Talk:susa

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How would Tok-Pisin speakers know how to undo the Dutch umlaut? --129.125.102.126 12:52, 9 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]

I don't think there's any such thing as "undoing" an umlaut; but it makes sense that Tok Pisin to me borrowings from Dutch would map /y/ to either /u/ or /i/, since those are the two sounds in Tok Pisin that are closest to /y/. —RuakhTALK 13:52, 9 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]
It's not about knowing, it's just adapting to a more limited phonology. There are not enough Dutch derivations to create a definitive list of phonological shifts, but I have created such a list for English. If you're interested, it's at Appendix:English-Tok Pisin phonology. --Μετάknowledgediscuss/deeds 14:36, 9 September 2012 (UTC)[reply]