Re: Tonal Languages taken to extremes

David Peterson wrote:
>In a message dated 9/30/01 4:31:06 AM, and_yo@HOTMAIL.COM writes:
>
><< Is this just a phonetic requirement, or does words have to begin in a
>phonemic consonants? (In other words, is that glottal stop phonemic, or is
>it just there to prevent a phonetically initial vowel?) >>
>
>     No, this is actually orthographical, in that you write it, for
>instance,
>every time a word begins with alef (accept for the definite article,
>because
>that would just get too tiresome, though it is there, in a modified form).
>Everytime a word begins with one of the other long vowels, they're simply
>glides, and those are the only ways an orthographic/allophonic vowel can
>begin a word in Arabic.
That something is recognized orthographically is hardly proof it's phonemic,
is it?

                                       Andreas


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