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Re: THEORY: derivation question

From:Nik Taylor <fortytwo@...>
Date:Friday, March 26, 1999, 19:57
Carlos Thompson wrote:
> There are many such pairs: a Spanish word and an English borrowing, > some of them are excangable: _mause_/_rat=F3n_,
Interesting, where'd the -e come from on _mause_? I wonder why it's not "maus"?
> some of them will only generaly > understood when using the borrowing _(micro)chip_/_pastilla_ [integrate=
d
> circuits] or _byte_/_octeto_ [set of binary digits]. The plural of _mo=
use_
> /maws/ is _mouses_ /'mawses/ which is a regular spanish plural, but the=
plural of
> _byte_ /bajt/ is _bytes_ /bajts/ an irregular ... well, a regular spani=
sh plural
> used in borrowins that end in consonants: _chips_, _robots_, _casettes_=
/ka'sets/
> (also _casetes_ /ka'setes/).
Was that a typo earlier, then, when you wrote _mause_? Interesting that borrowings use the use -s with consonants. -/ts/, etc. isn't very natural for Spanish, is it?
> Some other thing I've found on computer jargon is _caracter_ /karak'ter=
r/ (plural
> _caracteres_ /karak'teres/) when reffering to a letter, digit, etc. (by=
te stored
> character, or char), instead of the standard Spanish _car=E1cter_ /ka'r=
akterr/
> (irregular plural _caracteres_ /karak'teres/) still used when reffering=
to
> personality/characteristics or playing characters.
Interesting. Much as some computer people will use the regularized plural "mouses" to refer to the devices used with computers.
> (well, there are > people who say /maUZ/, /baIt_h/, /tSIp_h/, /'draIvr=3D/, etc.)
Interesting, so they'll borrow English phonemes? /Z/ isn't used in "mouse", tho. It's /maws/. --=20 "It's bad manners to talk about ropes in the house of a man whose father was hanged." - Irish proverb http://members.tripod.com/~Nik_Taylor/X-Files http://members.tripod.com/~Nik_Taylor/Books.html ICQ: 18656696 AIM Screen-name: NikTailor