Re: AUDITORY Digest - 28 Jan 2006 to 30 Jan 2006 (#2006-20)

[Francisco Fraga <franciscojfraga@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Xinhui Zhou,

   As long as I knew, the term liquid originated from the fact that,
in the process of articulation of these sounds, the air flows "softly"
to both sides of the tongue, like a liquid... Unfortunately, the
references I have for this term are in Portuguese and only in printed
books.

            Sincerely,

                       Francisco Fraga

>
> Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 2006 13:20:19 -0500
> From:    xinhui zhou <zxinhui2001@xxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: A question about liquid sound /r/ and /l/
>
> Hi, everyone,
>
> why /r/ and /l/ are called liquid and how this term liquid  originated ?
>  I happened to read an online book  called '' A Little Encyclopaedia
> of Phonetics'' (www.personal.rdg.ac.uk/~llsroach/encyc.pdf), which
> reminds me of this question I had  before.
>
>  That book mentioned (pp.47) liquid is an old-fashioned word but
> somehow the term suvives. Can someone have more details about the
> origin of this term ?  Thanks a lot,
>
> Xinhui Zhou
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Mon, 30 Jan 2006 16:46:30 -0800
> From:    "Richard F. Lyon" <DickLyon@xxxxxxx>
> Subject: Re: A question about liquid sound /r/ and /l/
>
> xinhui zhou <zxinhui2001@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >why /r/ and /l/ are called liquid and how this term liquid  originated ?
>
> I don't know the answer, but you can find many old uses via
> http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&q=liquid+vowel+date%3A0-1830
>
> For example:
> A Grammar of the English Tongue: with the Arts of Logick, Rhetorick,
> Poetry, &c. Illustrated... by John Brightland - 1759 - 300 pages
>
> Page 36 - Consonants are divided into Mutes and Liquids call'd also
> Half-Vowels; the Mutes are b, c, d, f, v, g, j, k, p, q, t, and are
> so call'd because a Liquid cannot be sounded in the same Syllable
> when a Vowel follows it, as (rpo).
>
> that page has a poem to help you remember them:
>
> The Consanants we justly may divide
> Into Mutes, Liquids, Neuters; and beside
> We must for double Consonants provide.
> Eleven Mutes Grammarians do declare,
> And but four Liquids, l, m, n, and r.
> Behind the Mutes the Liquid gently flow
> Inverted, from the Tongue they will not go.
>
> And here's one from 1710:
> http://books.google.com/books?vid=0JjE7OS3aP2-L3r1-h&id=gkWKeH7FaowC&pg=PP38
> The Art of English Poetry Containing...
> by Edward Bysshe - 1710 - 482 pages
>
> Dick
>
> ------------------------------
>
> End of AUDITORY Digest - 28 Jan 2006 to 30 Jan 2006 (#2006-20)
> **************************************************************
>
>