Re: Allophones Question

From: "Nik Taylor" <yonjuuni@...>
> Christophe Grandsire wrote:
> > Not really. Castillian Spanish has neither /D/ nor /G/. It has [D] and
> > [G] as allophones respectively of /d/ and /g/ between vowels, but not
> > as phonemes.
>
> [d] and [g] could be said to be allophones of /D/ and /G/, as [d] is
> only used word-initially, or after /n/ or /l/, while /G/ is only used
> word-initially or after /n/.  The fricative pronunciations are more
> common than the stop, thus /D/ and /G/ could very well be called the
> basic phoneme.  Ultimately, it's just a matter of labeling.
I'm readin Pike's _Phonemics_ lately [looks old, but like the only text on it my
library has], and apparently:

    << It is advisable to consider as the norm that segment which has the least
limitation in distribution in the language, and appears to be the least affected
by surrounding sounds.  >>

...which is why I considered it safe to use the Spanish example.

    *Muke!
--
http://www.frath.net/

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