Re: Niggahiita in IPA?

Hi George and group,

Thanks for your posts (and thanks to all the other contributors). I hope my questions are clear enough despite my not being well versed in phonetics. I find this very instructive, so please don't hesitate to point out errors or misconceptions.

>  But you venture into Pali
>phonetics and/or phonology at some risk if you don't know what Junghare
>has to say.  Her interpretation of the pronunciation of niggahiita
>(rule 28, page 63) is very similiar to mine; one difference being that
>she interprets it and the preceding vowel as coalescing into a short
>nasalized vowel rather than a long half-nasalized vowel as I do.

I've been experimenting with trying to pronounce these alternatives, and wonder exactly what you mean by 'coalescing'.

Suppose I am to pronounce suddhi.m

Do I start with an instant's pure short i sound which then completely nasalizes and ends abrubtly (Junghare?) or just pronounce a long partially nasalised /i/ without any pure initial /i/ (your position?)? Or some other combination of those variables? I.e. is the coalescences total, or is there a quick but perceptible glide from unnasalized vowel into nasalization?

Also, where is the location of stricture? Is it related to the normal point of articulation of the vowel? I.e. would /i.m/ be partially or completely nasalized by a partial or complete oral stricture that is farther forward than that of /a.m/ or /u.m/?

best regards,

/Rett