Clever use of vowels

[CajunCenturion]

==> or, since you have always been, in my estimation, a scholarly and irrefutable authority, Cajun...If you say so
Sarcasm will get you nowhere.

As fair and reasonable as that directory may be, I do not have a copy so I cannot verify the suitability of any source I can provide here and now, such as a Google search for "w vowel". Perhaps I can find something from the home library, but again, I'll have no way of knowing its acceptability.


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[kjv1611]

If anyone needs the book referenced by Santa, perhaps you can pick up a copy.

Here's one:

http://www.biggerbooks.com/bk_detail.aspx?isbn=9780878754014

Here's a better reference - cheaper:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0878754016

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[KornGeek]

Interesting link on the subject:

http://dictionary.reference.com/help/faq/language/t50.html

 

[SantaMufasa]

...or, since you have always been, in my estimation, a scholarly and irrefutable authority, Cajun...If you say so

Sarcasm will get you nowhere.

The thing I hate about text-based-only communication is what is potentially lost in translation. One of the items lost here was that I truly intended no sarcasm. From previous posts of mine, it is clear that I sincerely esteem your postings with utmost respect. I feel badly that my earlier post may have come across sounding sarcastic. (Reviewing my post, I can see where the message may have not matched my intent.)


I am sincere when I say that, as a result of my deepest respect for your linguistic skills and knowledge, John, if you indicate that 'w' behaves as a vowel when it completes a dipthong, then I don't need any other scholarly corroboration. If you get home and find some worthwhile background information on the topic, then I would be pleased to have you share it with me/us; but such is not necessary.

If you say it, I take it at face value, 'cause you've never steered us wrong.


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]

No problem Dave. I'm sorry I misread your post.

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[strongm]

>Here is a page which shows one french author

In his interview on the radio this morning Christian Bok did cite George Perec as one of his inspirations

 

[SamBones]

Growing up, "w" was always a consonant and Pluto was always a planet. I'm too old to turn my back on either of them.

I'm firmly in the camp of "pronunciation does not determine vowelness". This forum is visited and contributed to by people from a number of different English speaking countries, all with very different pronunciation on many words. This makes determining whether a "w" alters a "true vowel" (a-e-i-o-u, y?) into a dipthong dependent on the reader's origin.

For the word "down", I (a Yank) pronounce the vowel as a dipthong. I've heard some Scots pronounce it more like "doon", not a dipthong. Ok, maybe not the best example, but the best I can come up with on the fly here.

This is slightly off topic, but seems like a good place to ask it. What's with the word "Aluminum"?

Yanks: A-lu-mi-num

Brits: A-lu-mi-ni-um

How did that final "u" get bent into a dipthong?!?

 

[CajunCenturion]

==> I'm firmly in the camp of "pronunciation does not determine vowelness".
By definition, a vowel is sound created with an open breath channel; where air flow is not blocked by the tongue, lips, or teeth. The discussion is whether the letter 'w' as part of a dipthong represents such a sound.

==> How did that final "u" get bent into a dipthong?!?
The final 'u' is not a dipthong since both the 'i' and 'u' are pronounced individually.


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[kjv1611]

What's with the word "Aluminum"?

Simple. Apparently, the Brits say it different, b/c they're reaching into the new millennium.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[kjv1611]

What I want to know is: who in the world came up with the word, dipthong, in relation to grammar!?

I guess it would help if everyone were spelling it correctly. I noticed of the 14 uses of the word in this thread, only sleipner spelled it correctly:
diphthong


--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[risby]

Sir Humphry made a bit of a mess of naming this new element, at first spelling it alumium (this was in 1807) then changing it to aluminum, and finally settling on aluminium in 1812. His classically educated scientific colleagues preferred aluminium right from the start, because it had more of a classical ring, and chimed harmoniously with many other elements whose names ended in –ium, like potassium, sodium, and magnesium, all of which had been named by Davy

http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/aluminium.htm

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abjure hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia

 

[SantaMufasa]

I guess it would help if everyone were spelling it correctly.

The spelling depends upon which type of "...thong" you mean...Here is a "Dip-Thong":

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.”

 

[strongm]

As ever with these things, blame Noah Webster if you can ...

 

[Michael52x]

Santa, How do you play a crwth?
I believe we here in the US say it differently from it's correct pronounciation. I goes by the brand name "Lumina", among others, I just say "foil". Alcoa, who makes "aluminum foil", or "Reynolds Wrap", by the Reynolds Co., of course.

"Impatience will reward you with dissatisfaction" RMS Cosmics'97

 

[SantaMufasa]

How do you play a crwth?

Actually you can See a Welsh Crwth here and you can both see and hear the site owner play Anglo Saxon Lyres that are similar to Welsh crwths.

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.”

 

[Welshbird]

Aluminium is quite correct doncha know. You guys over there just wanted less letters....

Fee

"The cure for anything is salt water – sweat, tears, or the sea." Isak Dinesen

 

[KornGeek]

We're just more efficient on this side of the pond when we talk about our favorite color of aluminum armor.

 

[ncotton]

Aluminium was discovered by English chemist Humphrey Davy, he named it, in England.

So, our game, our rules, we win

Also, Latin suffix as oh so many other elements, Potassium, Barium, Ununoctium, Dubnium, Selenium etc you get my drift.

The English named it first, so we're the umpire on this one, so we're in charge, our rules, we win.

Neil J Cotton
Technical Consultant
Anix

 

[kjv1611]

Well, England may have named it, but the US won the wah, so there. We get to decide.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[AnotherHiggins]

-> The English named it first
Well, actually "The English" named it alumium first. Then "The English" changed it to aluminum before a different bloke suggested alumin[highlight]i[/highlight]um, because aluminum "has a less classical sound".

As for conforming to the nomenclature of other elements, platinum, molybdenum and tantalum had all been named by that time.

Still, I'll agree that since an Englishman discovered it, the spelling they've chosen to use should be considered standard, with the American "aluminum" considered a variant. I'll still say "aluminum," though.

[tt]_____
[blue]-John[/blue][/tt]
[tab][red]The plural of anecdote is not data[/red]

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