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On 1/24/06, Jim Henry <jimhenry1973@hidden.email> wrote:
>.......V = vowel,
> S = semivowel
> L = liquid (l or r)
> N = nasal ( m n q )
> P = plosive/stop (p b t d k g)
> F = fricative (s z f v h x) (there were no instances of
> |y| = /Z/ in this version of the dictionary)
> A = affricate (|c| or |j|, now written as |tc| and |dj|)
>
> Here's the list -- some analysis will follow later.
>
> 69 PVLV
> 55 PVN
.....
More (regex) symbols for what follows:
^ means the beginning of a morpheme,
$ means the end of a morpheme.
Some tentative conclusions:
1. There are just a handful of words
with an initial cluster of three consonants:
CCCVC splin
CCCVC spriq
CCCV spru
CCCVC straq
So you could have a rule that the only
allowed three-consonant clusters are:
a. in initial position
b. |s| + a plosive + a liquid
c. followed by a vowel, NOT a semivowel
But maybe it would be better to redo
these four words and have a simple rule that
no word has three or more consonants in
a row.
2. Of the two-consonant initial clusters,
I see these patterns:
- a lot of ^FL, ^PL, and ^FP
- some ^PF, mostly /ts/ with some /kv/
(the affricates might count here too)
- some ^FN (/sm/, /sn/, /fn/)
- a little bit of ^FF (/sf/) and ^PN (/kn/)
- one-off oddities like ^PP "pterna" (not in the current glossary)
3. It seems that initial affricates
are always followed by either a vowel or
(in a handful of morphemes) a semivowel.
Good.
4. For medial clusters, I see
- a lot of LN and NL (jaqlaq, pulmon, etc.)
- a fair bit of NN (jonmo, etc.)
- a little LL (berli, etc.)
5. Final clusters:
- 18 instances of LN$ (e.g. "barn")
- one instance of LL$ ("xulr", ?, not in the current glossary)
- one instance of NL$ ("donr"?, not in the current glossary)
- one NN$, ("daumn", not in the current glossary)
It looks like you've eliminated all final clusters other than
liquid + nasal since July. Good move! Now maybe
you could prune some of those initial /str/ and /spl/
clusters, too?.... And what about those medial LL and NN?
--
Jim Henry
http://www.pobox.com/~jimhenry