Rossians and Russians

[Jules Levin]

At 06:05 PM 3/10/2006, you wrote:
>10 March 2006
>
>Dear Professor Condee,
>
>You wrote:
>
>Now let's get
>back to the purer topics: opera, _zvonit'_, and the holies.
>
>
>But what could be "purer" than the topic of "rossiiskii" vs "russkii"?
>This is a linguistic issue (and therefore appropriate to SEELANGS), 
>and it is an issue with enormous political consequences in the 
>post-Soviet space.  It is an issue of great psychological importance 
>to both ethnic Russians and minority peoples in today's Russian 
>Federation.  It should not be trivialized.
>
>Daniel Rancour-Laferriere
Okay, speaking as a linguist, how will Americans pronounce 
Rossians?  I would pronounce it [rahsee'uns], but I bet lots of Americans
would pronounce it [rahshuns] in contrast with [ruhshuns].  But if 
you say [rahshuns] out loud, it sounds like someone pronouncing
Russians with a Russian accent...
Jules Levin
(sorry, I couldn't resist...)

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