Re: Bisyllabic or Disyllabic?

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I believe this message from Tom Wier was intended for the
entire list so I'm forwarding it. / Daniel
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daniel andreasson wrote:

> H. S. Teoh wrote:
>
> > LOL!! "biphthong" sounds funny, indeed. Almost sounds like a pun on
> > "beef-thong"...
>
> Now that would be a sight! A big guy called Biff
> wearing a thong. Arrgghs!!! :)
>
> Better go for *di*syllabic then, you guys!
>
> > Though I wonder, are there such things as triphthongs?
>
> I know they have them on Gotland, an island off the Swedish eastcoast.
> Can't provide you with any actual examples but it sounds a bit like
> /geaUd/ (to make something up) or something, where all the vowels
> form a single syllable.
Indeed. Although typologically not as common as V or VV nuclei,
they do show up somewhat frequently.  Old French <beau> was
just such a triphthong, and some interpret the combinations in English
words like <fire> as them also.  (This last varies by dialect, however.)

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Tom Wier   |     "Cogito ergo sum, sed credo ergo ero."
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