Re: USAGE: Thorn vs Eth

Christophe Grandsire:

> Well, the simple fact that there isn't any minimal pair between /T/
> and /D/,
> and that words with /D/ are rare compared with words with /T/, make
> indeed
> their phonemic status a bit unsteady :)) . I think they are
> considered phonemic
> only because despite those facts the great majority of English
> speakers still
> clearly distinguish them (i.e. you won't hear somebody saying [T]ere
> for "there"), and can distinguish them in artificial situations
> where they are
> put to contrast. The speaker's recognition is an important argument
> in favour
> of phonemicity, at least as important as the presence of minimal
> pairs (and
> often more important).
I've got <ether> /T/ vs. <either> /D/, but that's the only pair
that comes to mind.  For me, the two are always distinguished.

-Tone

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