Can some native USA English speakers say "awe" or not

[Joel S. Berson]

And wouldn't sociolinguists be more interested in body language?

Joel

At 10/27/2006 10:26 AM, you wrote:
>If Shakespeare's body language was much like his
>literary language, he must really have stood out in a crowd.
>
>   Same goes for his bawdy language.
>   JL
>
>Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM> wrote:
>   ---------------------- Information from the
> mail header -----------------------
>Sender: American Dialect Society
>Poster: Benjamin Barrett
>Subject: Re: Can some native USA English speakers say "awe" or not
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Sometimes I have similar thoughts, though opposite.
>
>One day I was in a room of sociolinguistics student and a SL professor
>and made a reference to the "bawdy" language of Shakespeare. Every
>single person thought I meant "body" despite the fact that "body
>language" and 'bawdy language" have different stress patterns. And they
>were in MY native dialect territory of Seattle; transplants, every one.
>
>Another way I have similar thoughts is my amazement when TV newscasters
>can't pronounce the "t" in tsunami. But then I realize that just like I
>can't pronounce that "awe" sound, they can't say syllable initial "ts".
>I imagine they would have similar trouble pronouncing the "tl" in Tlingit.
>
>Benjamin Barrett
>a cyberbreath for language life
>livinglanguages.wordpress.com
>
>Tom Zurinskas wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the
> mail header -----------------------
> > Poster: Tom Zurinskas
> >
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > I believe awe-droppers as native born
> American English speakers can hear the
> > sound "awe" and they can say the sound "awe". They just don't like the
> > sound "awe" nor forming it in their mouths when they talk. They may llive
> > in an area were "awe" is dropped and they don't use it much.
> >
> > I cannot believe that any native born
> American English speaker exposed to as
> > much TV and radio as they are simply cannot form their mouths to say one of
> > the main phonemes of USA English.
> >
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>
>
>---------------------------------
>Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Make PC-to-Phone
>Calls to the US (and 30+ countries) for 2¢/min or less.
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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