Re: English {phth} (was: Hellenish oddities)

On Fri, Nov 24, 2000 at 08:39:15AM -0000, Lars Henrik Mathiesen wrote:
> And then there's the combination sigma-phi, as in sphere.
>
> In Danish (as in English) the official pronunciation is /sf-/, but
> (unlike English) there really aren't any word in common use where it
> is initial. In atmosfære (atmosphere) it's broken up between
> syllables.
>
> However, there's a certain peat moss commonly used for soil
> improvement in gardens, since Denmark has a lot of the right type of
> bogs. The product is traded under the Latin species name: Sphagnum
> /spAwnOm/. (I assume that's from Greek originally).
It's sold under that name in the US too. My mom says /"sp{gn@m/, but I don't
know if anyone else does. I say /"sf{gn@m/.

--
Eric Christopherson / *Aiworegs Ghristobhorosyo