Re: Droppin' Ds

Barry Garcia wrote:
> Yes, this was exactly what I was aiming for when I formulated that rule:
> esses aren't lost except in front clusters of esC-..
So, in a case like, for example, maestro, the <s> would be preserved?

> Yes, I didnt want to lose ALL esses
I didn't suggest all esses to be dropped, just those in syllable-final
position.

> i just thought it was cool to drop the s where I did.
Okay.  Not naturalistic, I think, but you don't seem to be aiming for
that, so doesn't really matter, I guess.

> UNLESS, the rule is all esses drop, except final. Not natural I think, but
> well, being a fun language, I could do that. Any other ideas?
Well, personally, I don't really like /s/ in word-final position that
much, which is part of the reason I made that suggestion.  Hmm, perhaps
word-final /s/ can become /T/?  :-)  /loT ombreT son feliTeT/ (if you
use a Castilian pronunciation of <z>).  Hmm, I like the sound of that.
:-)

P.S., a later stage of Watakassí will *definitely* have /T/ and /D/.
They will be derived from /f/ and /v/, which moved to /T/ and /D/ to
maximize the distinction between them and /P/ and /B/, which had been
derived from /sw/ and /zw/ (and /B:/ from /w:/)

--
Dievas dave dantis; Dievas duos duonos
God gave teeth; God will give bread - Lithuanian proverb
ICQ: 18656696
AIM Screen-Name: NikTailor