> I enjoy the Cybalist but many times I do not understand the notation that
is
> used. Can someone guide me to some books or tapes that would help me?
I recommend having a quick look at a basic introduction to phonetics, and a
basic introduction to PIE. This will introduce you to most of the notation.
But in brief:
In our notation, we are limited to what can be done on a keyboard and sent
through the ether. So as far as possible, the symbols are either attempts
to represent the standard alphabet for a particular language, with
diacritics written after the letter, or they are the standard symbols of the
IPA (International Phonetic Association), adjusted for ASCII keyboards, or
they are the standard symbols for the reconstructed PIE, again adjusted for
the keyboard.
So, for example, to represent foreign alphabets:
s' means the letter s with a dash over it (eg Sanskrit s'abdas = "sound")
s^ means the letter s with a ^ (or v) sign over it (eg Lithuanian s^ioks =
"such")
s. means the letter s with a dot under it (eg Sanskrit kr.s.n.a = "Krishna")
and so on.
To represent IPA sounds:
A E I O U can be used to show short vowels (eg English /bAt/ = "bat")
the colon : is used to show long vowels (eg Latin re:x)
T D can be used to represent the fricatives (eg English /Dis/ /Tisl./ =
"this thistle")
but there is variety in use, and despite several attempts to formualte a
consistent system, none has caught on, and we have to explain what we mean
if in doubt.
PIE uses raised symbols, which we indicate by a capital letter, so:
bH means the sequence usually written b+raised small h.
kW means the sequence usually written k+raised small w
So kW can be distinguished from kw (which is two sounds, whereas kW is one)
A dot under a letter means it functions as the centre of a syllable (as the
l in English "tumble" sometimes does.)
The sign > means "develops into", and < means has developed from"
The sign / before and after a sequence means "this is a phonetic
transcription"
When < and > enclose a sequence, they mean "spelled" eg English <dough> =
/do:/
The sign * means a form whcih is reconstructed, but not actually attested.
I hope this is the sort of answer you were looking for! Next time you;'re
not sure, don't be afraid to ask about the specific notation, and we'll
clarify it for you.
Peter