Simple yes / no question

[GHA EFM]

Out of interest...'is the letter 'Y' a vowel?

[Rob_the_Saint]

1) Name the football club who's name starts with five consonants?

 

2) What six letter word contains no vowels?

 

Probably doesn't answer your question but to whoever thought those two up, it obviously is not.

[GHA EFM]

1). Crystal Palace

 

2). trysts (at a complete guess)

[EFM's Librarian]

1)Crystal palace

2) Crypts, lymphs, myrrhs, nymhps, rhythm, trysts

if you want a seven letter one try rhythms.

I once read something by an economist called Rybczysnki,

[Northern Monkey]

why

[Tom S]

I hate to rain on your parade, but I havev always understood that the 'y' in words like 'crystal' and 'tryst' counts as a vowel, but the 'y' in 'your' is a consonant.

 

But I could be wrong.

 

There is, however, a tube station whose name contains six consecutive consonants.

[Palomino]

Knightsbridge.

[Guest]

Tom S is entirely correct in his description of the two roles of the letter 'y' in the English language:

 

whY - vowel

hYacinth - vowel

scYthe - vowel

Yearn - consonant

Yo-Yo - 2 x consonant

John BunYan - consonant

[The Lyrical Tarantula]

That's not what they say on countdown

Or the vowel single from the 80's A-E-A-E-I-O-U-U

[FleetFanatic]

There are only 5 vowels.

 

Whilst Y is used as a vowel when required, it is, by defination, a consonant.

[Laz]

WRONG! A vowel is a different type of sound to a consonant. There are more than just the five described below. In German there are 8, the three additional ones are represented using umlauts.

 

In English we use different letters and combinations of letters to represent these. Y is one of these.

[Palomino]

Y is only a consonant although sometimes it can be vowel-sounding. Super Daz is spot on with his analysis.

[CANV EFM]

they may have more vowels than us but they dont have a word for 'fluffy' (copyright edmund blackadder)

[Laz]

How can a consonant be vowel sounding. Vowels and consonants are two distinctly different types of sound.

 

I'll look it up tonight, the Y issue that is, not the "fluffy" translation.

[Rob_the_Saint]

Fluffy:

 

En Français:

 

pelucheux

 

Auf Deutsch:

 

flaumig

 

In Italiano:

 

lanuginoso

 

En Español:

 

mullido

 

Em Português:

 

macio

 

[Laz]

Thanks Rob, that just leaves the Y consonent/vowel issue to clear up.

[AFF]

Hi Laz.

 

This one has been intriguing me. My dictionary says:

 

vowel: noun 1 a speech sound made without audible stopping of the breath (opposed to a consonant) 2 a letter or letters representing such a sound, as a, e, i, o, u, ee.

 

That clears that up then.

 

 

[Rob_the_Saint]

Hi AFF

 

Try this...

 

Excerpt from the book Numerology; Key To Your Inner Self.

The letter Y: Vowel or Consonant.

Note that vowels are pronounced with free-flowing breath: Aaaaaaaa; Eeeeeeee; Ooooooo; Iiiiiiiiiiiii and Uuuuuuu. Consonants, on the other hand, have a distinct beginning or end. They are sharply begun or sharply finished. For Example: B, D, K, P, S, T, X, and so on.

 

There is a distinction in consonants, a harder edge than the soft and flowing vowels. The vowels reveal the tender you, your love, caring , and vulnerability. Consonants reveal certain of your characteristics that, among other things, shield your more vulnerable parts. Your public personality, which is revealed by the consonants, is a fundamental aspect of who you are, but these characteristics tend to be those aspects that you willingly show the world.

 

The vowels are A, E, I, O, and U. All other letters are consonants, except, in some cases, the letter Y.

 

The letter Y is inherently vacillating in its nature and usage, and consequently is sometimes a vowel, sometimes a consonant, depending upon how it is used in the name.

 

When determining if the Y is a vowel or a consonant, the basic rule is this:

When the letter serves as a vowel, and in fact sounds like one, it is a vowel. The same is true when the Y serves as the only vowel in the syllable. Examples of both of these cases are such names as Lynn, Yvonne, Mary, Betty, Elly, and Bryan.

 

However, if the Y does not provide a separate vowel sound, as when it is coupled with another vowel, it is considered a consonant.

In names such as Maloney or Murray, the Y is a consonant, because the vowel sound depends upon the long E in Maloney and the long A in Murray.

 

In general, the Y is a consonant when the syllable already has a vowel. Also, the Y is considered a consonant when it is used in place of the soft J sound, such as in the name Yolanda or Yoda.

In the names Bryan and Wyatt, the Y is a vowel, because it provides the only vowel sound for the first syllable of both names. For both of these names, the letter A is part of the second syllable, and therefore does not influence the nature of the Y.

 

More examples:

In Sydney, the first Y is a vowel, the second Y is a consonant.

 

In Billy, Sylvia, Missy, Kyle, Blythe, Sylvester, and Katy, the Y is a vowel

 

In Kay, Yeltsin, May, and Kuykendahl, the Y is a consonant.

 

Next up: The letter W - vowel or consonant?

[AFF]

Hi Rob.

 

Have you cancelled that appointment in Hemel for Saturday morning yet?

[Laz]

I have the Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language at home. I'll have a peek if the England game gets boring. Expect a comment by about 10 past 8.