Re: Sidestepping Spelling Reform

Andreas Johansson wrote:

> Quoting David Zitzelsberger <DavidZ@...>:
>
> > I don't know how accurate this is but
> >
> > http://www.zompist.com/kitlong.html#phono claims that "English goes as
far
> > as (s) + (C) + (r, l, w, y) + (V) + V + (C) + (C) + (C): sprite,
thinks."
> >
> > If this is acurracte and I figure
> >         S is about 6 (f, v, th/th, s, z, sh/zh). I'm not including both
th
> > because they don't seem to change the meaning of a word for me. Same for
sh
> > verses zh.
>
> That (s) - notice lowercase - is one; only /s/ can occur first in English
> syllable-initial clusters. And, of course, not all clusters suggested by
the
> above scheme are allowed - we don't get /snr-/ or the like.
>
Somewhere, I think in Gleason's intro. textbook, I've seen the entire schema
for Engl. monosyllables (native and generally known/assimilated foreign).
It's incrediby complex. Just a sampling

1. Initially
--any single C (includes /c j/ i.e. tS, dZ, excludes N)
--any stop + r (excludes /c j/ )
--any stop, except t/d and c/j, + l
--s + the above
--S + r natively, S + some others in mostly non-native,  German/Yiddish
derived (shmooze, shtick, schlep, shvants (sp.? it's Germ/Yidd.. Schwanz)
etc.)
--certain specifiable C + w, y (lots of limitations and non-native here, and
it depends on how you view "long u" pronounced [ju]...is it C+y or is [ju] a
V?)
-- certain fricatives + r/l (except s+r and s+h, and s+f/v only in
non-native; T/D can't cluster at all)
etc. etc. till the brain starts to hurt..........

The situation in final position is vastly more complicated, and I won't get
into that.  But consider /mpts/ in "exempts" , "sixths" /sIksTs/ , "parked"
/parkt/ just for a few.  (Again, it depends on how you view /V+rC/, is the r
actually a consonant, or a modification to the vowel-- in the case of [3^]
(US bird) it does seem to be a unit unto itself.)

And that's just the monosyllables..............

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