Re: English syllable structure (was, for some reason: Re: Llirine: How to creat a language)

----- Original Message -----
From: "Cheng Zhong Su" <suchengzhong@...>

Such a result points to one important general function
of language in thought: recording material in a
compact form enables us to retain more of it in
short-term memory, and any thought processes that
depend on manipulation of such material should
benefit.

Those languages that use more syllables that strictly necessary tend to
contain established patterns of syllables in a meaningful order. This
meaningful order is used to help native speakers of that language remember
long strings of words far more easily. Most intelligent English speakers
can be given a piece of text with all articles (the, a, some) removed, and
fill in the blanks with no problem. You could argue from that that these
words are unnecessary noise that serve no useful purpose and interfere
with memory. This is just one of many examples. These extra syllables
consume no space in short term memory because part of knowing a language
is knowing the rules for how to insert these padding syllables in a cloze
text.

'Noise' syllables serve another very useful function: In situations where
the communication lines are not perfectly clear, they help in
communication. If I hear the word 'the', I know I should expect a noun to
follow immediately after. If I don't, I'd ask the speaker to repeat. This
is a vital function of these hollow words. In a language where every
syllable contains critical information, losing even a single syllable
might not only confuse the meaning, but might even change the meaning
without the hearer even being aware that any information was lost.

--
Fabian
Teach a man what to think, and he'll think as long as you watch him. Teach
a man how to think, and he'll think you're playing mind games.

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