slang/slant

Fri Oct 27 04:13:40 UTC 2006

Indeed the words "slang" and "slant" have different vowels as spoken in
m-w.com.  M-w.com is correct in saying that these are typical USA
pronunciations, but their notation is incorrect.  The word "slang" sounds
like "slay" with and "ng" (that's a long a).  The word slant has a short a.
This goes for many "ang" words and many "ank" words as well.

Say "bay", then add "nk" for "bank".  That's how m-w.com says "bank".

Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL4+
See truespel.com and the 4 truespel books at authorhouse.com.

>From: "Gordon, Matthew J." <GordonMJ at MISSOURI.EDU>
>Reply-To: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>Subject: Re: Slang poster
>Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2006 20:22:38 -0500
>
>---------------------- Information from the mail header
>-----------------------
>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       "Gordon, Matthew J." <GordonMJ at MISSOURI.EDU>
>Subject:      Re: Slang poster
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Christine Zeller published an article in Journal of English Linguistics =
>in 1997 that studied short-a before /g/ in Milwaukee. I pasted the =
>abstract from LLBA below. Notice she suggests it's also found in =
>Minnesota.
>
>My sense is that this raising is not historically related to the =
>Northern Cities Shift. In addition to the obvious distinction that NCS =
>raising is not phonologically restricted, I think this pre-/g/ raising =
>tends to be phonetically different from the NCS raising which frequently =
>spawns diphthongal variants. I also suspect the pre-/g/ raising is =
>actually older than the NCS despite Zeller's apparent-time evidence.
>
>
>Abstract: Realizations of /ae/ before voiced velars (orthographic , , ) =
>are considered. Subjects (N =3D 10 adults from around Milwaukee, =
>Wisconsin, 8 related by blood or marriage to the investigator) were =
>tape-recorded on semantic differential, word list, & rhyming tasks. Data =
>were digitized & spectrograms were generated. Formant measurements taken =
>at midpoint were plotted on F1-F2 vowel charts. Younger speakers (aged =
>(less than or equal to) 40) show considerable overlap in allophones of =
>/ae/ & /e/, whereas older speakers (aged (greater than or equal to) 40) =
>show either no significant overlap (males) or what seems to be an =
>intermediate stage in the change (females). Interviews of additional =
>subjects (N =3D 17 natives of Wisconsin & Minnesota) suggest that the =
>sound change pervades the region. Analogues & possible sources of the =
>sound change are discussed.=20
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: American Dialect Society on behalf of Beverly Flanigan
>Sent: Thu 10/26/2006 7:27 PM
>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>Subject:      Re: Slang poster
>=20
>Interesting!  I'm from SW Minnesota, but I now have a niece in =
>Alexandria;
>I'll listen to her closely next summer (she also has a pronounced =
>"Canadian
>raised" 'aboot', more than anyone else in the family).  This may be new
>since I left the state.  Your blog page is also interesting; some of the
>changes sound like the Northern Cities Shift, but not only raised but =
>also
>tensed.  But are "baggel" and "vague" really lowered to /ae/ or laxed to
>/E/?  I wonder what Matt thinks?
>
>The IPA is difficult to reproduce in e-mail--unless someone has a good
>suggestion?
>
>Beverly
>
>At 05:01 PM 10/26/2006, you wrote:
> >Quoting Beverly Flanigan <flanigan at OHIO.EDU>:
> >
> > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > -----------------------
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       Beverly Flanigan <flanigan at OHIO.EDU>
> > > Subject:      Re: Slang poster
> > >
> > =
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
>------
> > >
> > > Where in Minnesota is your wife from?  My entire family lives in =
>Minnesota
> > > (as I did for 25 years), and I've never heard [e] for [ae] before a =
>voiced
> > > velar stop.
> > >
> >
> >She grew up in St Cloud.
> >
> >I have found it from the Twin Cities up to the ND border but most =
>reliably
> >in a
> >central to north-western strip.  In North Dakota in the =
>northern/eastern
> >quarter. I mentioned it in a post a little bit ago. (Sorry about the =
>title.)
> >
> ><http://wishydig.blogspot.com/2006/09/oyah-good-fox-up-dare.html>
> >
> >Several residents from these areas attest the difference in the vowel =
>and just
> >recently a Wisconsin resident agreed with the alternation.  The most =
>common
> >words in which I've heard it -- and on which the speakers report they =
>get the
> >most reaction -- are "flag" and "bag."  Very different from "flack" and
> >"back."
> >
> >I have heard a very slight diphthongization in Michigan but never the =
>complete
> >raising of the vowel.
> >
> >Question: any suggestions for using IPA symbols in these pure-text
> >messages?  I
> >hate to see my posts coming back to me with the bracketed html code =
>instead of
> >the phonetic symbols I was trying to use.
> >
> >------------------------------------------------------------------------=
>-------
> > > > >
> > > > > Are the vowels in "slang" and "slant" pronounced the same in =
>m-w.com?
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL4+
> > > > > See truespel.com and the 4 truespel books at authorhouse.com.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >Although the pronunciation key uses the same symbol for both, in =
>the
> > > >recording I
> > > >hear either a slight diphthongization or a raising in "slang".
> > > >
> > > >This is similar to the [e] for [=E6] alternation I heard in North =
>Dakota and
> > > >Minnesota.
> > > >
> > > >When I ask my wife to say "wagon" she says [weg?n] and when I ask =
>her
> > > to
> > > >syllabify it she says [wej - g?n]. She claims the first vowel is
> > > >identical to
> > > >the vowel in "ray gun." And it's a true rhyme with "Reagan" she =
>offers.
> > > >
> > > >I recently posted the claim:
> > > >"[A]pparently before a voiced velar stop or nasal (either [g] or =
>[?])
> > > >she raises
> > > >/=E6/ to /e/. Adding the [i]/[j] diphthongisation is probably just =
>a natural
> > > >effect when a coda is lost and the following onset is noticeably
> > > suspended."
> > > >
> >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> >
> >     Michael Covarrubias
> >     Purdue University
> >     mcovarru at purdue.edu
> >     wishydig.blogspot.com
> >
> >USA - MI4, OH3, MD3, MI13, ND5, MI3, IN1+
> >
> >~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> >
> >------------------------------------------------------------
> >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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