tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Wed Feb 01 06:08:18 2006

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Re: Klingon phonotactics

ruehli ([email protected]) [KLI Member] 

I've been thinking a bit more about the syllable structure...

both the following analyses are descriptive, with the only (known)
exceptions being the two names {pIqarD} and {qIrq}

they are equivalent in the sense that any valid syllable in one analysis
is also valid in the other

analysis names are by QeS 'utlh

be aware that the meaning of N and S varies between the two analyses
({y} moves from N in the "cluster" analysis to S in the "diphthong" analysis)
and that S never appears explicitly in a syllable type - only implicitly in the
more general C or as absentee where only N is allowed

fun...

i) "cluster" analysis

definitions:

C - consonant, one of
     N - "normal" consonant, one of: {b, ch, D, gh, H, j, l, m, n, ng, p, q, Q, r, S, t, tlh, v, y, '}
     S - "special" consonant: {w}
V - vowel, one of
     F - non-back vowel, one of: {a, e, I}
     B - back vowel, one of: {o, u}

allowed syllables: CV, CFC, CBN, CF{w'}, CV{y'}, CV{rgh}

ii) "diphthong" analysis

definitions:

C - consonant, one of
     N - "normal" consonant, one of: {b, ch, D, gh, H, j, l, m, n, ng, p, q, Q, r, S, t, tlh, v, '}
     S - "special" consonant, one of: {w, y}
V - vowel, one of
     M - monophthong, one of: {a, e, I, o, u}
     D - diphthong, one of: {aw, ay, ew, ey, Iw, Iy, oy, uy}

allowed syllables: CV, CMN, CD{'}, CM{rgh}

-------------------------------------

now the question of what happens to the suffix {-oy} when attached to a noun ending
in a CV syllable:

in ii) CV may be either CM or CD, where CM corresponds to i) CV
that is ii) CM and i) CV are definite candidates for the possible insertion of {'} before {-oy}

otoh, ii) CD corresponds to i) CF{w} or i) CV{y} which are special cases of i) CFC and
i) CVN, respectively, that is in i) the new syllables would have to be CF-{woy} and
CV-{yoy} respectively, following the general patterns (CF-C{oy} and CV-N{oy}), whereas
in ii) these would again be candidates for a possible insertion of {'}, yielding CD-{'oy}


Marc Ruehlaender
aka HomDoq
[email protected]

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