Re: A few phonetics-related q's
| From: | John Cowan <cowan@...> |
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| Date: | Tuesday, September 14, 2004, 19:06 |
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Ray Brown scripsit:
> I leave it to my American cousins to explain the various US pronunciations
> of /nt/ in "twenty" (Colloquial Brit ['twEn?i])
[t_hwEni] ~ [t_hwIni], I'd say.
> No doubt this is all very confusing, but I am reminded of Yuen Ren Chao's
> observation:
> "If /ni/ can change into /a/, then practically anything can change into
> anything."
See "The Derivation of Moses from Middletown" at
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/8389/moses.htm .
--
John Cowan www.reutershealth.com www.ccil.org/~cowan cowan@ccil.org
Lope de Vega: "It wonders me I can speak at all. Some caitiff rogue did
rudely yerk me on the knob, wherefrom my wits still wander."
An Englishman: "Ay, a filchman to the nab betimes 'll leave a man
crank for a spell." --Harry Turtledove, Ruled Britannia
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