Round 9: Tossup 20

Osvaldo Jaeggli responded to a Postal and Pullum paper on a form of this phenomenon involving the word “to.” In contrast to Grade 1, this phenomenon is highly present in Grade 2 Braille, including Unified English Braille. A type of this phenomenon that exemplifies univerbation is represented by a coronis on a vowel and is called crasis. In French, this phenomenon occurs when a monosyllabic word ending with e caduc (“uh ka-DUKE”), or a schwa, is followed by a vowel sound. This (-5[1])phenomenon (-5[1])in Italian occurs when the words ci (“chee”) and è (“eh”) become c’è (“cheh”). In English, this phenomenon occurs when a vowel is elided and replaced with an apostrophe. (10[3])For 10 points, name this linguistic phenomenon in which a word or word group is shortened by omitting sounds, such as “’twas” or “don’t.” ■END■ (10[1])

Back to tossups

Buzzes

Summary