Re: Sukhotin's Algorithm

[Mark Perakh <perakh@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

If r serves as a vowel, which vowel does it represent? I believe there is always some real
vowel implied which is pronounced very shortly and which may vary depending on the word while
r itself has no definite vowel value. How would you transliterate ctvrt using English
equivalents? If r were just a plain vowel, you would have to choose between a, e, i, u and o,
replacing r in pronounciation. Is it ctvet, ctvit, ctvot or ctvut? Actually r is not omitted
but pronounced in conjunction with some short vowel, which is close to e, namely like
CeTVeRT, with a stress either on the first or on the second very short e.  Czech experts,
tell me please how it is pronounced.  Cheers, Mark

Rene Zandbergen wrote:

> Scott Hersey wrote:
>
> > As I understand, "ctvrthodina"--properly spelled with a hook over the c--is stressed
> > on the first syllable, as is virtually every other Czech word in the standard language.
> > The first vowel here is "r",
>
> This was my guess.
>
> >  The orthography's a little inconsistent here: the c is pronounced in this context
> > like "sh" in "shot",
>
> "ch" as in "chip" (?)
>
> > so the word is roughly pronounced "shtvRthodina."
>
> With a little twist: chtvRt-ho-dyee-na
>
> To get back to the original subject, 'r' and 'l' can figure
> both as vowels and consonants in Czech. This would throw
> Sukhotin's algorithm off a bit, but probably not much, since
> they are far more frequently consonants. Czech has in fact
> quite a few more consonants than, say, English, but I don't
> know how it was written in the 15th C. Mnishowski (17th C)
> does in fact use at least one odd symbol: a gamma-like
> symbol which appears only at the beginning and end of the
> word, and represents 's'.
>
> Cheers, Rene