Clever use of vowels

[sha76]

It's not often that a writer manages to create something totally new & different, but I believe this man may have succeeded

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7697000/7697762.stm.

I'm quite tempted to get a copy.

"Your rock is eroding wrong." -Dogbert

 

[sleipnir214]

How marvelously twisted.


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[Trevoke]

That's not a new concept.. Maybe a new presentation though.
Here is a page which shows one french author in the 70's who did that, with a few references to other, older ones.

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[CajunCenturion]

Thanks sha.

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[SantaMufasa]

I sincerely believe that Christian Bok is simply writing facetiously.

(All five vowels, in order, including "y") <gryn>

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]
“Beware of those that seek to protect you from harm or risk. The cost will be your freedoms and your liberty.”

 

[sleipnir214]

I distinctly remember being taught the song:

A-e-i-o-u are vowels,
A-e-i-o-u are vowels,
A-e-i-o-u are vowels,
Sometimes w and y

But when my kids were learning about consonents and vowels, "w" was not mentioned as a part-time vowel.

What happened to "w"?


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[SantaMufasa]

What happened to "w"?

IMHO, "W" used as a vowel is a bit of a "cheat" since both words in the "English" language that use "w" as a vowel are both Welsh (as our friend Fee can attest):
[ul][li]"cwm", pronounced "coom", is the basin at the bottom of a mountain sometimes containing a lake[/li][li]"crwth", an ancient celtic musical instrument.[/li][/ul]So, we've covered the two exceptional situations that cause school children learning English such consternation.

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]
“Beware of those that seek to protect you from harm or risk. The cost will be your freedoms and your liberty.”

 

[KornGeek]

I can't think of any words that use "w" (or 'w', depending on which programming language I'm using this hour) as a vowel.

 

[sleipnir214]

No, when "W" was a vowel, it was when immediately following another vowel, usually at the end of a word. In "bow", the "w" was considered part of a diphthong with "O", as the two sounds glide together. So in that usage, "W" was a vowel.

(Doing a quick lookup)

The Straight Dope website (link) gives the examples that in "cow", the "W" is in a diphthong with "o", so it's a vowel. But in "coward" you can hear the word "W" working as a consonant.


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[SantaMufasa]

But in "coward" you can hear the word "W" working as a consonant.

I don't believe that the example you offered for "W" working as a consonant because we "can hear the..."W" as a consonant, will fly...If you divide "coward" into syllables, it is "cow-ard". The first syllable, "cow" is the same pronunciation that you used in your example to "prove" that "w" is a vowel; the second syllable, "ard" is pronounced just that way..."ard". If "w" were to become part of the second syllable (so that you could "hear" it as a "w", then the syllabic division would become "co-ward", thus taking on a pronunciation similar to the initial sounds of "co-worker".


Can you offer more scholarly justification for "w" as a vowel than that offered by "Straight, Dopey Dipthong, Cecil?" Just because a guy can afford to pay for an Internet Website (as Cecil did), is not enough reason to accept his blogging as Gospel. <grin>

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]
“Beware of those that seek to protect you from harm or risk. The cost will be your freedoms and your liberty.”

 

[CajunCenturion]

That depends on the pronunciation of 'bow'.
Are we talking about 'bow' as in a leaning forward motion from the waist? In that case, the 'w' is a consonant.
However, if we're talking about a piece archer's equipment, the 'w' is a vowel.



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[AnotherHiggins]

As a child, I learned the vowels as, "A, E, I, O, U and sometimes Y." We I don't recall ever discussing W as a vowel.

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[KornGeek]

However, if we're talking about a piece archer's equipment, the 'w' is a vowel.

From my perspective, I'd label it as silent, not a vowel.

 

[CajunCenturion]

Can you offer more scholarly justification for "w" as a vowel than that offered by "Straight, Dopey Dipthong, Cecil?" Just because a guy can afford to pay for an Internet Website (as Cecil did), is not enough reason to accept his blogging as Gospel. <grin>

Perhaps you'd care to shed some light as to what disqualifies Cecil Adams as a legitimate scholarly resource. I would think that since The Straight Dope has been been published for some 35 years (long before websites came to be), and currently syndicated in over 30 newspapers throughout the country speaks rather favorably to this source.


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[CajunCenturion]

==> From my perspective, I'd label it as silent, not a vowel.
I don't believe that whether or not letter is silent or sounded has no bearing on whether it's a vowel or consonant. The 'e' in like is silent and surely it's still a vowel? Is the second 'e' in steeple not a vowel because it's silent? How about the 'a' in teach? Is it not still a vowel?

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[SantaMufasa]

Perhaps you'd care to shed some light as to what disqualifies Cecil Adams as a legitimate scholarly resource.

Cajun, didn't you see my &lt;grin&gt;?


Seriously, I'm just looking for a second opinion since change (like considering a &quot;w&quot; as a vowel simply because it forms a dipthong) requires a bit more vetting.

I'm not a person that can believe something just because someone declared that &quot;It is Change we can Believe in.&quot; &lt;another big grin&gt;

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]
“Beware of those that seek to protect you from harm or risk. The cost will be your freedoms and your liberty.”

 

[CajunCenturion]

==> Seriously, I'm just looking for a second opinion
I didn't see you asking for a 2nd opinion, but rather, a "more scholarly" reference.

Santa - You can grin all you want, but you frequently challenge cited sources when you take issue with the point being presented. I can understand that as a certain degree of skepticism can be healthy. I'd be more than happy to provide additional sources if you would be so kind as to elaborate on what kind of source you'd consider acceptable.


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[KornGeek]

I don't believe that whether or not letter is silent or sounded has no bearing on whether it's a vowel or consonant.

I agree. However, I don't believe that being silent is enough to qualify the 'W' as a vowel.

The "k" in "knife" is not a vowel.
The "e" in "toe" is a vowel.

I contend that being silent and being a vowel are two independant characteristics, and I still can't think of a single instance where "w" actually makes a vowel sound.

 

[CajunCenturion]

It's not being silent that qualifies it as a vowel.

It's the fact that it follows another vowel and forms a dipthong which controls the pronunciation of the first vowel that makes it a vowel.


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[SantaMufasa]

...you frequently challenge cited sources when you take issue with the point being presented...

I hope that such is a reasonable thing to do. I, in no way, want to come across as contrary, but I am eager to learn new linguistic concepts whenever available. Additional testimonials of a new concepts, I believe, strengthen the basis for accepting a new concept.


To make it simple, I'd be pleased to read about "'W' as a Vowel" in any publication listed in the Directory of Scholarly Journals in English Language and Literature, or, since you have always been, in my estimation, a scholarly and irrefutable authority, Cajun...If you say so.

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]
“Beware of those that seek to protect you from harm or risk. The cost will be your freedoms and your liberty.”