[Lexicog] Digest Number 415

[Kim Blewett]

Just for argument's sake, how about these? I'm wondering whether
sentence-level stress might play a factor:

 

The Finnish team should finish in the top three.

The Finnish team would be grieved to finish last.

 

Food for thought from a non-RP speaker.

Kim Blewett

 

Thanks Patrick for this story.  I don't think though that it's quite so easy
to dismiss this guy's claim out of hand.

 

I tried your experiment today and discovered that there is a difference
between the pronunciation of "Finnish" and "finish" in the sentence you
offer.  The former has more emphasis on the first syllable, which causes the
/i/ to be slightly raised beyond the /i/ in the latter.  Then I tried
another sentence:  "To finish in the second half would cause the Finnish
team grief".  Again a difference, though this time reversed (ie "finish"
pronounced with raised /i/).  Another test:  "To finish last would cause the
Finnish team grief":  no difference.  It seems to be in the prosodics that
the words are sometimes pronounced differently.  And, of course, context is
all.

 

(Finnish.  It's the absolute end!  Suomi.  Varmasti on loppu!)

 

Si

 

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