INTERNNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABET
The International Phonetic Alphabet chart compares sounds of all languages. The chart assigns letters to two groupings. One set of groupings is associated with where in the mouth the sound is made (place of articulation). The other grouping has to do with how the sounds are produced (manner of articulation). There is a set of sounds produced by stoppage of air. There is a set produced by friction. Also there are sets for nasals, liquids, and semivowels. (Key, 1998)
Assume that a sound in a given articulation group can only transform through time to sound like the nearest adjacent sounds produced by a different location in the mouth. Then a sound that started as "p" centuries ago might be "p" or "t" or "b" in today's language. Thus, the spelling of an Algonquin word might be altered by today's speakers using "p, t, or b."
A simplistic table of nearby variations is shown below:
TPKD PTB BPD
DBGT KTG FSY
SFXZ XYZ
ZVSY
NM(NG)L MNW W(Y)R
RWY YR
IEOA EIOA
OUEA UOEA
Most of the Algonquin and Norse phrases cited by Sherwin fall within the allowable transformation table above. . Sherwin compiled over 15,000 related phrases.
Also, even today, a few modern Norwegian definitions of similar sounding word appear to be reasonable when compared to the Algonquin context.
