questions not many people ask

[fox]

"Is that supposed to be a semi-vowel or a voiced palatal affricate?"

When I'm in charge of the world, IPA will be compulsory for all phonetic transcriptions. The fact that in English we don't have the sound German spells with a u-umlaut and French spells with a u -- a high front rounded vowel -- will not give us license to be utter sissies and appropriate the symbol [y] for the sound that begins the word "yowza". The symbol for that is [j], and I'm fed up with seeing that symbol for the sound that begins the word "jitter." It confuses me, and I don't like being confused.

That is all.

Comments

May I just add here...

[mommybird.livejournal.com]

... that I think *all* fantasy and science fiction writers should be required to provide pronunciation guides for their invented languages on the same scale that Tolkien did? and to spell them consistently? I got really annoyed with Lynn Flewelling when she couldn't tell me whether "Aurenfaie" should be pronounced with English vowels or Italianate ones.

Re: May I just add here...

[mearagrrl.livejournal.com]

Ooh! Fantasy writers who make up unpronounceable names drive me CRAZY. I mean, sure, they look pretty, but if I refuse to discuss your book with anyone for fear that we'll all start laughing as we have seventeen pronunciations for your main character's name? Bad.

And wow, it's interesting to read, but I still have no idea what all that stuff above means...but it looks cool, or something...