Monday Morning Riddle Thread

[firstmickey]

He got peeled before I did! He is all yellow, but I'm still green! Why doesn't anyone pick me? Nobody likes me because I have brown spots all over.....waaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

 

[crcormier]

Morning everyone. It's gotten chilly up here, winter is fast approaching! I'm IN!

 

[Dreamer04]

PM sent

Mornin' all!

 

[Lars624]

Craig

dis4me

Dreamer04

 

[firstmickey]

just a little survey......

how many people think that Y counts as a vowel?

 

[Lars624]

just a little survey......

how many people think that Y counts as a vowel?

Enough with the vowels!

AA

 

[Loubon]

just a little survey......

how many people think that Y counts as a vowel?

Ha! So it wasn't just me!

 

[crcormier]

A, E, I, O, U and sometimes Y.

So I think it does. Sometimes.

 

[Lars624]

Yes, the letter Y is a vowel or a consonant! In terms of sound, a vowel is 'a speech sound which is produced by comparatively open configuration of the vocal tract, with vibration of the vocal cords but without audible friction...', while a consonant is 'a basic speech sound in which the breath is at least partly obstructed' (definitions from the New Oxford Dictionary of English, 1998). The letter Y can be used to represent different sounds in different words, and can therefore fit either definition. In myth or hymn it is clearly a vowel, and also in words such as my, where it stands for a diphthong (a combination of two vowel sounds). On the other hand, in a word like beyond there is an obstacle to the breath which can be heard between two vowels, and the same sound begins words like young and yes. (This consonant sound, like that of the letter W, is sometimes called a 'semivowel' because it is made in a similar way to a vowel, but functions in contrast to vowels when used in words.) Whether the letter Y is a vowel or a consonant is therefore rather an arbitrary decision. The letter is probably more often used as a vowel, but in this role is often interchangeable with the letter I. However, the consonant sound is not consistently represented in English spelling by any other letter, and perhaps for this reason Y tends traditionally to be counted among the consonants.

 

[Lars624]

Elaine

 

[helenabear]

A, E, I, O, U and sometimes Y.

So I think it does. Sometimes.

Eh, that's what I thought too...

and honestly after I read a few hints here I almost got lost and thought my answer wasn't right at all

I think I should just go back to bed.

 

[GaTech]

Ha! So it wasn't just me!

It was me too!

Proof Y is a vowel...Ask the Experts.

 

[Lars624]

txSleepingBeauty

 

[firstmickey]

It was me too!

Proof Y is a vowel...Ask the Experts.

Aw geez....another one!

 

[Loubon]

Yes, the letter Y is a vowel or a consonant! In terms of sound, a vowel is 'a speech sound which is produced by comparatively open configuration of the vocal tract, with vibration of the vocal cords but without audible friction...', while a consonant is 'a basic speech sound in which the breath is at least partly obstructed' (definitions from the New Oxford Dictionary of English, 1998). The letter Y can be used to represent different sounds in different words, and can therefore fit either definition. In myth or hymn it is clearly a vowel, and also in words such as my, where it stands for a diphthong (a combination of two vowel sounds). On the other hand, in a word like beyond there is an obstacle to the breath which can be heard between two vowels, and the same sound begins words like young and yes. (This consonant sound, like that of the letter W, is sometimes called a 'semivowel' because it is made in a similar way to a vowel, but functions in contrast to vowels when used in words.) Whether the letter Y is a vowel or a consonant is therefore rather an arbitrary decision. The letter is probably more often used as a vowel, but in this role is often interchangeable with the letter I. However, the consonant sound is not consistently represented in English spelling by any other letter, and perhaps for this reason Y tends traditionally to be counted among the consonants.

 

[Lars624]

Craig