Re: A BrSc a?

--- Raymond Brown <ray.brown@...> wrote:
> Scheme (b)
> ----------
> This is Dirk's original scheme and which,
> personally, I prefer.   That
> means we have a high, central vowel [1], like the
> north Walian
> pronunciation of Welsh {u}, the Romanian î
> (i-circumflex) or Russian bI,
> namely:
>
>       FRONT    CENTRAL   BACK
> HIGH  /i/       /1/      /u/
> LOW   /e/       /a/      /e/
>
> Here the front & back low vowels would be expected
> to range from [e] to
> [E], and [o] to [O] respectively.  The very low [{]
> and [Q] should be
> avoided.
>
> The only thing that holds me back is that high,
> central vowel.  So many
> languages (including English, which is quite widely
> spoken  :)    lack the
> sound.  I don't know of any constructed IAL that
> includes it.  Would its
> inclusion be unacceptable in a conlang that had, as
> one of its aims, the
> possibility of being used as an IAL?
Personally, I like this scheme. As an English speaker
learning Russian, I found the vowel /1/ easy to
distinguish from other vowels and was able to
pronounce it with a little practice.

I don't imagine this extra phoneme would seriously
hinder the possibility of the language becoming a
working IAL, but since this discussion may not be
completely appropriate for this list, I'll be brief:
basically, I believe that since the extra phoneme
greatly facilitates the linguistic aspects of the
language, it becomes a higher priority than ease of
pronunciation. Besides, all phonemic systems are
difficult for some group of people.

> Ray.
>
>
> ======================
>    XRICTOC ANECTH
> ======================
-- Levi Tooker

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