Re: NATLANG: Velar nasals in Japanese, and coda moras.

En réponse à Lars Henrik Mathiesen <thorinn@...>:

>
> Right. I didn't think a syllabic nasal would assimilate. So I guess
> it's really /ri-n=-gM/ = [ri-N=-g(M)].
>
Yep. The syllabic nasal always assimilate with the position of a following
consonant.

> A thought: If final /M/ is dropped in /-CM/, is /-C/ still a mora? Or
> do you get [ri-N=g] in two moras?
>
No, three moras. First, /M/ is rarely completely dropped (it's often
pronounced, but voiceless, so you hardly hear it but the length of the syllable
is still there :)) ). But even when it's completely dropped, the remaining
consonant is still a mora.

The only exceptions I can think of are in songs, where for reasons of rhythm
(which is moraic in Japanese), a foreign word can get pronounced as it would be
*in the foreign language*, in order to fit the number of moras of the
verse :)) . I've heard songs using this trick, and it sounds quite strange :)) .

Christophe.

http://rainbow.conlang.free.fr

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