Re: CHAT: _Describing Morphosyntax_

Amanda Babcock said:
> On Sun, Aug 29, 2004 at 03:50:15PM -0500, Mark P. Line wrote:
>
>> The IPA is for phonetic transcription, although the symbols are often
>> adopted for the representation of phonemes and morphophonemes when the
>> 26
>> letters can't be made to suffice.
>>
>> Payne's examples are phonemic or morphophonemic, not phonetic.
>>
>> It's not necessary for you to be able to put specific sounds to the
>> examples he gives in order to understand the points he's making about
>> morphosyntax.
>
> Well, that depends on one's learning style, really.  I personally
> can't take one of his examples into my brain unless I slow down and
> actually pronounce it.

I should rephrase what I was trying to say: It's not necessary to be able
to pronounce the examples (according to anything like the native
phonology) in order to understand what he's saying about morphosyntax.

Certainly there's nothing wrong with making up a sequence of sounds (which
may or may not have much to do with how the example is natively
pronounced) and associating that with the example, if that helps your
brain get a better handle on it. (Just as there's nothing wrong with
drawing a picture of the example, which is something I sometimes do
because of *my* cognitive style.)
But then you don't need any knowledge of the phonemic symbols used to
write the examples, which is what Jim was complaining about.


-- Mark