"Silver Tsunami" (first "boomer" files for Social Security)

[Michael H Covarrubias]

I grew up saying tidal wave and I still use it more often than tsunami (but it
has nothing to do with evil phonotactics)--

However for some reason--as a [aI] > [^I]/ __[t] raiser I also applied the
raising to 'tidal' in this phrase but not in "tide" or even in "tidal bore".

Perhaps I modeled it after 'title'? Any other evidence of this "hyper" canadian
raising before a voiced dental?

Michael



Quoting Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM>:
>
> No objection here if you call it a pseudo-tidal
> wave, then. But the tide doesn't roar onto
> shores, destroying objects and creatures in the
> path. If you want to eliminate all the words
> with sounds that are unfriendly to AmE, you
> have a long way to go. (Psychology, gnu,
> knight, tse-tse...) BB
>

> > Tom Zurinskas wrote:
> > I'm showing my age as well.  It was always "tidal wave" years ago.  Who
> > knew the cause.  I suppose there could be several causes - asteroid splash?
> > volcano?  gas bubble?  Interestingly, it does act like a tide, because the
> > ocean wells up like a tide for many waves before receding.  I don't think
> > it's so bad a term as to replace it with a word that begins with a silent
> > letter that's not even phonetically American English friendly.
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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