Re: Future English

>From: Tristan McLeay <conlang@...>
>
>I think it's quite common to not notice distinctions you don't make,
>especially when other dialects *do* make such distinctions. I don't
>distinguish /&l/ from /el/ (i.e. celery and salary are homophones). I
>couldn't tell you if someone I was talking to did though (even though I
>can distinguish, say, 'mat' and 'met').
I can tell if someone is using [W], though.  <shrug>

In my advanced typology class a couple of years ago, my professor was
talking about a brief merger he had observed in the predominately
upper-class female students for about five years, a merger of [I] and [E]
before the lateral.  The story is interesting, because it has know
disappeared from campus without a trace.  (University of Kansas, Lawrence,
Kansas, USA, if you're curious)

Athey

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