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Re: Un-neccesary letters (was: Re: New/revised language: Phonology)

From:Jörg Rhiemeier <joerg.rhiemeier@...>
Date:Friday, December 21, 2001, 1:10
Andrew Chaney <adchaney@...> wrote:

> ObConlang: If your language has a native alphabet, does it include archaic > spellings and such like -ough, kn-, etc?
In Germanech, the letters <s> and <z> both have the same value, namely /s/. One could thus do away with <z> altogether, and this has indeed been proposed several times. The reason why there are two letters for one phoneme is etymological. The letter <z> is used to write an /s/ that reflects a Latin /t/. For example, the word /pfaser/ `father' is spelled <pfazer>, because it comes from Latin /pater/. The diphthong /ts/ is always spelled <tz>, as it always results from a Latin /t/, except in borrowings. And if one takes words borrowed from Greek into account, it becomes even more messy: Greek sigma, zeta and xi all surface as /s/ in Germanech, and while sigma is represented by <s>, zeta becomes <z>, and xi yet a third letter, <x>. Words of Greek origin also feature <y> for /y/, which is normally spelled <ü>, and <ph> for /f/ (normally <f>). Example: <xylophon> /sylofon/, the normal spelling would be **<sülofon>. And then there is the usual context-dependence in the value of <c> and <g>. In Germanech, these are /S/ and /Z/ before <e>, <i> and <j>. Jörg.