Re: USAGE: syllables

David Starner sikyal:

> JS Bangs inscribes:
> > "Vroom" is peculiar because
> > it's onomatopoetic, and "sphere" is just an exception.
>
> Why is sphere /sfear/ = s + fear an exception?
What other words begin with a sequence of two fricatives? Onset clusters
with /s/ are always s + stop, except for this word.

> On the other hand,
> vroom isn't that peculiar; while my dictionary has only one vr
> word (vraisemblance), it has several hundred words starting with
> fr.
Exactly. English has almost zero words beginning with voiced fricative +
liquid.


Jesse S. Bangs jaspax@u.washington.edu
http://students.washington.edu/jaspax/
http://students.washington.edu/jaspax/blog

Jesus asked them, "Who do you say that I am?"

And they answered, "You are the eschatological manifestation of the ground
of our being, the kerygma in which we find the ultimate meaning of our
interpersonal relationship."

And Jesus said, "What?"

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