Talk:susa

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

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/. —Ruakh_TALK 13:52, 9 September 2012 (UTC)

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. --Μετάknowledge^{discuss/deeds} 14:36, 9 September 2012 (UTC)