Accents in Am. English

[Laurence Horn]

>
>I don't know Eric, but I can imagine.  If the story I
>heard on PBS is true and not just another urban
>legend, Haagen Dazs has no real meaning or root in any
>language - it's an impressive looking but meaningless
>name that was simply made up by the marketing people
>at Pillsbury!
>
>=====
>James D. SMITH                 |If history teaches anything
>SLC, UT                        |it is that we will be sued
>jsmithjamessmith at yahoo.com     |whether we act quickly and decisively
>                               |or slowly and cautiously.

Not only doesn't Häagen Dazs have any meaning in any language, I don't
believe we're likely to run into too many real world instances of a long
vowel with the first half umlauted (hence presumably fronted) and the
second not.  I suppose if any one could have pronounced that diphthong, it
would have been Eric Hamp.  At least the Dazs part looks like something
that could pass for plausible old German or perhaps Hungarian.  And then
there the umlaut in the Blue Öyster Cult or whatever it was...No wonder
people have started using "diphthong" as an insult!

Larry