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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 6/28/2020 11:04 PM, Will Martin
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:3CDDBE50-94A2-435A-A2DA-F09AA8453E8D@mac.com">The issue
at hand is whether Okrand wrote that description accurately,
intending it to be pronounced as the glide between two sounds that
a linguist would recognize in a typical American pronunciation of
the word “oh” that rhymes with “mow”, or if he was merely making
sure that you would never use the “o” sound in “pot”, which is the
Klingon {a} sound. <br>
</blockquote>
<p>No, the issue at hand is that TKD says <b>ow</b> is
indistinguishable from <b>o</b> and <b>uw</b> is
indistinguishable from <b>u,</b> but <b>aw, ew,</b> and <b>Iw</b>
are said to be different from <b>a, e,</b> and <b>w,</b> and are
described as diphthongs, even if that word isn't used.</p>
<p>Maybe <b>o</b> and <b>ow</b> are a single phoneme in Klingon —
they don't distinguish between the monophthong and diphthong
vowels. Maybe word-final <b>o</b> is different from word-internal
<b>o.</b> Maybe the text of TKD is just plain wrong and Klingons
would pronounce <b>no</b> exactly the same way you say it in
Italian, [o]. Maybe <b>o</b> is always a diphthong and Okrand
just mispronounces it sometimes.</p>
<p>I don't know what the correct answer is. I just know that it's
not as simple as "Klingon <b>o</b> is [o]. End of story." If
Klingon <b>o</b> is just [o], the text of TKD must be explained
in that context.<br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:3CDDBE50-94A2-435A-A2DA-F09AA8453E8D@mac.com">
<div>Meanwhile, in recordings of Okrand speaking Klingon,</div>
</blockquote>
<p>Which, some have argued, he pronounces with an American accent.
For instance, he uses an untrilled <b>r</b> when he says <b>rgh,</b>
which isn't described in the dictionary. He has himself said he
doesn't necessarily follow his own instructions in pronunciation.<br>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:3CDDBE50-94A2-435A-A2DA-F09AA8453E8D@mac.com">
<div> there is no second vowel sound in {o}.</div>
</blockquote>
<p>Except sometimes there is.</p>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
SuStel
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://trimboli.name">http://trimboli.name</a></pre>
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