Subject: RE: [lojban] What's the logic behind Lojban's sound system?

From: "Craig" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 27 Apr 2002 20:02:32 -0400

>1) Diphthongs ai, au, ei, oi, ia, ie, ii, io, iu, ua,
>ue, ui, uo, uu are all allowed but not eu, ou. Why?

This one weirds me out, too.

>3) Why is voicing used for all stops and fricatives
>except x?

Because somebody went a little crazy. This is discussed on the Wiki. We want
our gh sound!

>4) Why are there so many gaps in the phoneme chart?
>--the labial order has two stops (p/b), two fricatives
>(f/v) and a nasal (m), the dentalveolar order has also
>two stops (t/d), two fricatives (s/z) and a nasal (n),
>but then the alveolopalatal order has only two
>fricatives (c/j) and the velar order only two stops (k/g)
>and one fricative (x)--

Think of k/g as palatal stops that got moved back a little to make them more
distinct, and x as something that really shouldn't be there at all. It
doesn't fit.

>5) Why does lojban use such a rare phonemical
>opposition as /h/ vs. /x/, which moreover is found
>in just one of the languages it takes as 'models'
>(only Arabic contrasts them)?

It doesn't. An equally correct pronunciation of ' is as an unvoiced th
sound.

>6) Why, on the other hand, doesn't it use /N/, which
>is a very frequent phoneme of Chinese and appears also
>in English and Hindi?

Just a guess: no convinient grapheme. If so, quite illogical.
Admittedly, I find it easier to pronounce /mk/ than /nk/ without it morphing
into /mpk/, /ntk/, or /Nk/.

If we want to use /N/ by default for n, it maximizes the distinctness of the
nasals. And since the difference between s and c isn't allowed as all that
separates two gisms, n and N isn't. But we don't even have that distinction
in lujvo, unlike the s/c one.

A question of my own: What is with the spelling 'c' for /S/???

--la kreig.daniyl.

'segu le balvi temci gi mi'o renvi lo purci
.i ga le fonxa janbe gi du mi'
-la djimis.BYFet

pygypy gubmau ckiku nacycme: 0x5C3A1E74 (laldo), 0x22C68020 (citno)