Re: Re[4]: ka and k^a [was: [tied] *kW- "?"]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian M. Scott" <BMScott@...>
To: "Patrick Ryan" <cybalist@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, September 23, 2005 5:48 PM
Subject: Re[4]: ka and k^a [was: [tied] *kW- "?"]


> At 6:14:22 PM on Friday, September 23, 2005, Patrick Ryan
> wrote:
>
> > [a] is not a front vowel.
>
> Handbook of the International Phonetic Association, 1999, p.
> 166, is a table of IPA symbols, their names, a phonetic
> description, the IPA number, the UCS code, and the AFII
> code. The first line:
>
> a Lower-case A Open front unrounded vowel 304 0061 E25B
> ^^^^
> (Emphasis added.)
>
> Brian

***
Patrick:

Well, according to the IPA, [a] is a front vowel more open than [æ]; I am
amazed. I thought [æ] was as open as one could get. When I pronounce <hat>,
I am evidently using [a](since I can get no more open than the vowel I use
for this word) instead of [æ] so I have no idea what it really is or who
uses it.

Evidently, the vowel in GA <father> is upside-down [a] according to the IPA,
for which I have always used [a], and which also used to be indicated as [ä]
in some phonetic renditions.

So, by IPA conventions, I was wrong.

***