Re: Kyrgyz was Re: Zetowvu / Ezotwuv (new conlang)

Christophe Grandsire scripsit:

> > In my French speech (which admittedly isn't very good
> > grammatically/vocabularywise, but pretty okay pronunciationwise) I have
> > 'matin' /mat&~/, 'un' /&~/,
>
> How awful! It sounds like "matant" and "an" to me!
I use the same (per)version that Daniel does.

> I wouldn't know. But "in" is *definitely* [E~] and doesn't go any lower t= > han
> that (anything lower sounds like /a~/ to me).
Well, remember that [&] is not really lower than [E]; indeed [E] is maximally
low and front.  To reach [&], one must advance the tongue root; one way to
say [&] is to open the mouth wide and attempt to lick one's chin while
voicing.

Of course, I'm an American of a certain age, so I have to make an effort
to pronounce oral vowels at all.  "It ain't so much their @#$* language, it's
their )@#$ nasal twang!"

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John Cowan   jcowan@reutershealth.com   http://www.reutershealth.com
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