Re: Euphonic phonology (Was: 'Nor' in the World's Languages)

On 8/9/06, Roger Mills <rfmilly@...> wrote:
> Dirk Elzinga wrote:
> > So in the word [táppùni] 'a rabbit'...
Oops. That should have been [táppùnɨ] (with "barred-i" as the final vowel).

> Was that "tapune" in an earlier incarnation? I see I've borrowed it into
> Kash as _tavun_ 'a shy mammal sp., agricultural pest; hunted and eaten by
> farmers'.
Yes, it's the same word._tapune_ is the Romanization I was using for a
while to represent /tapunɨ/, which is realized as [táβunɨ]. This is
the definite form. The indefinite form is [táppùnɨ], which I included
in my post yesterday. So you borrowed it into Kash? I'm flattered!
Matt Pearson, whom some list members may remember, had the word _tepa_
for 'thrush' in Tokana. "Tepa" was the name of the immediate ancestor
to Miapimoquitch. I returned the favor and coined the word /tukana/
for 'thrush' in Tepa. I still have it in Miapimoquitch: [túɣana] 'the
thrush'; [túkkàna] 'a thrush'.

> As for euphony, Kash was supposed to have an Indonesian/Malay sound, but it
> sure doesn't-- it's all the fault of making the very frequent inanim. plural
> to be -(V)S.  Too late to change now, but perhaps in one of the relatives...
That's exactly the impression I got of Kash--not that I know
Indonesian/Malay with any kind of intimacy, but it does have that look
...

> I'm not sure Gwr is euphonious...can't speak/read it fluently enough with
> the right tones to tell. But it's mostly CV(C) with only three codas, [? h
> N].  (My work on the sound changes rules is in hiatus, due to sister's
> visit, not to mention my own confusion.)
I don't think I'd call Miapimoquitch "euphonious", but it is *right*.
In that sense, BP makes the right kinds of distinction, I think,
between a phonology that is "pleasing" (because it is *right*) and one
that is "pleasant" (because it has nice sounds).

Dirk

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