Jan van Steenbergen awrat:
> --- Joe skrzypszy:
>
> > > In my understanding, the minimum phoneme for a
> > > syllable is a vowel. (Then there's Russian which uses
> > > single consonants as prepositions :)).)
How could I miss the line?? Russian prepositions _v_, _k_ and _s_ are *not* syllabic!
> > A single 'vocalic' would be a better term. Including syllabic consonants.
>
> Except that those consonants are not syllabic at all. Since a preposition will
> never appear on its own, it can easily form a close unit with the word it
> preceeds (almost making it a prefix). This is ultimately proven by the fact
> that in certain cases it breaks the omnipresent law in Slavic linguistics that
> final yers always disappear, for example (in Polish):
> _z_ "with" > _ze mnЦ_ "with me"
> _w_ "in" > _we mnie_ "in(to) me"
The same in Slovakian. Almost the same in Czech.
> In other cases, it would be incorrect to pronounce the preposition
> syllabically: _w domu_ "at home" should be pronounced ['vdOmu].
That's the model Russian inclines to.
> In Ukrainian also the opposite exists: when preceded by a vowel, initial
> consonants can become non-syllabic semivowels:
> _i_ "and" > _j_
> _u_ "at, with" > _v_ [w]
>
> Correct me if I'm wrong, Yitzik.
You are right.
> Jan
-- A tired Yitzik