I got diphthongs out the gazoo!

[Dennis R. Preston]

>Herb,

>Thanks for your surrender; you've got a nice set of allophones
>(e.g., CR) on you, but as for underlying diphthongs, I believe you
>have reveled yourself unworthy of the competition bvut magananimous
>in defeat.

dInIs

>Dennis
>
>You missed the CR part.  I do have Oj but no Iw.  I also have @j and @w
>before voiceless obstruents A:j and A:w elsewhere.  I don't have aj, a:j,
>aw, or a:w.  The fourth and fifth diphthongs arise because I contrast @X
>with A:X before -d, -nd, and in open syllables:
>
>/k at jnd/ n.  vs.  /kA:jnd/ adj.
>/f at jnd/ v.  vs.  /fA:jnd/ v. + past tense
>/h at jd/ v.  vs.  /hA:jd/ n.
>/h at j/ intj.  vs  /hA:j/ adj.
>/@j/ pro.  vs.  /A:j/ n.
>/h at jR/ v.  vs.  /hA:jR/ adj. + comp., R is a rhotic schwa
>/r at wnd/ prep.  vs.  /rA:wnd/ adj.
>
>and some one syllable vs. two syllable cases:
>
>/@wts at jd/ adv.  v.  /sA:jd/
>/b at h@jnd/ prep.  v.  /hA:jnd/ both n. and adj.
>
>Obviously the length in the non-raised diphthong is redundant, since all of
>my non-raised diphthongs, even in cases where I don't have minimal pairs,
>are long.  My raised diphthongs in the data above, however, are short, just
>as they are before voiceless obstruents.
>
>I also have a raising alternation between /@r/ and /Ar/ as in /pA:r/ "par"
>vs. /p at rt/ "part".  However, I also have /k at rv/, with the raised, shortened
>diphthong, but I haven't found any minimal pairs with /r/.
>
>I have /O/ only in /Oj/ and /Or/.  In my low back contrast I have low back
>unrounded vs. low back rounded, script a vs. inverted script a.  I'm no sure
>what to use for those in ASCII.
>
>However, I surrender to your vast stock of slothful Kentucky diphthongs.
>
>Herb
>
>>
>>  Assuming you are not counting the phoney [ij], [ej], [uw], and [ow],
>>  I know of your [ay], [aw], [Oj], and (perhaps) [Iw] (if you really do
>>  say "Tuesday" and "news" that way). I can't find your fifth.
>>
>>  But you must suspect that my losses of [aj] ("night" is nearly
>>  homophonous with "not") and [Oj] ("oil" is nearly homophonous with
>>  "all") have somehow reduced my diphthongal inventory, while, in fact,
>>  my number so far outstrips yours as to leave you panting on the
>>  tundra you call home:
>>
>>  [aj] as in bait
>>  [ej] as in beat
>>  [i@] as in bit (@ = schwa)
>>  [e@] as in bet
>>  [aej] as in bat
>>  [aew] as in bout
>>  [aw] as bought
>>
>>  This without referring to the fact that with drawling any monophthong
>>  can be made a diphthong and the above diphthongs can all be made
>>  triphthongal.
>>
>>  Stick with low front vowel raising. You out of your league when it
>>  comes to thonging.
>>
>>  dInIs
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>  >Naah.  I've got five diphthongs to your three.
>>  >
>>  >Herb
>>  >>
>>  >>  Nonsense; you've conflated the vowels of "hoarse" and "horse" and
>>  >>  haven't distinguished /w/ from /hw/ for decades or more. Moral
>>  >>  superiority in phoneme-counting and/or partial neutralization is only
>>  >>  a figment of the self-important Michigan esteem for its own deficient
>>  >>  dialect.
>>  >>
>>  >>  dInIs
>>  >>
>>  >>
>>  >>  >----- Original Message -----
>>  >>  >From: "Dennis R. Preston"
>>  >>  >
>>  >>  >>  Definitely not an archiphoneme (though it warms my heart to see
>the
>>  >>  >>  word early on Saturday morning). Not all neutralization is
>>  >>  >>  archiphonemic. In this case the merger of /O/ and /a/ (as in most
>>  >>  >>  western US dialects, Eastern New England and a growing band across
>>  >>  >>  the Midland) does not result in an archiphoneme; it simply results
>in
>>  >>  >>  phoneme loss. I have one more phoneme than such speakers (and
>clearly
>>  >>  >>  a great deal of moral superiority by possessing it).
>>  >>  >
>>  >>  >One more phoneme!  What moral superiority!  I guess since my SE Mich
>>  >dialect
>>  >>  >has phonemicized Canadian Raising before /d/, /nd/, and in open
>>  >syllables,
>>  >>  >and I don't have the /O/  /a/ merger, your moral superiority is
>trumped.
>>  >>  >Don't mess with native Michiganders.
>>  >>  >
>>  >>  >Herb
>>  >>
>>  >>  --
>>  >>  Dennis R. Preston
>>  >>  Professor of Linguistics
>  > >>  Department of Linguistics and Languages
>>  >>  740 Wells Hall A
>>  >>  Michigan State University
>>  >>  East Lansing, MI 48824-1027 USA
>>  >>  Office - (517) 353-0740
>>  >>  Fax - (517) 432-2736
>>
>>  --
>>  Dennis R. Preston
>>  Professor of Linguistics
>>  Department of Linguistics and Languages
>>  740 Wells Hall A
>>  Michigan State University
>>  East Lansing, MI 48824-1027 USA
>>  Office - (517) 353-0740
>>  Fax - (517) 432-2736
>>

--
Dennis R. Preston
Professor of Linguistics
Department of Linguistics and Languages
740 Wells Hall A
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1027 USA
Office - (517) 353-0740
Fax - (517) 432-2736