Phonetics

>A monophthong is a pure vowel sound. The monophthongs can be contrasted with diphthongs, where the vowel quality changes within the same syllable, and hiatus, where two vowels are next to each... more

What sounds did س and ش‎ make in (early) Classical Arabic?I have heard that maybe they were not [s] and [ʃ]. Is that a widely accepted truth? If that's true, what is the evidence for that?

No matter how much I browse, I cannot find any true researcher's really precise and accurate data on the issue. Actually, I cannot find any Gulf Arabic Phonology compendium, so any help will be... more

Is there a single-word equivalent to "child speech"? A term that would convey that a toddler, still learning the language, has mispronounced a word?

The Arabic letter `ﻕ` and the Georgian letter `ყ` are often described as being similar, also they are both transliterated using `q`.> ... the Georgian letter ყ is difficult for most Westerners... more

For example, > Night -> Nite > Through -> Thru > The -> Da > Though -> Tho _Nite_ even appears in some dictionaries as having the same meaning as _night_.What is it called... more