Re: Three vowel systems (was: Brr)

Joseph Fatula wrote:
> T. A. McLeay wrote:
>> Do I read you right in claiming a vowel system comprised of /i: i I: I
>> 1: 1/? Is there an anadew for that?
>>
>
> It contains those sounds, yes.  I'm not sure whether to call the last
> vowel /1/ or /E/, it seems like it's somewhere in between those when I'm
> pronouncing it.
[1] and [E] aren't exactly nearby sounds unless you're using [1] to mean
something other than a high central unrounded vowel i.e. IPA [ɨ].
"Somewhere in between" would be something like [@] or [I].

>Is this a very strange system?  It seems like Hungarian
> has one about as complex.
I have never heard of a language that has all of /i: i I: I/; indeed, my
understanding is it's unheard of! Hungarian has a fairly boring system:
/i: i y: y e: E 2: 2 Q A: o: o u: u/, some dialects also having /e/ (and
all of /e: E e/ are quite low for those IPA symbols).

Icelandic has /i I/ with two allophones each: [i: I:] in open syllables,
[i I] in closed ones. But this is part of a regular/systematic process
and is clearly allophonic; it is, however, the closest I know.

--
Tristan.

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