Re: Phoneme winnowing continues

On Fri, Jun 06, 2003 at 05:38:56PM +1000, Tristan McLeay wrote:
> >Thus the seemingly redundant word "inkpen" used to distinguish the [pIn]
> >you
> >write with from the [pIn] you stick through things. :)
> >
> >
> Are 'biro' and 'ballpoint pen' not used in America?
To second John's reply: I've also never heard "biro" before.
I assume it was originally a brand name that became generic?
Does it refer to all pens, or just ballpoints, or what?

Personally, I just say [pEn], but that's a recent "correction"
to my speech; growing up I pronounced it [pIn].  I made the change
consciously - not because I thought my original pronunciation was
"wrong", but just because I find the audible distinction between
the words useful.  (For that same utilitarian reason I've retained
"y'all" as the plural of "you").

-Mark

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