• Sign up or login, and you'll have full access to opportunities of forum.

Late Night Dreams Of A Sweet French Angel...

Go to CruxDreams.com
pkindenhaag said:
I’d lie my head on Catherine


In Cherbourg by the sea


I’d buy her an umbrella


And, well, she’s kissing me!



Oh dear! I do apologise! I seem to be in a silly mood at the moment!
Click to expand...
I have never before looked at the word "by" - how odd a word it is in English... Two consonants together and it sounds, well, Nordic or Frisian. It is an odd and rather lovely word. Isn't that a nice thing? I think so. "By" (bye bye! - it's beddywoos time for meesi weesi)
 
Old Frisian bi, Dutch bij, German bei, etc. in all the Germanic languages, probably cognate with Greek [am]phi.
But 'bye-bye' came via Norse, bí-bí, just a baby-soothing phrase like 'lullaby'.

Not sure what you mean 'two consonants together'? It's consonant + diphthong /bǝi/.
Oh, you're not thinking 'y' is a consonant? That's mixing up orthography and phonetics.
 
Last edited:
Eulalia said:
Olf Frisian bi, Dutch bij, German bei, etc. in all the Germanic languages, probably cognate with Greek [am]phi.
But 'bye-bye' came via Norse, bí-bí, just a baby-soothing phrase like 'lullaby'.

Not sure what you mean 'two consonants together'? It's consonant + vowel.
Oh, you're not thinking 'y' is a consonant? That's mixing up orthography and phonetics.
Click to expand...
Oooh yes Eul, you are right of course! It's just we hardly use "y" in English do we? It's a stranger and so I forget what it really is! But i like it!
 
Eulalia said:
Olf Frisian bi, Dutch bij, German bei, etc. in all the Germanic languages, probably cognate with Greek [am]phi.
But 'bye-bye' came via Norse, bí-bí, just a baby-soothing phrase like 'lullaby'.

Not sure what you mean 'two consonants together'? It's consonant + diphthong /bǝi/.
Oh, you're not thinking 'y' is a consonant? That's mixing up orthography and phonetics.
Click to expand...
...why???
 
pkindenhaag said:
Oooh yes Eul, you are right of course! It's just we hardly use "y" in English do we? It's a stranger and so I forget what it really is! But i like it!
Click to expand...
by, cry, dye, fly, my, rye, sky, and as Tree says, why. The letter y represents /ǝi/ in all those.
At the end of polysyllables, it's unstressed, /ɪ/ - baby, Christmassy, etc.
This is all getting too much like the day-job - I love the little poem! :D
 
Y

A question with many or only a single answer.
Or ... an expression of despair or confusion.
Yet it must be asked.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom