Re: [lojban] Re: Language creation

[John Cowan <jcowan@reutershealth.com>]

Llu'is Batlle i Rossell scripsit:

> As far as I know, "'" isn't a consonant like others in lojban alphabet. It's
> more like something helpful for joining vowels. Something like "y" for joining
> consonants. It has a sound associated, but that sound isn't as strong as a "x"
> or a "c" (or any other letter :).

Exactly.

> And about ".", it's a way of forcing pauses (or force not to join syllabes). It
> also helps maintaining some rythm when speaking.

Also it is optional in writing.

> And I cannot find any problem when saying "se'u" or understanding it.
> (Uh. I hope I'm pronouncing it fine!)

As long as you can articulate the h-sound of "'", then yes, almost certainly.

> I think that "y" is nearer to "a" than "e". Mmmm maybe in the middle. But, for
> example, I use two 'e' in my native language. One found in English "ten", and
> another one which I cannot find in any English any example. It's the Spanish
> "e". I think its symbol in IFA is also 'e'.
> When speaking in lojban, I often use the 'e' in "ten". But not always.

You are free to use either one.

> I'm lucky, because Catalan has almost all lojban phonemes, and each letter has
> a fixed sound (something like Spanish). I think it's easy for me to read or say
> anything in lojban.

It's important not to alter the quality of unstressed vowels in Lojban; Lojban
vowels should be consistent whether stressed or unstressed (so in Spanish,
but not so in Catalan from what I understand).

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