Re: Initial /?/ (was: Number)
| From: | David Peterson <digitalscream@...> |
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| Date: | Tuesday, August 7, 2001, 0:45 |
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In a message dated 8/6/01 10:57:55 AM, pearson@HUMNET.UCLA.EDU writes:
<< Sure, in isolation. But we don't speak single words in isolation, we
string
them together. It's pretty easy to distinguish [?a] and [a] if they're
preceded by another word, especially one which ends in a vowel (as all words
in Tongan, Samoan and Hawai'ian do). That was Roger's point in the last
sentence of the passage you quote. >>
Yes, but say I went up to my friend and said, "I want to go to the
movies." How on Earth would I be able to tell whether "I" began with a
glottal stop or not? Would there be a noticeable difference? We do hear
some words in isolation at the beggining of utterances. If we didn't, then
we'd just never stop speaking.
-David
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