Return-Path: Message-Id: <9110251306.AA22862@relay1.UU.NET> Date: Fri Oct 25 10:04:16 1991 Reply-To: cbmvax!uunet!pucc.princeton.edu!lojbab Sender: Lojban list From: cbmvax!uunet!pucc.princeton.edu!lojbab Subject: how to pronounce the apostrophe X-To: lojban@cuvmb.cc.columbia.edu To: John Cowan , Ken Taylor Status: RO X-From-Space-Date: Fri Oct 25 10:04:16 1991 X-From-Space-Address: cbmvax!uunet!cuvma.bitnet!LOJBAN How is the apostrophe pronounced, if not like an 'h'? Well, for an English speaker, you can generally get away with an 'h' as long as you don't growl it. Lojban has both the apostrophe and the comma in use for syllable division. Their primary finction is just that, to show that syllables are to be divided at the marked point. Thus "e,i" and "e'i" are two syllables, whereas "ei" is a single syllable diphthong like the "ay" in "play". Now try to say "e,i" as two syllables and listen to what you produce, and feel the movement of your tongue (upward) and your mouth (probably closing a little). The sound that comes out will sound like "eeeeeyiiiii, with a noticeable "y" sound at the change between vowels. The purpose of the apostrophe is to tell the speaker NOT to pronounce the "y". Why not? Because "eeeeyiiii" is also Lojbanized as "e,ii" or /eh,yi/. To pronounce "e,i" the same way would weaken Lojban's audiovisual isomorphism. Therefore, whenever a syllable break is required between two vowels in normal Lojban words, we move that comma up to an apostrophe to remind the speaker mnot to simply glide from vowel to vowel, but to "devoice between the two vowels. The easiest way to devoice is to make an "h" sound, which is why we teach it that way. "ehi" will never be confused with "eyi". But in 'properly' making the apostrophe devoicing, you shouldn;t puff your cheeks or grate your throat or anything else you might normally do in making a 'real h' by intent. Rather, you simply move your mouth to the new vowel position, continuing to exhale at the same rate, but not speaking the "y" glide (or the "w" that occurs in other places). The sound that results will sound like an "h" but will be very short and very smooth. (It isn't REALLY a 'rough breathing', that is just what it is called by the Greeks). It is most important to keep exhaling while chganging vowels, even if this means that you force the sound a little and it more strongly resembles an English "h". If you stop exhaling, you have obstructed your vocal tract - this is called a "glottal stop", and is consider the equivalent of a pause in Lojban. (To feel a glottal stop, say any English word starting with a vowel by itself. You will feel your throat catch and release as you start the vowel.) We represent a glottal stop in Lojban with a period (which actually represents a pause of any length). A pause means that you have two words. So "e.i" is heard by a Lojban listener as "e i", which incidentally is a logical AND between sumti followed by the start of a new sentence. So the choices for the"ei" together in Lojban are "e,i" (found only in names) "ei" a single syllable diphthong, "e'i", a devoiced pair of syllables that clearly runs together as a single word, and "e.i" two unconnected syllables that are clearly separate words. The basic 'rule' for Lojban pronunciation is that you must be able to clearly differentiate between these four options in speech, and that if you DO make an "h" sound for the apostrophe, that it not be so rough that it is heard as the "x" sound. Now you have the complex answer. You will probably find it easier to do than to read about, because it is so difficult to descriobe to people what there mouth is actually doing when they speak. Hope this helps, and perhaps also explains more clearly why we use an apostrophe instead of an "h" to represent the sound. If not, keep saying 'h' and I doubt if I'll complain. ---- lojbab = Bob LeChevalier, President, The Logical Language Group, Inc. 2904 Beau Lane, Fairfax VA 22031-1303 USA 703-385-0273 lojbab@grebyn.com NOTE THAT THIS IS A NEW NET ADDRESS AND SUPERSEDES OTHERS IN MY POSTINGS OR LOGICAL LANGUAGE GROUP, INC. PUBLICATIONS