Re: ZBB: Another "What language is this song in" thread.

caeruleancentaur wrote:


>--- In conlang@yahoogroups.com, Tim May <butsuri@M...> wrote:
>
> >OK, I've transcribed the first, ah, verse (from ~ 47s to 1m07s).  If
> >anyone else wants to do this, I suggest you do so before looking at
> >mine.  Seeing as I have no phonetic training, it's probably a good
> >deal off.  I'm marginally more confident of the consonants than the
> >rest of it.
>
> >[alo jowai joha zORM ad@: kasa~ van ovIdho
> > keS OsOn Emudafan vEnijUftOt muSkIdho
> > bEbu jEnofe kOXa zabo zOntoREbU? SOja~
> > sEso bEdZa himES SkI~n:ES Z@Xu mUftOt dardilho]
>
I'm not an expert but I can send my own transcription


I think that the stresses seem to fall on the penultimate syllables so I
wrote them

'alo 'jiowai ji'?oX\a 'zorvi 'adEl 'kasa~n van o'vEnX\o~n
KeS O'sO~n demur'dafan vEni'juftunt mu'Stinho
bebwi jenjofe ikoxa 'zabo zOnto'rebut SO~ja
'sEtsO 'bEdZja 'hemES 'kinmEs 'ZeRu 'mUftOt dar'dilho

I think I've heard [X\] twice but, it could be a variant of /h/ and [R], a
variant of /r/

the nasal vowels, I my representation, seem to occur only before a nasal and
coul be non-phonemic

I seem to be the only one to divide the "3rd word" in three syllables but I
hear it such

>
>Has anyone thought to use the instrumentation as a clue?
I've tought of this but since I'm not an expert, I can only feel that it
sounds like south of Asia...

>It sounds
>Near/Middle Eastern to me.  I hear some type of string instrument, a
>reed wind instrument and a bell/cymbal amidst the other instruments.
>The instrumentation is probably modernized for a 20th/21st century
>audience.  Since the Semiticists on the list can't identify it, I was
>wondering if it might be Berber.  I checked the Wikipedia entry for
>Berber and found some sounds corresponding to the above verse.
>However, I DID NOT DO an exhaustive study.  That's my 2¢.
>
And that was mine


- Max

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