/hw/, herb

[Beverly Flanigan]

At 01:47 PM 1/29/01 -0500, you wrote:
>Lynne Murphy <lynnem at COGS.SUSX.AC.UK> writes:
>
> >>>>>
>My next question:  does anyone/any region in the US use the Brit
>pronunciation of 'herb' (with the /h/), and which pronunciation is
>prevalent in Canada?
><<<<<
>
>Not that I can recall, except just possibly for some individual speakers
>who I can't make a pattern out of. /h at rb/ is a man's name here, period.
>Pronouncing the "h" in "herb" is a setup for a gag.
>
>    Mark A. Mandel : Dragon Systems, a Lernout & Hauspie company
>           Mark_Mandel at dragonsys.com : Senior Linguist
>  320 Nevada St., Newton, MA 02460, USA : http://www.dragonsys.com

I'm not so sure the /h/ in 'herb' is totally gone or simply
idiolectal.  I've heard it here in southern Ohio occasionally.  In any
case, I've asked a native of the region to ask around and will report.

_____________________________________________
Beverly Olson Flanigan         Department of Linguistics
Ohio University                     Athens, OH  45701
Ph.: (740) 593-4568              Fax: (740) 593-2967
http://www.cats.ohiou.edu/linguistics/dept/flanigan.htm