Re: Questions and Impressions of Basque

On Wed, 1 Sep 2004 00:18:03 -0400, John Cowan <jcowan@...>
wrote:

>John Quijada scripsit:
>
>> As for Basque 3-way sibilant distinction z, s, and x (X-SAMPA /s/, /s`/
>
>Basque s isn't really backed enough to be retroflex.  Rather, what's
>happening is that more of the edge of the tongue is touching the palate
>than in Basque z, causing the frication to occur at the tongue tip.
>This produces a sort of cross between [s] and a whistle.
>
>> distinction for both sibilants and affricates is found in Mandarin.
>
>Mandarin x is not at all like Basque s: it's made with the tip of the
>tongue behind the *lower* teeth.  Its X-SAMPA representation is [s\].
Could the distinction be a similar one to the Polish?

And for sure, is Basquish "s" the same as the "s" of northern Spain? [s\]?

kry@_^s:
j. 'mach' wust

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