LL-L "Phonology" 2002.10.28 (05) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

======================================================================
 L O W L A N D S - L * 28.OCT.2002 (05) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
 Web Site: <http://www.lowlands-l.net>  Email: admin at lowlands-l.net
 Rules & Guidelines: <http://www.lowlands-l.net/rules.htm>
 Posting Address: <lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org>
 Server Manual: <http://www.lsoft.com/manuals/1.8c/userindex.html>
 Archive: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/archives/lowlands-l.html>
=======================================================================
 You have received this because you have been subscribed upon request.
 To unsubscribe, please send the command "signoff lowlands-l" as message
 text from the same account to <listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org> or
 sign off at <http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html>.
=======================================================================
 A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
 L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic
               V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
=======================================================================

From: Leslie Decker <leslie at volny.cz>
Subject: LL-L "Phonology" 2002.10.27 (01) [E]

> Depends on the region. Massachussets has a Worcester which is pronouned
> Wooster, so by extension many people in the northeast would say
> 'Woostersheer'. People outside the region generate a few smiles as they
try
> to handle Worcester, Leominster, and other imported place names. Between
the
> English, Dutch, and native place names, you can always tell a Nebraskan on
> vacation.
>
> bob

We have the same sort of thing in Central Texas, which is slowing changing
under the influence of the sheer number of people who have moved to the
Austin area in the past 20 years (the population has tripled).  Many of the
Germans who settled in the region spoke a dialect which used front unrounded
vowels even when it was spelled with an umlaut. For example,. there's a
street in Austin called Koenig Lane, which most native-born Austinites will
call [kei nig], and most newcomers will pronounce [ko: nig].  The old
airport in Austin, Robert Mueller, is pronounced [mI lr], but newcomers tend
to say [mju lr]. I hear the second pronunciation more and more on the radio
and television, so I think it might win out.

There are of course other local pronunciations of place names that I can't
justify as much, such as the Spanish names and a few street names with
strange stress, but you'll still be an outsider to some if you pronounce
them differently :-)

Leslie Decker

----------

From: Browne, Kevin at Astronaut <BrowneK at brevard.k12.fl.us>
Subject: phonology

Hi Ron,

No, no, no. I didn't mean it like that! I'm not a sadist. It's just good
clean
fun when I get a group of American students and German students
together and have them try to pronounce the foreign tongue. My American
students have difficulty remembering the difference between the "ie" and
"ei" dipthongs. I once heard a student mispronounce "schiessen." You can
imagine what she said. Quite often it brings everyone onto a level-playing
field. The German students come here with a good command of the
English language and well, as you can imagine, the American students
don't do as well with the German. The difference being of course, that the
German students have had 6 years of English and my students have had
1 or 2 years of German. Some students representing their respective
countries sometimes get a little "high-minded" and I certainly don't mind
bringing them back to reality at that point.

I also agree the "ui" dipthong in Dutch is a bit difficult at first. Funny
though,
many Germans have asked me if I was Dutch. I guess I have an "accent!"
(ha ha)

(I probably should have let this one go, but I couldn't resist.)

Kevin Browne

==================================END===================================
* Please submit postings to <lowlands-l at listserv.linguistlist.org>.
* Postings will be displayed unedited in digest form.
* Please display only the relevant parts of quotes in your replies.
* Commands for automated functions (including "signoff lowlands-l") are
  to be sent to <listserv at listserv.linguistlist.org> or at
  <http://linguistlist.org/subscribing/sub-lowlands-l.html>.
=======================================================================