basque/Basque/bask

[Alice Faber]

On Wednesday, April 17, 2002, at 10:51  AM, Lynne Murphy wrote:

> --On Wednesday, April 17, 2002 10:50 am -0400 Benjamin Fortson
> <fortson at FAS.HARVARD.EDU> wrote:
>
>> I've never heard Basque pronounced with a back vowel, myself. I've always
>> pronounced it as [baesk], as has every linguist and non-linguist that I'
>> ve
>> ever heard say it...
>
> I'm starting to think I'm crazy then, although the Basque scholar here and
> I are both from Western NY.  Perhaps it's local to that area?
>

How far west? How close to Canada? Could your pronunciation have been
influenced by people who thought of /ae/ in foreign words as a Canadian
pronunciation and who, therefore, wished to avoid it?
--
Alice Faber
Haskins Laboratories                                    Tel: (203) 865-6163
270 Crown St                                            FAX: (203) 865-8163
New Haven, CT 06511 USA                              faber at haskins.yale.edu