[Spellyans] SWF vowel inconsistencies

[stinney at sas.upenn.edu]

Quoting Michael Everson <everson at evertype.com>:

> .... and since Terry has quit the list, I'd like to ask if anyone
> thinks what I'd said is out of line:
>
> At 23:11 +0100 2008-07-01, Michael Everson wrote:
> >At 13:44 -0600 2008-07-01, Terry Corbett wrote:
> >>Could you tell me what you believe were the vowels of pre-prosodic
> >>shift Cornish?
> >
> >Why? Do you think anyone says "I want to learn Cornish but only that
> >Cornish spoken before the Prosodic Shift"?

For what it's worth, I thought this was dismissive and perhaps ridiculing a
little.

> >KS will not support "aspirational" phonology. I can't see how it could.
>
> And I mean that. How can it? It is challenging enough to ensure that
> the *real* dialects of Revived Cornish are represented accurately
> without adding in fiction.

And I thought this dismissive and peremptory.

Again, fwiw, I think the opinion expressed there by Michael is a strategic
error.  It was my understanding that this process is about having an even
better KS to go to the 5-year review of the SWF with, the goal being to make
the SWF what it needs to be.  In my view, a list of improvements that begins:

 #1: You can stuff your aspirational phonology.
 #2: Now let's discuss i/y...

Is going to get off on the wrong foot.  That doesn't mean I think the
aspirational phonology is worth keeping.

And none of the above is meant as criticism--it's simply a response to your
question, Michael.  I have huge respect for all the hard work you put into all
this.

 Steve