the dangerously dissappearing [sic] "awe" sound

[RonButters at AOL.COM]

There is no point trying to have a rational discussion with this guy. It is
best to ignore him. What is really weird about his rules for "off" and "on"
is that the "open-o" is quite acceptable for both words (look in a
dictionary). People (such as me) who preserve the "cot/caught" distinction also
pronounce both "off" and "on" to rhyme with "caught." So why does he think that
one or the other should be pronounced as /a/ and one as the "open-o"? I
think he is a latent partial cot/caught mergerer without knowing it.

If it really would be possible to change the vowels of "off" and "on" for
the sake of safety, why not change "on" to rhyme with "bone" and "off" to
rhyme with "caught" (as they do in many parts of the American South). Now THERE
is a distinction that you can hear above the roar of battle!

One other amusing piece of irrationallity in his "safety" lectures is that
if the switch is already off, you are not likely to tell someone to turn it
any way other than on. And if you are on the bus, you can   only want to get
off, not on.

I'm more worried about people who tell speakers of other dialects to "cut"
the lights on. Doesn't "cut" seem to imply "off"? But I won't worry about
lexical selection if others will stop seeing phonological change as the
serious potential cause of plane crashes, accidental drownings ("I said get on the
boat, not off the boat"?), and marital difficulties ("Honey, your new thong
really turns me ---" off? on? OMG!!!!

In a message dated 5/26/09 3:44:22 PM, Bill.Mullins at US.ARMY.MIL writes:


> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
> > It should be mandatory that
> > "off" have the "awe" vowel and "on" have the "ah" vowel for safety
> > sake.
> >
> >
>
>
> You keep making these imperative statements.  "There should be a
> standard."  "Spelling should be simplified."  "It should be mandatory."
>
> I probably have less formal training in linguistics and language than
> 90% of the participants on this list.  But even I know that what you are
> asking for will not happen and cannot happen.
>




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