>From: Vasiliy Chernov <bc_@...>
>Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 08:13:50 -0400
>
>On Fri, 28 Sep 2001 21:59:04 -0400, Adam Walker <dreamertwo@...>
>wrote:
>
> >There were four voice qualities -- plain, rough, whispered and tense.
> >(ispired by a combination of Bai and Vietnamese)
>
>I'm afraid 'tense' and especially 'wispered' won't freely combine with
>tones...
>
Strange. I never had a bit of difficulty combining them. They pronounced
just fine for me.
> >I had three vowel lengths -- short, long and extralong. (a la Estonian,
>I
> >believe)
>
>Same kind of doubt here. I think at least the 'broken' tones will require
>a non-short vowel. Perhaps, 'short' will keep distinct only the three level
>tones.
>
No. It just means that "short" "long" and "Double-long" have different
absolute values depending on the tone. The three-way distinction survives.
>At any rate, I'd try to pronounce it before making any definite
>decisions... ;)
>
Oh, I've pronounced it. 'Cides, they're aliens, and "optimized" for such
oddities. They find *our* languages with consonants truely unpronounceable
and needlessly exotic.
> >All vowels could be rounded.
>
>Do you mean an attached w-glide?
>
No. I mean that the basic 9 vowels are all unrounded. Each of these
unround vowels has a round counterpart. Mid-central-round short low-falling
neutral voice sounds like a gorrilla grunt!
>If you add some diphthongs (and triphthongs?) to the non-short, you can get
>more.
>
Egads! No more! I'm already bumfuzzeled as to what to do about a native
script or a workable romanization. I hated my tonal spelling option.
Glides or dipthongs would likely rob me of some of my romanization options
for vowels. I need "w" and "y" for distinct vowels. This language is
reminding me why I abandoned it once before.
> >I seem to recall having 3 front vowels, three central vowels and three
>back
> >vowels, thought that could be amiss.
> >
> >9 vowels times 2 roundness settings = 18
> >times 3 lengths = 54
> >times 4 voice qualities = 216
> >times 13 tones = 2808 distinct monosyllables!!!!!
> >
> >Wow. I don't hink I'll need more than two-syllable words in this lang.
> >Three would be redundant!!
> >
> >Adam
>
>Basilius
Adam again
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