Editing 1697: Intervocalic Fortition
Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
The edit can be undone.
Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
Latest revision | Your text | ||
Line 8: | Line 8: | ||
==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | The linguistic processes of | + | |
+ | The linguistic processes of [[wikipedia:Lenition|lenition]] ("weakening") and [[wikipedia:Fortition|fortition]] ("strengthening") refer to a sound becoming, respectively, either more or less prominent over time in a systematic way. An unvoiced consonant like ''f'' in between two vowels (which by definition are voiced) is more noticeable and takes more effort to pronounce than the voiced version ''v'' of the same sound in that position, so this would be an example of fortition. As a rule, however, lenition is much more common, and in fact one of the most common regular changes observed across languages is the kind of lenition that is the precise opposite of this: An unvoiced consonant between two vowels comes to be spoken, over time, as a voiced consonant, such as the middle consonant in the word "butter" that in American English is now pronounced as ''d'' rather than ''t''. Observing a pattern of fortition rather than lenition in that position (especially for just one particular consonant) would be a very puzzling phenomenon to future linguists. | ||
'''Examples for the suggested change are:''' | '''Examples for the suggested change are:''' | ||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | + | beafer instead of beaver | |
+ | |||
+ | salfage instead of salvage | ||
+ | |||
+ | interfocalic instead of intervocalic (from the title of this comic) | ||
− | The title text refers to the fact that English | + | The title text refers to the fact that English phonotactics [http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/169429/are-there-any-words-in-english-pronounced-with-e-at-the-end tend to discourage final or unstressed /ɛ/]. Exceptions tend to be monosyllabic interjections, such as: |
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | + | * meh | |
+ | * heh | ||
+ | * eh | ||
+ | * yeh | ||
− | + | The word 'meh', is an interjection used to express boredom or indifference. The suggestion that it was originated by the writers of the animated TV show, The Simpsons, [http://www.slate.com/blogs/lexicon_valley/2013/09/06/meh_etymology_tracing_the_yiddish_word_from_leo_rosten_to_auden_to_the_simpsons.html is incorrect]. However, its use surged in popularity following its use in various episodes of the show, beginning with the 1994 episode "Sideshow Bob Roberts". | |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
− | :[Cueball holding his hands in front of his mouth is whispering into | + | :[Cueball holding his hands in front of his mouth is whispering into his Cueball-like friend's ear. The friend turns his head towards Cueball.] |
− | :Cueball: Psst | + | :Cueball: Psst - Teach your kids to pronounce V's in the middle of words as F's, but don't write down why you're doing it. |
:Cueball: Pass it on. | :Cueball: Pass it on. | ||
Line 37: | Line 37: | ||
{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
+ | |||
[[Category:My Hobby]] | [[Category:My Hobby]] | ||
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] |