2 ms·

> You think an English word might use either sound based on the sounds that surround it? I don't know. > does a minimal pair exist that distinguishes Đ from D

by zvrba 5y ago

> You think an English word might use either sound based on the sounds that surround it? I don't know. > does a minimal pair exist that distinguishes Đ from DŽ Yes. Đak - DŽak (pupil / bag). The latter is though archaic and possibly loaned from turkish. > English does not have any concept of a contrast between a 'soft' J and a 'hard' J English does not have a concept of phonetic alphabet, so that's that. Same sound has multiple realizations in writing. Though I believe that the "soft/hard" distinction is between G and J: compare Gina, gigantic and Jake, jealous. > I'm surprised at your answer wrt use of the tongue Well, it's a complex tongue position. Here you have all the sounds with their equivalents in phonetic alphabet: https://www.learncroatian.eu/blog/croatian-language-basics-dialects-alphabet-and-pronunciation https://www.learncroatian.eu/blog/croatian-language-basics-d...

thaumasiotes 5y ago
>> English does not have any concept of a contrast between a 'soft' J and a 'hard' J > English does not have a concept of phonetic alphabet, so that's that. Same sound has multiple realizations in writing. Well, no, that doesn't matter at all. There are some sounds that English treats as being different from each other, and there are other sounds where no distinction is made, even if one might exist in reality. Spelling is an orthogonal concern. English speakers are only aware of one "J" sound, which is conventionally interpreted as the IPA /dʒ/. > I believe that the "soft/hard" distinction is between G and J: compare Gina, gigantic and Jake, jealous. English speakers do not intentionally make any distinction. But if a distinction did exist, it would have to be based on pronunciation and not spelling. It's easy to disprove the "G"/"J" theory; Gene is a man's name and Jean is a woman's name, but they are pronounced absolutely identically. The spelling is telling you the historical pronunciation of an ancestral word, which isn't relevant to the modern pronunciation of the modern word.

by zvrba 5y ago

thaumasiotes 5y ago

>> English does not have any concept of a contrast between a 'soft' J and a 'hard' J > English does not have a concept of phonetic alphabet, so that's that. Same sound has multiple realizations in writing. Well, no, that doesn't matter at all. There are some sounds that English treats as being different from each other, and there are other sounds where no distinction is made, even if one might exist in reality. Spelling is an orthogonal concern. English speakers are only aware of one "J" sound, which is conventionally interpreted as the IPA /dʒ/. > I believe that the "soft/hard" distinction is between G and J: compare Gina, gigantic and Jake, jealous. English speakers do not intentionally make any distinction. But if a distinction did exist, it would have to be based on pronunciation and not spelling. It's easy to disprove the "G"/"J" theory; Gene is a man's name and Jean is a woman's name, but they are pronounced absolutely identically. The spelling is telling you the historical pronunciation of an ancestral word, which isn't relevant to the modern pronunciation of the modern word.