Re: lawn-loan

[RonButters at AOL.COM]

But the nonnative tends to hear the [o] offglide as the most prominent 
feature of the vowels in both cases, so LAWN and LOAN sound a lot 
alike--especiallybecause, in both cases the onsets, while phonetically distinct, are quite 
similar (nonback, nonhigh, nonrounded, nontense) and overlap a lot in their 
variability.

Of course, we don't mow the lawn very much here in North Carolina, we coot 
(rhymes with BOOK) the grice.

In a message dated 4/20/06 5:46:21 PM, preston at MSU.EDU writes:


> Jest what ah sed. A lower and fronter onset for LAWN. (And clearly a
> fonted onset for LOAN.)
> 
> dInIs
> 
> >In a message dated 4/19/06 9:22:46 PM, preston at MSU.EDU writes:
> >
> >
> >>  This would amaze me for most of NC, where the low-back vowel has
> >>  become a diphthong with a fronter (not raised and backer) onset.
> >>
> >
> >I'm hearing LOAN = schwa + [o]
> >                   LAWN = [a] + [o]
> >
> >which tend to sound a lot alike to the non-native
> 

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