tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sun Feb 08 23:56:55 1998
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Re: Letter sounds question
- From: [email protected]
- Subject: Re: Letter sounds question
- Date: Mon, 9 Feb 1998 02:56:38 EST
In a message dated 98-02-05 17:14:04 EST, several write:
<< >: For instance, is the pronunciation of \Sa\ more like "sha" or "xa" in
Chinese?
>:
>: tevram
>
>Is "xa" the new transcription (Pinyin?) for the old-fashioned (Wade Giles?)
>"hsa"? >>
---peHruS again---
Beware, though. Mandarin's "x" can ONLY be followed by "i". Even the
umlauted "u" which can follow the "x" could have been described in IPA as
"xiu" rather than merely "xu". Mandarin does not allow "xa". The difference
is that the Mandarin pinyin "xia" is the Wade-Giles "hsia". It must be
pronounced "hs" + "i" + "a". There is no way to leave out the "i". The
Klingon "S" does not like having an "i" after it. That is why I compared it
more to the Irish Gaelic "s", which can be followed by vowels other than "i".
Disathairne Beag = the day before a fast day
The "sa" is pronounced with a flat tongue with a slight trough down the
middle. The tip of tongue does not quite touch the upper dental ridge.
tèid mise aie turas cheudna = before I will undertake such a task again
The "se" in "mise" follows the above rules.
Ocassionally the Quechua "sh" is very much like the the Mandarin "x". So, I
still would not use it to describe Klingon's "S" as readily as I would use the
Gaelic.
Qapla' peHruS