Re: transcription questions

Joseph Fatula wrote:
(Blissett)
>>  >   "hk". This is a sound made by exhaling and quickly stopping the flow
>of
>> air by pressing the rear of the tongue to the roof of the mouth. It isn't
>> voiced and it isn't a clicking sound, and I'm not sure how to transcribe
>it.
>>
(Moi)
>> "hk" - preaspirated.  I assume it has to follow a vowel, otherwise you
>might
>> have either articulatory difficulties, or analytical difficulties (is the
>> aspiration part of the preceding consonant or of the -k?).  I've read the
>> various responses to this-- personally I don't get any friction (no [hxk]
>> etc.), though I can if I'm sloppy..  The one language I know of that has
>> (non-phonemic) preaspirates, has them intervocallically, in the env
>> "stressed V____unstressed V", e.g. (fake data) ['so(h)pa, 'sa(h)ka]
/sopa,
>> saka/.
>>
(snip)
(JF)
>I don't know if this is what the original question was regarding, but the
>sound I pictured with "hk" could easily start a word, not necessarily being
>after any consonant or vowel.
That would be possible, I was simply going by what I actually encountered in
a natlang.  For intiial position, a more fricative pronunciation might be
necessary, just to get across (make audible) the preaspiration in the flow
of speech.  It becomes a question of timing/onset of main articulation.  Or
possibly  the main clue would be the unrelease of the (e.g.) [k].  I wonder
if Blissett planned on having /ht, hp, htS?/ etc. as well.   And  /hb, hd,
hg/ would be possible too, sounding rather like a suppressed gagging.
Actually they're all rather interesting sounds.....!