Michael Everson scripsit:
> >But the actual structure of the orthography is not much like German
> >at all. If it were, we'd see things like samech + khaf instead of
> >shin. Even alef ornans
>
> Shtumer alef is how I learned it.
I don't know if the terms are synonymous or not. Is the pre-YIVO spelling
of "di" as dalet-yod-alef a shtumer alef? It is an alef ornans.
(Historically it reflects the [i@] pronunciation of MHG.)
While googling around for information on this point (and finding none),
I discovered that the O in "YIVO" is historically an Anlaut alef (standing for
"?institut") that somehow acquired a kometz in the 1930s.
--
John Cowan
jcowan@... www.reutershealth.com www.ccil.org/~cowan
If a traveler were informed that such a man [as Lord John Russell] was
leader of the House of Commons, he may well begin to comprehend how the
Egyptians worshiped an insect. --Benjamin Disraeli