ADS-L Digest - 10 Jul 2002 to 11 Jul 2002 (#2002-167)

[Dan Goodman]

Date sent:              Fri, 12 Jul 2002 00:00:08 -0400
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Subject:                ADS-L Digest - 10 Jul 2002 to 11 Jul 2002 (#2002-
167)
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> Date:    Thu, 11 Jul 2002 22:36:37 EDT
> From:    Fritz Juengling <Friolly at AOL.COM>
> Subject: Re: hawk/hock
>
> In a message dated 7/11/02 6:56:49 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
> mam at THEWORLD.COM
> writes:
>
>
> > On Thu, 11 Jul 2002, Fritz Juengling wrote:
> >
> > #Perhaps this is an isogloss that separates Oregon from Washington
> > #(I would
> > be
> > #very surprised, though), because I pronounce 'hock' and 'hawk' with
> > #all
> > their
> > #meanings exactly the same and I cannot ever recall anyone
> > #distinguishing them--that would have struck a chord right off.
> >
> > Would it? If you are a conflater, I would not expect you to hear the
> > difference in non-conflating speech as clearly and automatically as
> > you hear differences that are distinctive to you, such as /ae/ vs.
> > /E/.
>
> Well, just because folks "merge" vowels does not mean they cannot hear
> the difference when someone else makes it

But it becomes much more likely.

I'm from an area where "Don" and "Dawn" are pronounced differently.
(The Catskills.  If The Twilight Zone is still being rerun, it's easy
to hear a native speaker of my dialect.  Rod Serling was from the
next county, and to me he has no accent.)

I now live in the Twin Cities, where natives don't make that
distinction.  I'm not a trained linguist, but informal investigation
indicates that Minnesotans find it hard to hear the distinction.