Psilose

The psilose (of the Greek ψίλωσις psílôsis , “return at the naked state”) is a Modification phonetic consistent in the Amuïssement of the sound, generally at the beginning of word, i.e. a loss of aspiration, initial or not. This term describes mainly three realities:

the loss of initial aspiration per error of elocution;
that clean with certain dialects of the Greek antique;
that of the French, which is not a real psilose.

The psilose like error of elocution or dialectal alternative

It is frequent in the speakers of a foreign language when they must use this phoneme which is foreign for them. Thus, many French-speaking people often practice the psilose when they speak English, language in which /h/ is a phoneme. This psilose east particulièrempent notable when several at the beginning of word follow one another. The works of English diction (like Better English Pronunciation of J.D.O' Connor, published at Cambridge University Near) announce that the English psilose is felt socially as the mark of a little cultivated speaker.

In addition, the Australian english-speaking frequently practice the psilose: they will have tendency, in a less supported pronunciation, to say ave instead of cuts , im for him , etc In this case, one will not speak as well about an error as of a dialectal alternative.

The psilose in Greek

The old Greek language, during its history, developed a phoneme at the beginning of word starting from the Affaiblissement of several consonants, of which, and mainly. In some dialects known as “dialects with psilose”, this aspiration did not remain; a term like sun , for example, inherited IE *sāweliyos , is said, according to the dialects, with initial or not (the writing notes the aspiration by the hard spirit):

without psilose: Homeric ἡέλιος hêélios , Ionian-attic ἥλιος hếlios , literary Dorien ἅλιος hálios ;
with psilose: Crétois and Pamphylien ἀβέλιος avélios , dorien literary ἀέλιος aélios , Arcadien ἀέλιος aélios , Lesbian ἀϜέλιος avélios .

The modern Greek can be also regarded as a state of the language with psilose, since the phoneme in is absent.

The French psilose

This language not having a consonant, the term should not be included/understood with the clean direction. There exists indeed a graphème H which can note at the beginning of word an absence of Liaison (or Disjonction) with the preceding word. This letter is named, in an erroneous way, H aspired , whereas there is no more no aspiration. For example, the beans must be marked /le ariko/and not /lezariko/. The phenomenon is well marked by the written language: the hedgehog ~ the man .

This disjunction, makes a Hiatus of it, can be realized as a Glottal stop when it is exaggerated in front of vowel or obligatorily in front of consonant. The presence of a H aspired to initial of a word answers only etymological criteria often ignored of the little cultivated speaker or according to a correct raw pronunciation. It is for these reasons that this speaker can hesitate over the presence or not of even being unaware of it and not to pronounce it. One will say that it practices a psilose, in this last case.

Certain French terms with H aspired are known, by their frequency and their common character, like bean or hedgehog . Not to pronounce disjunction with these words is regarded as particularly popular. Others, however, are regularly pronounced without their H because it is the majority of the speakers which thinks of pronouncing them correctly: to handicap and all its derivatives begin with a H aspired . It is however rare to intend it to pronounce, all the more with the radio or television, linguistic source of most of the population. Lastly, by Hypercorrection, one can add a H where there is not: many pronounces Hiatus with such a H , and writes the hiatus where the hiatus is awaited. In the same way, certain hellenists say and write the Hoplite instead of the hoplite , by contamination with the knowledge of the old Greek.

Standard of phonetic modifications.

Random links:

Psilose

The psilose like error of elocution or dialectal alternative

The psilose in Greek

The French psilose

Related articles