tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Tue May 07 15:10:54 1996

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Re: Cannon for Multiple Consonants



According to Sa' qIQwI':
> 
> Wrote Ford:
> >ghItlh Sa' qIQwI':
> >>> -y' and -w' are also consonant clusters.
> >> Are not. TKD lists y and w as vowels as far as I can recall.
> 
> Give me one example where -y' or -w' would appear
> after a consonant. If you can't then they appear 
> only after a vowel, thus they are vowels.

WHAT? Listen to yourself. You have characters which appear only
after a vowel, right? So, except for the characters in
question, what are the only kinds of characters in Klingon
which can follow vowels? I suggest that only consonants can
follow vowels. This would suggest that {w} and {y} are indeed
consonants. Otherwise, they are the only vowels allowed to
follow other vowels. This is unlikely.

> If w in
> -w' is a vowel then -w' can't be consonant cluster.

And if a frog had wings... Your condition is false, so your
conclusion is meaningless. {w} is not a vowel in Klingon.

> example: Qaw'   Q  aw  '
>                 c  v   c

Nope. That's:     c  vc  c

> 
> >> y = diphthong forming I
> >> w = diphthong forming u

Nope. The {a} in {Qaw'} sounds just like the {a} in {Qap}, but
the {w} is a different consonant than {p}, but it is still a
consonant. If {w} were a vowel, you could say {Qw'}. I don't
see THAT in my dictionary...

> Sorry, I meant diphthong-forming to be an adjective
> 
> >I would truly like that to be true. Best example: Try spelling "Ice Cream"
> >using the Klingon alphabet:
> >
> >'ayS QIym
> >
> >'Twould be good if y were a dipthong,
> 
> Let me rephrase:  w and y form diphthong with the 
> vowel they are following.  aw and ay are diphthongs
> aren't they?

No. THey are vowels followed by consonants.

> >but most people unfortunately consider it a vowel,
> 
> ??? - but I said it's a vowel, diphthongs are vowels aren't
> they?  A sound where two vowels form one phoneme, right?  

But {aw} is not one phoneme. It is two. {a} followed
immediately by {w}, just like {ap} is {a} followed by {p}.

> If a diphthong is a phoneme then they are cvc, thus do not
> violate spelling rules. After all, there are quite a few 
> words with a diphthong between the consonants. 

Buy a clue. {rgh}, {w'} and {y'} are consonant clusters.

qa

That is an open syllable.

qaw

That is a normal cvc syllable.

qaw'

That is a syllable ending in a consonant cluster.

Every vowel can stand alone in the middle of a normal cvc
syllable. {w} and {y} cannot. They are not vowels in Klingon.

> Well, are diphthongs phonemes or not?

In Klingon, dipthongs do not exist, so your question is not
appropriate to this langauge.

> >Qapla'
> >
> >Ford
> 
> Sa' qIQwI'

charghwI'
-- 
reH lugh charghwI' net Sov.


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