665instr@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (Ian) (05/27/91)
In article <RP7i32w164w@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca>, arktik@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca (Ryan Daum) writes: > btiffany@pbs.org writes: >> FOURTEEN? Well, when I was knee high from the floor in school they taught me >> only FIVE: A E I O and U! It was mentioned that sometimes Y can act like >> a vowel, but it is still a consonant. So at most you might say English has >> 5.5 vowels. But 14?? Where did you come up with such a figure? >> >> -- Bruce Tiffany btiffany@pbs.org > > > Easy! Just include all the different ways of saying vowel > combinations... > > For example, the "au" combination is not pronounced "a-u" ... it's a > single sound therefore it's a seperate vowel? > Also, note that many vowels play multiple-roles: eg. a can be "ah" or "eh" or "er" etc. e can be "ii" "eh" etc usw. -- Ian Chai Internet: chai@cs.ukans.edu Bitnet: 665instr@ukanvax I don't believe in flaming. If I appear to be flaming, either (a) it's an illusion due to the lack of nonverbal cues or (b) my sprinkler system has suffered a momentary glitch, so just ignore me until it's fixed.
FLEGLEI@YaleVM.YCC.Yale.Edu (05/28/91)
I'm terribly sorry, but I'm going to note this again, as people are continuing to post this to comp.fonts. REMOVE comp.fonts from your newsgroups list for discussions of german, linguistics, whatever, if it DOES NOT RELATE to fonts, font rendering, typography, or font technology of any sort. The Umlaut and vowel discussion should take place elsewhere entirely, with possibly a brief note posted in comp.fonts saying "Look at these conferences topics if you're interested." UNLINK THE COMP.FONTS group. Thank you.
tja@mullauna.cs.mu.OZ.AU (Tim ARNOLD) (05/28/91)
665instr@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (Ian) writes: >In article <RP7i32w164w@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca>, arktik@ersys.edmonton.ab.ca (Ryan Daum) writes: [deleted stuff about 14 vowels v. 5.5 vowels] There are two meanings of vowel 1) the more open sounds uttered in speech 2) letter representing this, as a, e, i, o, u; OED Choose your definition and it might be a little easier to agree! >> For example, the "au" combination is not pronounced "a-u" ... it's a >> single sound therefore it's a seperate vowel? That's correct for this particular combination but not for "oi" and others as many of you singers or phonetics scholars will know. Hence you can argue about the number of different sounds that match 1) but 2) is clear and precise and quantifiable. Hence it is usually assumed when someone asks "How many ...?" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tim Arnold | Law/Science (Computer Science) | simil iustus tja@cs.mu.oz.AU | The University of Melbourne | et peccator =============================================================================
guelzow@ccu.umanitoba.ca (Andreas J. Guelzow) (05/29/91)
In article <91147.171814FLEGLEI@YaleVM.YCC.Yale.Edu> FLEGLEI@YaleVM.YCC.Yale.Edu writes: >I'm terribly sorry, but I'm going to note this again, as people are >continuing to post this to comp.fonts. REMOVE comp.fonts from your newsgroups >list for discussions of german, linguistics, whatever, if it DOES NOT >RELATE to fonts, font rendering, typography, or font technology of any sort. >The Umlaut and vowel discussion should take place elsewhere entirely, with ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ and where would you suggest? Anyways, considering that this discussion indirectly concerns the question whether standard fonts should include international charcters it definitely belongs into this group. I am always utterly disgusted of finding a text font which includes only the english set of letters. -- Andreas J. Guelzow <guelzow@ccu.umanitoba.ca> Department of Mathematics & Astronomy University of Manitoba