Re: Some natlang questions?

Lars Henrik Mathiesen wrote:
> Are these (/ti/, /di/, etc.) really the phonemic analyses, or just the
> systematic values of the kana?
They are phonemic.  Native Japanese has no [ti], [di], [si] or [zi], tho
some more recent borrowings do contain those syllables, likewise,
there's no [tu] or [du].  [t]/[tC\]/[ts] (using Marcus' symbols)
alternate in verbal inflections, for instance, take the verb _tatsu_
(stand), -u being present tense ending, I'm using a hyphen to show
morpheme boundaries:
tat-u = tatsu (stand, present plain)
tat-anai = tatanai (stand, present negative plain)
tat-itai = tachitai (want to stand)

For this reason, some romanizations *do* use forms like _ti_ for [tC\i],
the relationship between tatu/tatanai/tatitai is a lot clearer than
between tatsu/tatanai/tachitai

--
Cenedl heb iaith, cenedl heb galon
A nation without a language is a nation without a heart - Welsh proverb
ICQ: 18656696
AIM Screen-Name: NikTaylor42