H. S. Teoh wrote:
>1) _C_ is the ch sound in English "chance" -- is that /tS/ or something
> like that?
In IPA that would be tS with a superscript h.
>2) _c_ is the non-aspirate version of _C_. I don't even know if IPA has a
> different representation for this sound; but my conlang definitely makes
> a clear distinction here.
This would just be tS without the superscript h.
>3) _j_ is the voiced version of _c_, and is like the English "soft g"
> (such as in "germaine"). Unlike the English 'j', this sound is more
> palatal than alveolar (and definitely not dental). What could the IPA
> symbol be?
I wouldn't say the sound was very alveolar in English, at least not in my
variety. Anyways, the symbol would be dZ (that's /d/ plus the thing that
looks like a 3).
>4) _jh_ is the fricatized version of _j_. I don't know offhand of
> any natlangs I know that has this sound, so I can't give an example.
The fricative version of English j? You mean the sound in _genre_ and
_measure_? If so, that would be Z (the thing that looks like a 3).
>5) _ch_ is like the English "sh"... and is basically the fricatized
> version of _c_, or the unvoiced version of _jh_.
That would be /S/, I think.
>Somehow, my ears tell me that these consonants belong to the same type
>(dental, labial, ...) but I must be misunderstanding something here...
You are absolutely correct. They are all post-alveolar or maybe even
alveo-palatal, depending on whether they sound more like English or Chinese.
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Marcus Smith
AIM: Anaakoot
"When you lose a language, it's like
dropping a bomb on a museum."
-- Kenneth Hale
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