LPD Welsh items "sd" involves fortis and lenis paired in a
syllable onset. Is this feasible and if so what other language
does it?I replied, equally gnomically, Welsh [sd] is by analogy
with [sb] and [sg] reflected in the spelling. The plosive is
unaspirated in this environment.So what’s this about? In LPD I
give the Welsh-language pronunciation of Aberystwyth as a ber ˈə
sduɨθ. In English, on the other hand, it is ˌæb ə ˈrɪst wɪθ.
Jack wants to know why I transcribe the last syllable in the
Welsh form with sd rather than st. Behind this decision there is
a chain of reasoning. In Welsh spelling the sequences sb and sg
are often encountered: for example, cosb ‘punishment’, hysbysiad
‘announcement’, sbwriel ‘rubbish’; rhwysg ‘pomp’, dysgu ‘teach,
learn’, sgwd ‘cataract’. English spell ‘period of time’ is Welsh
sbel; English score is Welsh sgôr. As far as I can recall there
are no words in Welsh spelt with sp or sc. (There is
inconsistency in Anglo-Welsh placenames: Skewen appears also as
Scuan, Sgiwen etc; Wels