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From: henry@netcom.com (Henry Polard)
Subject: Re: Th - one or two phonemes in English?
Message-ID: <henryD2MEr4.AHr@netcom.com>
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest)
References: <rharmsen.132.000FF592@knoware.nl> <D2KtzM.MoM@hplabsz.hpl.hp.com>
Date: Wed, 18 Jan 1995 21:37:51 GMT
Lines: 29

In article <D2KtzM.MoM@hplabsz.hpl.hp.com>,
Evan Kirshenbaum <kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com> wrote:
>In article <rharmsen.132.000FF592@knoware.nl>,
>Ruud Harmsen <rharmsen@knoware.nl> wrote:
>>The (inter)dental sounds dh and th in English are distinguished by all
>>speakers, but simple rules with few exceptions can accurately predict
>>which sound is used in any given word. Because grammatical category and
>>some etymology are needed for the rules, this may not be enough reason
>>to conclude that there is only one combined th-dh phoneme in English.
>>Yet there are very few minimally differing pairs.
>>
>>
>>The rules for prediction of th/dh, with examples, are as follows:
>
>[Rules omitted]
>
>Correct me if I'm wrong (it's been a while since I took phonology),
>but I didn't think that you were allowed to appeal to syntax or
>semantics when deciding the phoneme inventory of a language.  If two
>segments could occur in the same phonologic environment, then they had
>to be counted as distinct phonemes.

Except when they are exceptions... 

There's one pronunciation of either vs. ether that gives a minimal
pair. But I guess that's an exception. :-(

Henry Polard  || All lines are straight ... except those that aren't.

