Re: OT: French/English etymology question: "sauf"/"save"

BP Jonsson wrote:
> Now guess why American dialects which do not
> distinguish [Q] or [O] from [A] are a blessing
> to my xenolect!  When not on my guard I tend to
> realize English /ou/ as [o:].
>
Frankly I've never encountered those dialects-- the principal exemplar is
said to be present day Californian. I listen carefully to Californians on
TV, but even so, seldom hear it. (Lately, of course we are hearing lots of
sheriffs/lawyers/people in the streets giving their opinions of the problems
of Messrs. Jackson and Peterson.) The problem is, of course, that so many
Californians originate from elsewhere (their new Governor is a rather
extreme example) so you never know what family/regional influences are
lurking in their idiolects.

The "pure [o]" is said to occur in the word "Minnesota" as pronounced by
Minnesotans. Perhaps it's due to all the Swedes who migrated there.....:-))
(Way back in the 50s, I attended a Lutheran service in Minneapolis that was
all in Swedish; from my Episcopalian POV, it was very "High Church".)