Re: Silent E

Keith Gaughan scripsit:

> The vowel digraphs `ea' and `ai' are single sounds. The two letters in them are
> of two different types and both are needed to indicate the quality of the
> consonants surrounding them. That's one of the reasons why you'll find long
> clusters of vowels in words in Irish.
All well and good: by examining the vowel *letters* surrounding a consonant,
you can determine if the consonant is broad (non-palatalized) or slender
(palatalized).  What's hard (to me, anyway) is to figure out from the
vowel *letters* what vowel *sound* is intended.

--
John Cowan           http://www.ccil.org/~cowan              cowan@ccil.org
Please leave your values        |       Check your assumptions.  In fact,
   at the front desk.           |          check your assumptions at the door.
     --sign in Paris hotel      |            --Miles Vorkosigan