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Re: Czech orthography (was Re: Lack of ambiguity in Czech, was Re: EU allumettes)

From:Trebor Jung <treborjung@...>
Date:Friday, May 7, 2004, 23:35
Javier wrote:

"Yes, Czech uses carons, not circumflexes. This diacritic is called
_ha´c^ek_ in Czech (meaning 'little hook', diminutive of _ha´k_), and this
name is sometimes used in English, too."

Are the letters with caron ASCIIified with a following ^? I thought the ^
represented a circumflex...

"The sound is a voiced rhotic fricative; just like a Czech z^ but with an
accompanying vibration of the tip of the tongue.

Anyone know where I could hear r^ pronounced?

"Note, however, that the sounds of Czech s^/c^/z^/r^ are not postalveolars
like an English sh, but alveolar-postalveolars, which gives them a mixed
hissing-hushing quality very similar to the one of the Ubykh s^."

Are s^ and z^ the alveolo-palatal fricatives [s\] and [z\]?

Tamas wrote (in a message with the subject "Re: Lack of ambiguity in Czech,
was Re: EU allumettes"):

"When I say "novy' me<si'c" nobody knows without the context whether I'm
talking about the 'new moon' or about the 'new month'. Etc.

"[Czech notation: e< = e with caron, y' = y with acute, i' = i with acute]"

I didn't know Czech vowels could wear a caron too.

Trebor.