Odd rhyme claim

[Alice Faber]

Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> The poet John Hollander asserts that New England is "the only region of the
> nation" (or was in Emerson's time) "in whose dialect _patriot_ rhymes with
> _thought_."
>
> Really? I'd have guessed that _patriot_ "rhymes" with _thought_  nowhere on
> Panet Earth.  Or is Hollander being facetious at Emerson's expense?  Yeah,
> that must be it.  Sorry.
>
> On the other hand....I'm curious.
>
>
It took me a moment to even imagine a possible pronunciation of
"patriot" where this would be a sensible claim. But, of course, possible
doesn't mean that it actually exist(s|ed) in any American dialect. But,
is it at least possible that "patriot" was pronounced with secondary
stress on the final syllable and, consequently, with an un-reduced (or
minimally reduced) vowel?
--
 =============================================================================
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