Re: German /OY/ (ex: Cloakroom)

Hi!

Carsten Becker writes:
> I've always transcribed the <eu> sound as /OI/, because that's how
> I'd perceive it. However, looking closely at my own pronunciation,
> it's more something like [OY_-] or [O1] I think. That is, the second
> part is [Y]-like, but not as rounded, especially before palatal
> consonants, like in <euch> or <euer>, which are [OY_-C] and
> [OY_-6]. Shall I make some recordings for you to analyse when I'm
> back home later today?
I'm quite sure you have quite a standard pronunciation: after being
exposed to the picky people on this list, I usually write it /OY/ now,
too, while I was using /OI/ a few years ago.  I fully agree with you
than the /Y/ is not the fully rounded one of /'kYC@/.  I think it is
evenly ok to write it /OI/, because the rounding weakens in the course
of the diphthong, so at the end, I think there is almost no rounding
anymore when I pronounce it.  If the next consonant is
rounded/labialised, I'd expect more rounding at the end, otherwise
less.

**Henrik