Re: Spelling

On Sun, 7 Jul 2002 22:02:28 +0100 Tim May <butsuri@...>
writes:
> > For that matter, s is often /z/ when intervocalic if not doubled,
> like
>  > "raise", "leasure", but "passing".
> It's /Z/ in "leasure" for me.
-

My understanding of the English |s| is like this:

|s| is basicly /z/ intervocalically, unless doubled or adjacent to a
voiceless consonant.
i.e.:
|raisin| [z]
|assent| [s]
|soap| [s]
|capsule| [s]

Now, a lot of times |u| is pronounced as a diphthong whose first part is
[j].
In those cases, a preceding |s| is turned into [S] or [Z] by merging with
the [j]:

|sugar| /sjUgr=/ >> [SUgr=]
|pleasure| /plEzjr=/ >> [plEZr=]

This also happens with the |i| in |-ion| endings, where the |o| is
pronounced [@] (or just consider the [n] syllabic).

|vision| /vIzj@n/ >> [vIZ@n]
|passion| /p&sj@n/ >> [p&S@n]

Or something like that.


-Stephen (Steg)
 "Of the many ways human beings have contrived to fend off ecological
disaster, Iceland's attempt to preserve its meager topsoil by consuming
its lambs before they consume Iceland is surely the tastiest...."
 ~ The New York Times Magazine, Food section