Re: Kontaxta

Damian Yerrick wrote:
> "Steg Belsky" <draqonfayir@...> wrote:
> > Do you know what the author of that article means when they talk about
> > "resonating" from different parts of the mouth?
>
> Possibly a systematic front/back bias in the vowel systems.
>
I'd think that has to do with the impression/fact? that Brit.Engl. is
pronounced much more in the forward part of the mouth, compared to US. That,
plus greater muscular tension, and greater range in the intonation melody,
is what makes RP et al. sound "prissy" to us provincial Murrcans. {Not to
me!...I'm accused of sounding that way too, and probably do, due inter alia
to lingering Anglophilia.]

I recall reading/hearing somewhere, long ago, that during WW II, the
microphones used by American aviators for inter/intra-plane communication
(they were built into the helmets, or somesuch) didn't work at well for
Brit. fliers-- ours were located too far back in the general region of the
throat.

Anecdotal-- I had a minor fender-bender while tootling around England;
exchanging insurance info, I had the damnedest time catching the person's
name; what I kept hearing as "Ting" turned out to be "King" (common surname,
not HRH).