Re: Tonal Languages taken to extremes

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.

-David