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Re: Using word generators (was Re: Semitic root word list?)

From:Eric Christopherson <rakko@...>
Date:Wednesday, January 10, 2007, 21:39
On Jan 10, 2007, at 10:16 AM, David J. Peterson wrote:

> Jonathan wrote: > << > The first example to come to mind would be > initial /sf/ in English (a cluster, not a phoneme, but the analogy > holds), which is restricted AFAIK to a small group of low-frequency > Greek loans. > >> > > The thing I always found fascinating about /sf/ is that it was > probably pretty alien to English when it was introduced, but > it survived, whereas /sr/ certainly did not in things like Sri > Lanka =/Sr/ and srong > saraong /s@r/. I know some people > that pronounce Sri Lanka with an /sr/ sequence--I certainly > try to--but on the whole, I'd say most shift it to to the allowable > /Sr/. Could it be the presence of words like "svelte" that allowed > this?
Out of curiosity, which pronunciation is etymologically more accurate, /sri/ or /Sri/? If it's the same word as the Indian title of respect, /Sri/ would be closer, since the title is /Cri:/ in Sanskrit. (I know this has nothing to do with how people actually pronounce it in English. The AHD, for one, lists both, but /sri/ is listed first. I've always said /sri/.)

Reply

Benct Philip Jonsson <conlang@...>Sri vs. Shri (was: Re: Using word generators (was Re: Semitic root word list?))