Iowa

[RonButters at AOL.COM]

In a message dated 2/28/2000 11:18:30 AM, Mark_Mandel at DRAGONSYS.COM writes:

<< Besides, I don't think [@w] and [o] (@=schwa) are really distinct. So
"Iowa" =
[ay'.o.(w@)] = [ay'. at .w@].

Hmph. Now that I've written that, my guardian unconscious throws "Hiawatha" up
at me, and I think I do back the pre-/w/ vowel of "Iowa" but not that of
"Hiawatha".
     But I still don't know what difference would amuse non-Iowans. Enlighten,
please?>>

I guess Mark missed my earlier posting on what non-Iowans find amusing about
the pronunciation of /o/ in the upper Midwest. Recall the movie FARGO.

As for Hiawatha, the second syllable gets variable anticipatory rounding for
just about everybody, right?

I'm not sure what Mark means by "really distinct"--since any unstressed vosel
in English can be reduced to schwa, schwa is not "really distinct" from any
vowel.