Re: History of French

From: Ruud Harmsen (realemailseesite01_at_rudhar.com)
Date: 09/18/04 

Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2004 23:05:07 +0200

Sat, 18 Sep 2004 12:30:51 -0700: Jacques Guy <jguy@alphalink.com.au>:
in sci.lang:

>As for "retroflex" that is an abominable term for "cacuminal".
>
>But alas, it has become the norm. BTW, I knew someone who could
>manage a retroflexed apico-nasal stop (my mother). See what I mean?
>_I_ can only manage a retroflexed lamino-antedental one (and I am
>sure anybody can). Can you guess what it is? Hint: I am using
>"retroflexed" as meaning just plain "retroflexed", not "cacuminal".

Oxford Concise:
cacuminal:
(Phonet.) pronounced with tongue-tip curled up towards hard palate.

retroflex:
turned backwards; (Phonet.) cacuminal.

Merriam-Webster:
ca·cu·mi·nal: RETROFLEX

retroflex:
turned or bent abruptly backward
2 : articulated with the tongue tip turned up or curled back just
under the hard palate

So what is the difference between these two terms? 

-- 
Ruud Harmsen - http://rudhar.com