"wh" words - was "no subject" (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Paul Johnston]

It's usually simply a voiceless "w" among people who have it in the
States, as far as I know.

Paul Johnston

On Jul 18, 2010, at 4:42 PM, Tom Zurinskas wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Tom Zurinskas <truespel at HOTMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "wh" words - was "no subject" (UNCLASSIFIED)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I wonder.  Is the aspiration when saying "wh" as ~hw at the lips
> where the ~w is formed so the ~w is unvoiced, or at the back in the
> throat where ~h is formed?  If it's at the lips, that would make it
> an aspirated unvoiced ~w rather than a ~h followed by a ~w.
>
>
> Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL7+
> see truespel.com phonetic spelling
>
>
>
>>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender: American Dialect Society
>> Poster: "Mullins, Bill AMRDEC"
>> Subject: Re: "wh" words - was "no subject" (UNCLASSIFIED)
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
>> Caveats: NONE
>>
>> I guess I'm in the minority, then, because I pronounce most of them
>> with
>> a "hw" instead of a "w".
>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On
>>> Behalf Of Tom Zurinskas
>>> Sent: Sunday, July 18, 2010 3:08 PM
>>> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>>> Subject: "wh" words - was "no subject"
>>>
>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> ---------------
>>> --------
>>> Sender: American Dialect Society
>>> Poster: Tom Zurinskas
>>> Subject: "wh" words - was "no subject"
>>>
>> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> --------
>>>
>>> All the following words beginning with "wh" are said to be
>>> pronounced
>>> ~hw in first pronunciation in the McMillan Dictionary for Children
>>> 2001, then as ~w in second pronunciation.
>>>
>>> whack
>>> whale
>>> whaling
>>> wharf
>>> what
>>> whatever
>>> wheat
>>> wheel
>>> wheelbarrow
>>> wheelchair
>>> wheeze
>>> whelk
>>> when
>>> whenever
>>> where
>>> whereabouts
>>> whereas
>>> whereupon
>>> wherever
>>> whey
>>> which
>>> whichever
>>> whiff
>>> while
>>> whim
>>> whimper
>>> whine
>>> whinny
>>> whip
>>> whippoowill
>>> whir
>>> whirl
>>> whirlpool
>>> whirlwind
>>> whisk
>>> whisker
>>> whiskey
>>> whistle
>>> white
>>> whiten
>>> whitewash
>>> whittle
>>> whiz
>>> whoa
>>> why
>>>
>>> thefreedictionary.com also gives ~hw as first pronunciation for
>>> these
>>> words in their notation, but listening to the pronunciation I don't
>>> hear it. "Wheat, which, whip, whisk" spoken at the clickable
>>> "icon" I
>>> believe have ~hw, but the speakers at the US and UK clickable
>>> flags do
>>> not for any of these words.
>>>
>>> I think that folks that say ~hw for these words are in the vast
>>> minority, and ~hw should be 2nd pronunciation if it's still spoken
>>> at
>>> all.
>>>
>>>
>>> Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL7+
>>> see truespel.com phonetic spelling
>>>
>>>
>>>>
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>> -------------
>>> ----------
>>>> Sender: American Dialect Society
>>>> Poster: Wilson Gray
>>>>
>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> ----------
>>>>
>>>>> Imagine "whoa" as "hwoa"
>>>>
>>>> Or "who" as "hwo"
>>>>
>>>> Self continues to be the measure of all things.
>>>>
>>>> Back in 1961, I got into a shouting match with a barracksmate from
>>>> Cincinnat[@] who'd more-or-less rhetorically asked,
>>>>
>>>> "You ever notice that, in words that start with wh-, like "[w]at,"
>>> the
>>>> -h- is never pronounced?"
>>>>
>>>> Say *[hw]at*?!!! That was one of the most ignorant remarks that I'd
>>>> ever heard! [w]y, I knew people in *Saint Louis* from Cincinnat[@]
>>> and
>>>> they didn't be saying any "[w]at"! (Even though they did say
>>>> "Missour[@]." But that was okay. My Texan grandmother used
>>>> "Missour[@]," too.) They pronounced it the *right* way: "[hw]at"!
>>> Just
>>>> as *I* did!
>>>>
>>>> As Stewie (cf. The Family Man) says, "Will [hw]eaton."
>>>>
>>>> -Wilson
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> -Wilson
>>>> ---
>>>> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"--a strange complaint
>>> to
>>>> come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
>>>> -Mark Twain
>>>>
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