Re: Elvish ideas ...

Sgrìobh Andreas...

> > What is written _sj_ in Swedish used to *be*
> >  _sj_ at some point, unless
> > I am grossly mistaken.
>
> No, that's quite correct. And I believe the
> dialects that have [x] or similar
> got there with [S] as an intermediate stage.
All English-language learning material for Swedish that I have
ever seen (all the "Teach Yourself"-type books, etc.) always say
that _sj_, _stj_, etc. are pronounced [S], and the speakers on
accompanying tapes always pronounce it as [S]. Imagine my
confusion, then, when every Swede I've ever actually met in
person has pronounced it [x] (or something similar, which I
couldn't begin to transcribe, which sounds like a sort of
mixture between [x] and a voiceless bilabial frivative).

The books and tapes also always have [C] as the pronunciation of
_kj_ (and k + front vowel, etc.), often likening it to the "h in
English huge" or something like that, yet every Swede I've met
has pronounced *that* as [S]! (Which, according to the books, is
supposed to be _sj_, not _kj_!)

What's an anglophone swedophile to do? :)

Actually, I think the sound change of [S] to [x] is not that
unsual, though it seemed so at first to me; I've seen the name
of the language Pashto also as Pakhto; apparently some dialects
of that language have [x] where others have [S].

Thomas

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