Home » Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

A Way with Words, a radio show and podcast about language and linguistics.

Discussion Forum (Archived)

Please consider registering
Guest
Forum Scope


Match



Forum Options



Min search length: 3 characters / Max search length: 84 characters
The forums are currently locked and only available for read only access
sp_TopicIcon
writing/typing the soft 't' using diacritical signs/marks
Guest
1
2011/12/19 - 11:40am

Hello folks !

 

I am trying to type the word 'tene' with the 't' softened as in the Spanish 't' (for example, senorita). Could one of you please tell me if I can use a diacritical sign to indicate this softening of the 't'?

 

And it would be amazing if you could share a link to where I can find an audio dictionary for the use of diacritical marks in India..

Guest
2
2012/01/02 - 11:12am

English simply doesn't make that distinction, dwiji.   We do have the two differences in pronunciation, but because we don't spell them, such differences are mostly controled by the placement of the consonants in the word, and we're mostly unaware of them.   (Just ask most Merkins whether they pronounce "water" with a 't' sound.)

We have a few diacritical marks even in English, though they're rarely employed.   The diaeresis reminds us (or would if anyone still used it) that "reïnvent is pronounced as three syllables, not two.   And in dictionaries and a few other reference works we use diacritical marks over vowels to show their quality—to show that "mop" and "mope" are pronounced differently, for example.   But not even in dictionaries do we mark the different qualities of the plosive consonants ('p', 't' and 'k' and their voiced equivalents).

For your purpose, I think you'll have to just invent some system.

I just checked my old copy of IPA symbols transcribed to ASCII.   Not even there is your need covered.

Forum Timezone: UTC -7
Show Stats
Administrators:
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Moderators:
Grant Barrett
Top Posters:
Newest Members:
A Conversation with Dr Astein Osei
Forum Stats:
Groups: 1
Forums: 1
Topics: 3647
Posts: 18912

 

Member Stats:
Guest Posters: 618
Members: 1268
Moderators: 1
Admins: 2
Most Users Ever Online: 1147
Currently Online:
Guest(s) 56
Currently Browsing this Page:
1 Guest(s)

Recent posts