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From: iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Ivan A Derzhanski)
Subject: Re: H and digraphs thereof
Message-ID: <CxyyKF.D5n@cogsci.ed.ac.uk>
Organization: Centre for Cognitive Science, Edinburgh, UK
Date: Thu, 20 Oct 1994 11:29:00 GMT
Lines: 35

In article <CxtB2r.6C6@inter.NL.net> mcv@inter.NL.net (Miguel Carrasquer) writes:
>Using "h" to mark palatalization (nh, lh, ch, sh) is of course
>extremely illogical.

It's not that bad, provided _h_ is not used for anything else.
For an extremely illogical strategy, try the Polish use of _z_
for the same purpose.  (But note that a palatalised consonant is
not the same thing as either a palatal or a palatoalveolar one.)

>Albanian uses "xh" to mark the "dzh" sound (j/g in English).

Albanian actually comes very close to being consistent, due to the
regularity _s_ : _sh_ :: _z_ : _zh_ :: _x_ : _xh_, but blows it
by using _c_ with cedilla instead of _ch_.


In article <bmoore-181094115410@bmoore.qualcomm.com> bmoore@qualcomm.com (Holoholona) writes:
>In article <CxurM8.E3w@inter.NL.net>, mcv@inter.NL.net (Miguel Carrasquer)
>wrote:
>> I have no references on Galician.  I think that palatal n is written
>> n-tilde, as in Spanish, so that would free up <nh> for the velar
>> nasal.  But does that phoneme exist in Galician?  
>
>i understand that it does in welsh.  how is it spelled?  NH, of course,
>although the voiceless L is spelled LL, not LH.

But _nh_ in Welsh is a voiceless _n_, not palatal or velar.  Yes, _ll_
is inconsistent.  (That's why JRR Tolkien uses _lh_ in his romanisation
for the Welsh-influenced Sindarin.)

-- 
`That's yer oan problem, Judas', they telt him.  `It's nae concern tae us.'
Ivan A Derzhanski (iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk/chaos.cs.brandeis.edu)  (The G-- G--)
* Centre for Cognitive Science,  2 Buccleuch Place,   Edinburgh EH8 9LW,  UK
* Cowan House E113, Pollock Halls, 18 Holyrood Pk Rd, Edinburgh EH16 5BD, UK
