Re: [T] -> [f] (was: Chinese Dialect Question)
| From: | Mark J. Reed <markjreed@...> |
|---|
| Date: | Monday, October 6, 2003, 16:56 |
|---|
On Mon, Oct 06, 2003 at 11:01:47AM -0400, John Cowan wrote:
> Next time you travel to Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Cleveland, Toledo,
> Detroit, Flint, Gary, or Chicago, try asking a kid why "Ian" is a sissy
> name for a boy. (Answer: because in Northern Cities Chain Shift locales,
> "Ann" is pronounced [i@n].)
I've heard of this "northern cities chain shift", but I don't know quite
exactly what it is. Have a pointer to a good description?
But for whatever reason, vowel changes seem less dramatic than
consonant ones to me. I guess it's because with the vowels
there was already so much more dialectical variety there to start with.
-Mark
Replies