Re: Schwas in America

On 8 June, Roger Mills wrote:

> Maybe as a Hebrew speaker you're more practiced at producing clusters??
> :-)))
As if English doesn't have its share?  ;-) (Just ask my kids, who are
L1 in Hebrew, but English speakers --- they can get hung up at times
on the English clusters that I take for granted! )
Seriously ---  IMHO, it's highly unlikely that a lang acquired as an adult
would have any phonolgical influence on my L1, especially since
my L1 is English, a lang which is extremely difficult to isolate oneself
from in today's world! (this, of course, keeps reinforcing my
English, or at least, diluting the effects of any other lang on my
English phonological system.)


> I can't reduct this phrase past [tS*g*n'du] where * indicates very
> brief periods of "furtive vowel" necessitated by the mechanical
transitions.
> Thus it seems to be 3 syllables; possible secondary stress on -[g*n]- with
> occasional lengthenging of the [n]
Interestingly,  I _do_ perceive 3 "beats". I just hesitated
to call them syllables because I couldn't perceive any "real" vowels
in the sound-sequence.

> Someone back in the 70s, I think it was David Stampe, made himself famous
> with an analysis of fast speech rules and the phrase "divinity fudge".
Interesting. Sounds like something I'd like to look into when I get the
time!
(the fast speech rules, not the fudge! I get into too many "goodies" as it
is!  ;-)    )


Dan Sulani
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likehsna rtem zuv tikuhnuh auag inuvuz vaka'a.

A word is an awesome thing.



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