Northern Cities /aI/

[Dennis R. Preston]

Alice,

Operating on the theory that others' vowels are often placed in a
peceptual position relative to our own and (and I apologize for
this), knowing your own linguistic background as I do, isn't it
possible that the probably backer and higher onset of your own /ay/
(or those you grew up with, even if you ahve eschewed it) would make
any lower and fronter one sound even more dramatically lower and
fronter?

Just a thought.

Remember too that Canadian Raising in the US borderlands often fails
to observe the voce-voiceless rule of the original, perhaps a related
fact. We have recent local (rural) MI evidence of  this is /ay/
before /r/.

dInIs

>---------------------- Information from the mail header
>-----------------------
>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       Alice Faber <faber at HASKINS.YALE.EDU>
>Organization: Haskins Laboratories
>Subject:      Northern Cities /aI/
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>I was listening to call-in radio on my way home this evening. A caller
>from Buffalo (oh, you should have heard the vowel in the first syllable
>of Calgary!) pronounced "time" with an onset that I don't remember
>having noticed before. It was fronted and raised to the extent that I at
>first thought he'd said "tame", until the context rescued me. Am I just
>behind the curve noticing this?
>--
>======================================================================
>Alice Faber                                     faber at haskins.yale.edu
>Haskins Laboratories                          tel: (203) 865-6163 x258
>New Haven, CT 06511 USA                             fax (203) 865-8963
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

--
It should be the chief aim of a university professor to exhibit
himself in his own true character - that is, as an ignorant man [sic]
thinking, actively utilizing his small share of knowledge. Alfred
North Whitehead

There are many different religions in this world, but if you look at
them carefully, you'll see that they all have one thing in common:
They were invented by a giant, superintelligent slug named Dennis.
Homer Simpson

Dennis R. Preston
University Distinguished Professor
Department of English
15-C Morrill Hall
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1036
Phone: (517) 353-4736
Fax: (517) 353-3755
preston at msu.edu

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org