Re: Californian vowels [was Re: Liking German]

CONLANG@LISTSERV.BROWN.EDU writes:
>This [mElk] phenomenon seems relatable to [pIn], [mIn] for both "pin, pen"
>and "men", which I seem to recall is considered a Southernism.  Yet my
>father (1904-73) said these, and he was born and bred in South Dakota;
>don't
>know where he picked it up, as none of his contemporaries, and none of
>mine,
>had it.
That actually shows up in the speech of people from the central valley of
California (not all, but a friend from Fresno does it, and apparently it's
kind of common there).

Here's something interesting, my friend Madonna will on occasion slip into
this strange southern-like accent. And she's from Bakersfield in
California.

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Ancient Goth: someone who overthrew the Roman Empire.
 Modern Goth: a vegetarian pretending to be a vampire.