Re: "to be" and not to be in the world's languages

Amanda Babcock Furrow wrote:

| I would pronounce it
| is pretty much
|
| [jes_jm_j=]
|
| if that makes sense.

I agree. And _жизнь_ would be [Zi\z_jn_j=] (plus don't forget that Ru. /Z/
is in fact [Z_e]).

| (The palatalization, I think, probably penetrates
| through the m to the s.)

Indeed it does.

=============

Mark J. Reed wrote:

| The combination of a voiceless s and a voiced m
| is what makes jesm' extra odd, I think.
| Those crazy Slavs. :)

Yeah, that's difficult even for a Slavophonic tongue. That is why most
people pronounce _жизнь_ as [Zi\s_j]. In fact, final sonorants (m, n, r) are
usually to some extent devoiced a voiceless consonant.
But aren't Celtic sounds as much crazy? ;)

-- Yitzik