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From: scc@reston.icl.com (Stephen Carlson)
Subject: Re: Definition of Vowel?
Message-ID: <CwK85v.26K@reston.icl.com>
Date: Fri, 23 Sep 1994 01:58:42 GMT
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In article <CwGHzp.6yr@eskimo.com> rickw@eskimo.com (Richard Wojcik) writes:
>I don't really know much Italian, but you do get initial spelled "sb-",
>"sg-", etc., clusters.  If such clusters do exist in some languages, they
>are certainly a rare phenomenon.  Typically, languages assimilate voicing,
>either progressively (as in English) or regressively (as in Russian).

The Italian examples are merely orthographic.

The 's' in "sb-" (as in "sbagliare", to make a mistake, "sbrigarsi", to
hurry up), "sd-" (as in "sdraio", prone), "sg-", "sn-", and "sm-" (as in
"smettere", to quit), are voiced.  Orthographically, Italian 's' may be
voiced (cf. "casa" house) or unvoiced (cf. "cassa", (a) safe).  Italian 'z'
on the other hand represents a /ts/ or /dz/ sound.

The closest one gets in English is "Aztec" and "asbestos," but these aren't
fair.

Stephen Carlson
-- 
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