Re: USAGE: Language revival

On Wed, 24 Nov 1999, John Cowan wrote:

> Patrick Dunn wrote:
>
> > After all, the rule for which dental to add is somewhat complicated
> > to the average joe: I suspect that most people wouldn't be able to tell
> > you why they add /t/ sometimes and /d/ other times, yet they do, and
> > flawlessly.  They've memorized the form, not the formula.
>
> But if you ask someone to finish this sentence:
>
>         Today the man will /stark/, because yesterday he also ___.
>
> they will automatically answer /starkt/.  Conscious knowledge of the rule,
> and the ability to apply it, are two different thigs.
Hmm, a good point that.