emjej@uokvax.UUCP (01/17/85)
/***** uokvax:net.nlang / ptsfc!rjw / 1:26 pm Jan 11, 1985 */ In the meantime, can someone explain the usage of the '^' in some esperanto words? /* ---------- */ In the words of Curly, "soitinly!" The prefixed "^" is used before a letter above which one would see either a circumflex accent (for c, g, j, h) or a--aargh, I forget the name of the glyph (it looks like a circumflex accent upside down, and shows up in dictionaries to indicate that the "short" sound of a vowel is desired)-- well, whatever it is (for u). The latter usage indicates a dipthong, the former marks a distinct letter in the Esperanto alphabet with its own pronunciation (the c /ts/ becomes ^c /ch/, g /g/ becomes ^g /j/, j /y/ becomes ^j /zh/, h /h/ becomes ^h /kh/, although ^h seems to be dying out--it's seen in e^ho (echo) and ^horo (chorus--^h seems to be turning into k, but koro (heart) is already taken)). James Jones