LINGUIST List 11.1795

Wed Aug 23 2000

Qs: Semitic Consonants, "But" in German/English

Editor for this issue: Karen Milligan <karenlinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Carole Unseth, Semitic Consonant Frequencies and Positions
2. Kristina Kotcheva, 'but'

Semitic consonant frequencies and positions

 I am looking for any studies in Semitic languages that have counted 
consonants and their positions within verb roots, initial, medial, final 
position. For example, I note that in Arabic, "t" is found only half as 
often in initial position as medial or final, but "s" is much more 
common in initial position than in initial or final. I am aware of 
Greenberg's study on Arabic and Bender's study on Amharic.

Pete Unseth

wordloverkcbi.net

Dear Linguists,

the differences in the use of English conjunction 'but' and its German
counterparts 'aber'/'sondern' are well-known. In German sentences like the
one below are possible and acceptable. I suppose this is not true of
English, but I'd like to hear native speaker's opinion on this since
English is not my mother tongue.


Kein Mitglied der IETF vertritt Microsoft oder die US-Regierung, sondern
alle sprechen f�r sich selbst.

No member of IETF represents Microsoft or the US government, ?but everybody
speaks for himself/herself.
[what is stated in the first part of the sentence is rejected as not being
the case and replaced by the statement in the second part of the sentence]

Please send answers via personal email. Thanks in advance!

Kristina Kotcheva

***************************************
Kristina Kotcheva
Nordeuropa-Institut
Humboldt-Universit�t zu Berlin
Unter den Linden 6
D-10099 Berlin

e-mail: kristina.kotchevarz.hu-berlin.de
tel.:	#49-30-20196-750
fax:	#49-30-20196-626