LL-L "Phonology" 2005.06.01 (04) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 01.JUN.2005 (04) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: embryomystic at cogeco.ca <embryomystic at cogeco.ca>
Subject: LL-L "Phonology" 2005.05.23 (04) [E]

Scr~{(*~}obh Cr~{(*~}ost~{(.~}ir:

> I have often wondered why US English speakers parrot this
> Canadian shibboleth as if it is [y] or [u:]. Whenever I
> hear actual Canadians pronouncing this it sounds very
> much more like [o:]. Hence Canadian "about" is to me
> identical to "a boat" but nowhere near "a boot" as
> Americans would have us believe.
>
> Why do Americans hear [u:] and myself - whose native
> sound range is Nottingham English / Cornish English -
> [o:] for this disputed phoneme? I have raised this with
> my Australian-accented wife and my Irish-accented friends
> and they all hear [o:], not [u:]. So what's happening?

I don't know, honestly. Power of suggestion, perhaps? My own pronunciation
is [o:], though I do sometimes hear myself say it like [EU] or possibly
[@U].

On the other hand, I find it quite hilarious when Canadian characters in
South Park say 'aboot'.

"Could you tell us again what this is all... abOUt?"
"It's aboot freedom of speech! It's aboot censorship! It's aboot... what are
you all laughing aboot?"

Isaac M. Davis

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