CHAD,SHARD&CHARRED in NYC speech?

[Mark Odegard]

I've been thinking about this one too. A search of the MIT Library might be
in order. 'Shard' is a reasonably exact description of a punchcard chad.

I also wonder what happens to the /d sh/ combination in 'card shard' when
said rapidly in a non-rhotic accent.

>Actually, I was alluding not to the degree of non-rhoticity, but to
>its consequences.  The vowel of "shard" or "chard" or "card" in New
>York is nowhere near that of "chad", regardless of whether the
>pronunciation is or isn't rhotic.  The non-rhotic version of "chard"
>is essentially [chA:d], where A is the script a, relatively back; it
>more or less rhymes with "odd" or "cod", but the vowel is a bit
>longer.  The non-rhotic version of one Bostonian pronunciation of
>"chard" would be much closer to "chad", with a slightly elongated
>diagraph.
>
>Larry

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