LINGUIST List 12.248

Tue Jan 30 2001

Qs: Intensifiers/Thai, Coarticulation & Ellision

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

Directory

1. Panuwat Klubsri-on, Intensifiers in Southern Thai Dialect
2. Alain Th�riault, "Coarticualtion" with silenced vowels

Dear LINGUIST members,

I interested in intensifiers in Soutern Thai dialect and I take this 
subject for my M.A.thesis. I'd like to find out the devices of these 
intensifiers how they come and I'd like to know more about intensifiers 
in another languages in order to compare with The Thai language. I would 
be grateful if you point us to any work on this topic Please reply 
directly to me at:

pattrawan_khotmail.com

Thank you very much

Pattrawan Klubsri-on
Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok Thailand

Dear fellow list members

In Quebec French, interconsonantic high vowels are not pronounced in 
unstressed positions. For instance, "universit�" (university) is 
pronunced [ynvErste] ([ynivErsite] in slow speech). There is also a 
phenomenon of affrication of dental stops in front of front high 
vowels. For instance, "parti" (party): [partsi], "perdu" (lost) 
[pErdzy]. In the case of dental stops immediatly preceding 
interconsonantic non-stressed high vowels, both phenomenons are 
present, i.e. there is affrication of the dental stop and ellision of 
the vowel. For instance "tituber" (having "soft" legs) [tstsbe] 
([tsitsybe] in slow speech]. In this case, although there is an 
absence of the vowel, the rounding corresponding to the ellided vowel 
is present in the consonant.

There is also a phenomenon of retro-assimilation of voicing between 
the consonants on each sides of the ellided vowel. "invit�" (invited) 
[e~fte] ([e~vite] in slow speech) (where ~ marks the nasal feature of 
the immediatly precedind segment).

Does any of you know of any similar phenomenons in other languages? 
Are there other instances of coarticulation with an absent segment?

I'll make a resume of the responses

Alain Th�riault
Ph.D. Student (Linguistics)
Universit� de Montr�al