Hallucinating distinctions (was New Jersey Dialects)

Mark A. Mandel mamandel at LDC.UPENN.EDU
Sat Oct 23 23:55:00 UTC 2004


from dInIs:

>>>
I still suspect that what the student is talking about is a
pronunciation  of 'thanks' in which the nasalization of the vowel is
so strong that no separate velar nasal segment is perceived (or
'there'). To use the notation offered so far

/th anas k s/

where /anas/ = nasalized vocalic segment.

dInIs

NB: That's the pronunciation I get when my nose is stopped up.
<<<

do, it idn't.

umm, no, it isn't. nasal(ized) segments have the nasal passage open, not
closed. lgc laypeople say "nasal" for anything vocal that they associate
with the nose, including the effects of nasal congestion, which DEnasalizes
all segments, or at least reduces the nasal airflow.

and also including some things that aren't nasalization at all, like maybe
extra-fronted vowels.


mark by hand



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