Re: English: Thou

Robert Hailman wrote:

> > Or /D@/, which I believe is used in some English dialects.  Of course,
> > /Du/ was the Old/Middle English pronunciation, before the Great Vowel
> > Shift diphthongized it.
> >
>
> That's what I thought originally, but then wouldn't "you" become /jau/
> at the same time? Unless originally it was pronounced /jo/, or "thou"
> was stressed and "you" was unstressed. But before the Great Vowel Shift,
> English spelling of vowels was much more regular then it is now, no?
No, that's actually how it is pronounced in Brum (Birmingham, that is, not
some Concountry), to quote Harry Endfield "we are considerably richer that
yaow". It only occurs in Birmingham AFAIK, the rest of the Midlands uses
"yew" /jIw/ ore something similar.

As to the Great Vowel Shift, /u:/ could become either /au/ or /ju:/, which
is why tune is pronounced here in the UK as /tju:n/, from an earlier long
vowel. Being a yank and not being able to speak proper, you wouldn't notice
this [that was a joke, BTW, not an insult!], I think something like this
came up earlier when discussing SHE's guides for the pronunciation of
Laadan. Why /ju:/ sometimes occured and not /au/, I don't know. "You"
obviously developed /ju:/, for previos long u, which was then lost because
of initial /j/. /tju:n/ may have become so to avoid homophony with town, but
then I really don't know.

> Maybe I should just pronounce "you" /jau/ out of spite.
Ar, on then come tew Brummidgeum and fit in with the yokels (whoops! I mean
locals!).

Dan


-------------------------------------------------------------
Lo deu nu preca êl'aisún necoui.  God prays at noone's altar.

Dan Jones: www.geocities.com/yl_ruil/
-------------------------------------------------------------
>