFGHIKLMNOPSTUVWZ

These consonant cluster belong to the first group and
are permitted anywhere:
   bl, fl, gl, kl, pl, sh, zh (like S in meaSure), sk,
st, sp
These second group consonant clusters are permitted
only in non-initial positions:
   nd, ng, nk, nl, ns, nt, nv, nz
   mb, mp
   zb, zd, zg, zl, zm, zn
G is always hard as in Government

A as in fAther (never Ash)
E and in thEy (never bEt)
I as in trEE (never sIt)
O as in shOw (never On)
U as in OOze (never Use)

In dipthongs both vowels are pronounced distinctly at
the extremes of the glide.  No glottal stop is present
except when the two vowels are identical.  When three
vowels occur together the first is separated from the
second by a glottal stop. gondaoi: gonda'oi, keshuii:
keshu'i'i

Words that begin with a vowel have an implied glottal
stop before that vowel. atria: 'atria

Letting 'C' stand for single consonants and the
clusters of the first group, and letting X stand for
all consonants and clusters of the first and second
groups, the valid word patterns are: CVV, VXVV, CVXVV,
VXVXVV, CVXVXVV, VXVXVXVV, etc.

Words always end with a vowel pair.  Vowel pairs only
occur at the end of a word.

Word stress always occurs on the first vowel of the
ending vowel pair, with secondary stress on the second
vowel to the left of that stressed vowel: zhamia
gondaoi: zham-I-a g-O-nda'-OH-i

The Lepaiu (Lepa'iu) people live in an isolated region
(perhaps a very long time ago, and perhaps not even on
Earth) and have not had contact with outside cultures.
 They have no notion of other languages and their
language does not have any mechanism to accommodate
foreign words and names. (Therefore John cannot give
Mary a book in this language, but Ubelio can give
Sashia a plemaio scroll of the sacred azabue.)

--gary