Re: First post & three questions

Dirk Elzinga wrote:

> > 1. What semivowels are there other than y and w?
>
>It seems to me that any high vowel may have a semivowel partner,
>so just as /y/ is /i/'s semivowel partner and /w/ is /u/'s, you
>can also have a high front rounded semivowel as a partner to /ü/
>(u-umlaut), and a high back unrounded semivowel as a partner to
>/ï/ (i-diaresis). This is the so-called 'velar glide' of
>Axininca Campa.
Ilocano has allophonic [e] glides, and Pima has [o] glides in some
diphthongs. So I guess mid vowels could also be semi-vowels, though they
are rare.




Marcus Smith

"Sit down before fact as a little child,
be prepared to give up every preconceived notion,
follow humbly wherever and to whatsoever abysses Nature leads,
or you shall learn nothing."
                -- Thomas Huxley