"pterodactoe"

[Gerald Cohen]

   Salikoko Mufwene wonders why his daughter perceived the last
syllable in  "pterodactyl" as "toe" rather than [til]. Here's a
guess: The strange, multi-syllable "pterodactyl" was associated in
the child's mind with the only word she knew that had even a passing
phonetic resemblance to it, viz. the game "tic-tac-toe"; "-dac-" in
"pterodactyl" was key here. Once the child focused on this "-dac-",
the next syllable just had to be "toe." Maybe the child was also
seeking symmetry: ter-oe-dact-oe.

---Gerald Cohen

>    When my daughter was 7, I remember having an exciting discussion
>with her about the pronunciation of "pterodactyl." She curiously
>pronounced its last syllable as [tow], like in "toe" (ignore the
>aspiration matter, on which I am helpless ::)). I tried to correct
>her, saying it must be [til]. Just to help this non-native speaker
>who just did not get it, she pointed to her toes and asked me what
>the word is. I said "toe" and then she said, "now you got it." I
>replied that "tyl" in "pterodactyl" did not have the same
>pronunciation as "toe." Then, exasperated, she said, "Maybe in
>African English you say [til] but in American English it is [tow]."
>I told her she was right only about the way I said it not about the
>relationship between "tyl" and "toe." She gave up, more exasperated
>with me now. The following day, she returned from school with a
>partial concession, saying, "Daddy, neither of us was right. My
>teacher said it's [t at l]", i.e., with a schwa. This is definitely the
>way that the teacher must have pronounced "pterodactyl" the first
>time in her class. I have no idea why she perceived it as [tow]. The
>ongoing discussion on "till" just reminded me of this one of many
>interesting linguistic discussions about native and non-native
>competence with my daughter. She is still upset that I published a
>paper about her language acquisition, using her nickname, and not
>obtaining her permission.
>
>Sali
>on research leave in Singapore.