Re: Pre-Kindergarten diphthong analysis

The problem is that there is a recognition that the vowels here are
different, but it's not clear which direction the difference goes. We get
the same problem with the near-merger of [A] and [O] in non-rhotic
environments (cot~caught); people know that there's a distinction, but they
reverse the vowels because the distinction is not very salient (though
statistically robust). The same thing happens with [Ar] and [Qr]; there's a
distinction, but the difference is subtle and they get reversed. A phrase
that is commonly used to ridicule the local accent is "born in a barn" but
switched to "barn in a born", which is supposed to reflect the "Utah"
pronunciation.

On Sat, Sep 20, 2008 at 6:08 PM, Mark J. Reed <markjreed@...> wrote:

> On Sat, Sep 20, 2008 at 1:38 PM, Dirk Elzinga <dirk.elzinga@...>
> wrote:
> > it makes for some interesting spellings. A colleague saw a sign that
> > read "HOARSE for SELL" just a few miles south of where I live.
>
> I'm confused.  Wouldn't that misspelling of HOARSE for HORSE be *less*
> likely somewhere that maintains the pronunciation distinction?
>
> We have the SALE/SELL merger in the Southeast, too, but in the other
> direction;they're both pronounced almost bisyllabically, something
> like /sej@l/.
>
> --
> Mark J. Reed <markjreed@...>
>


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