Re: CHAT: This or that that.

On 11/02/07, Lars Finsen <lars.finsen@...> wrote:
> I have an English phonology question... sorry, I mean EPQ, of course:
> In school we learn here that the English a in words like 'that' is
> pronounced [{]. But whenever I hear Englishmen speak, except BBC
> newsreaders or upper class, I am hearing [a]. Of course my experience
> is limited and I have travelled mostly in the north. (Planning a trip
> to Liverpool this spring.) My school apparently has misinformed me,
> or is my impression wrong? But if not - if no English dialects have
> [{], where does school English have it from?
Outside of Britain (and Ireland?) most people have [æ]. In parts of
England they even used to have [æ], which is where the rest of us got
it from, but now it's moved lower/central for a lot of English
dialects (and for others was probably never fronted in the first
place). I'm told the reason it was fronted was because the vowel of
LOT was unrounded and low (much like the present day American value,
but no doubt shorter), so TRAP moved forwards to help the contrast. As
in all things, formal education is a bit behind the cutting edge.

You'll be understood perfectly well if you pronounce it as [a]
wherever you go. If you want to learn an American accent, it's
probably best to try for [æ].

--
Tristan.

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