Subj : Strange a bit
To   : Ardith Hinton
From : Alexander Koryagin
Date : Wed Nov 13 2024 13:34:40


Hi, Ardith Hinton!
I read your message from 31.10.2024 02:48

 AK>> I suspect that "gn" and "kn" are forgotten English diphthongs,
 AK>> like "th".

 AH> Hmm. Technically, a diphthong is a two-part vowel sound... "th" is
 AH> a consonant digraph in which two letters represent a single sound
 AH> (our version of the Old & Middle English thorn)... while "gn"
 AH> and "kn" are consonant blends.

And, BTW, "h" and "n" look suspiciously similar. Maybe there were times when gnash and knife were ghash and khife? Somebody, a not very sober monk, maybe, made a mistake when writing a book, and in view of the fact that 98 percent people long ago couldn't read at all nobody noticed anything.  ;-)

 AH>>> I have to keep reminding myself that e.g. the word "venue" is
 AH>>> pronounced differently in English & French.... :-))
 AK>> Yeah, the French don't like "e" at the end of words. ;-) As said
 AK>> one Russian literature personage "there there is some mystery or a
 AK>> perverted tastes". ;-)

 AH> From a brief scan of my French/English dictionary I conclude that
 AH> the French use "e" at the end of words but probably don't say it
 AH> aloud.

We can guess at why people invented letters at all. ;-)

Bye, Ardith!
Alexander Koryagin
english_tutor 2024

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