[Spellyans] Goat

[Eddie Climo]

On 6 Ebr 2009, at 14:56, Daniel Prohaska wrote:
> Yes, in Welsh.

Also in Scots Gaelic: <gorm> /gorom/, <garbh> /garav/ etc.

> Cornish is not Welsh.

It's also not Scots Gaelic. I didn't mention the Welsh examples to try  
and prove anything. Ditto with S.Gaelic — merely to illustrate what  
other related languages do.

Stating the self evident carries little weight. There are several  
thousand languages in the modern world, and Cornish is not any of  
them ... bar one. The observation is trite.

> Especially in the light of our agreeing that the unstressed vowel in  
> gaver is schwa.


We also agreed, if I remember aright, that there are different  
'flavours' of schwa. In the Welsh and S.Gaelic examples given, I hear  
the unstressed sound as the schwa that has the same 'flavour' as the  
stressed vowel.

As a non-phonologist and a mere practical linguist, I take it that the  
reason for this in W. and S.G. is that it's easier to keep the mouth  
position unchanged for both the stressed and unstressed vowels, rather  
than to try and make the tongue perform unecessary gymnastics. Thus, I  
find it unsurprising that the same thing might happen in Cornish.

Like <tavas> /tavas/ as opposed to KK <*taves> /*taves/, <gavar> / 
gavar/ seems easier to pronounce than <gaver> /gaver/.

Finally, I find it a good working hypothesis on any point to assume  
that KK is wrong. This allows one to err on the side of authenticity,  
given George's erratic standard of scholarship, and his deprecation of  
both the phonology, orthography, lexicon, grammar and syntax of  
traditional Cornish and of those who favour such things.

Moreover, while he may want his Cornish to look as little like English  
as possible, I'd rather like mine to look as little like Kemyn as  
possible.

Eddie Foirbeis Climo

- -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- -

Dres ethom akennow byner re bons lyeshes.
Accenti non multiplicandi praeter necessitatem.
Accents should not be multiplied beyond necessity.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://kernowek.net/pipermail/spellyans_kernowek.net/attachments/20090406/e5f3a436/attachment.html>