Re: USAGE: English, Masculine, Feminine
| From: | Paul Bennett <paul-bennett@...> |
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| Date: | Tuesday, June 15, 2004, 0:55 |
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On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 00:42:55 +0100, Michael Poxon <m.poxon@...>
wrote:
> In British English (at least in my fairly-RP version) these three are all
> distinct:
> Mary = /me:rij/ "short" e
Yes, that's /e:/ in CXS.
> Marry = /m&rij/
Are you sure it's /&/? /&/ is a sound midway between /a/ and /E/, and is
actually quite rare in British English -- so much so that I mentally
assign the attribute "foreigner" whenever I hear it. There are several
non-IPA systems in which the symbol {ae-ligature} is used for the sound
that is /a/ in CXS and the symbol {a} is used for the sound that is /A/ in
CXS (or the sound that is between /a/ and /A/ in CXS), among them the
system used for Old English (IIRC).
> Merry = /merij/ "long" e
That's /E/ in CXS.
> Not sure what A is in SAMPA,
It's "script" a, the low back unrounded vowel.
> but it sure doesn't sound like "a" over here!
Yes it does, it's the sound in most UK pronunciations of "garden" (in the
first syllable).
The American /A/, used all over for {o} is actually a lax vowel (sometimes
half-rounded) between cardinal /A/ and cardinal /V/. At least that's what
it feels like to me when I try to mimic it.
Paul
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