I got diphthongs out the gazoo!

[Herbert Stahlke]

Dennis

You missed the CR part.  I do have Oj but no Iw.  I also have @j and @w
before voiceless obstruents A:j and A:w elsewhere.  I don't have aj, a:j,
aw, or a:w.  The fourth and fifth diphthongs arise because I contrast @X
with A:X before -d, -nd, and in open syllables:

/k at jnd/ n.  vs.  /kA:jnd/ adj.
/f at jnd/ v.  vs.  /fA:jnd/ v. + past tense
/h at jd/ v.  vs.  /hA:jd/ n.
/h at j/ intj.  vs  /hA:j/ adj.
/@j/ pro.  vs.  /A:j/ n.
/h at jR/ v.  vs.  /hA:jR/ adj. + comp., R is a rhotic schwa
/r at wnd/ prep.  vs.  /rA:wnd/ adj.

and some one syllable vs. two syllable cases:

/@wts at jd/ adv.  v.  /sA:jd/
/b at h@jnd/ prep.  v.  /hA:jnd/ both n. and adj.

Obviously the length in the non-raised diphthong is redundant, since all of
my non-raised diphthongs, even in cases where I don't have minimal pairs,
are long.  My raised diphthongs in the data above, however, are short, just
as they are before voiceless obstruents.

I also have a raising alternation between /@r/ and /Ar/ as in /pA:r/ "par"
vs. /p at rt/ "part".  However, I also have /k at rv/, with the raised, shortened
diphthong, but I haven't found any minimal pairs with /r/.

I have /O/ only in /Oj/ and /Or/.  In my low back contrast I have low back
unrounded vs. low back rounded, script a vs. inverted script a.  I'm no sure
what to use for those in ASCII.

However, I surrender to your vast stock of slothful Kentucky diphthongs.

Herb

>
> Assuming you are not counting the phoney [ij], [ej], [uw], and [ow],
> I know of your [ay], [aw], [Oj], and (perhaps) [Iw] (if you really do
> say "Tuesday" and "news" that way). I can't find your fifth.
>
> But you must suspect that my losses of [aj] ("night" is nearly
> homophonous with "not") and [Oj] ("oil" is nearly homophonous with
> "all") have somehow reduced my diphthongal inventory, while, in fact,
> my number so far outstrips yours as to leave you panting on the
> tundra you call home:
>
> [aj] as in bait
> [ej] as in beat
> [i@] as in bit (@ = schwa)
> [e@] as in bet
> [aej] as in bat
> [aew] as in bout
> [aw] as bought
>
> This without referring to the fact that with drawling any monophthong
> can be made a diphthong and the above diphthongs can all be made
> triphthongal.
>
> Stick with low front vowel raising. You out of your league when it
> comes to thonging.
>
> dInIs
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> >Naah.  I've got five diphthongs to your three.
> >
> >Herb
> >>
> >>  Nonsense; you've conflated the vowels of "hoarse" and "horse" and
> >>  haven't distinguished /w/ from /hw/ for decades or more. Moral
> >>  superiority in phoneme-counting and/or partial neutralization is only
> >>  a figment of the self-important Michigan esteem for its own deficient
> >>  dialect.
> >>
> >>  dInIs
> >>
> >>
> >>  >----- Original Message -----
> >>  >From: "Dennis R. Preston"
> >>  >
> >>  >>  Definitely not an archiphoneme (though it warms my heart to see
the
> >>  >>  word early on Saturday morning). Not all neutralization is
> >>  >>  archiphonemic. In this case the merger of /O/ and /a/ (as in most
> >>  >>  western US dialects, Eastern New England and a growing band across
> >>  >>  the Midland) does not result in an archiphoneme; it simply results
in
> >>  >>  phoneme loss. I have one more phoneme than such speakers (and
clearly
> >>  >>  a great deal of moral superiority by possessing it).
> >>  >
> >>  >One more phoneme!  What moral superiority!  I guess since my SE Mich
> >dialect
> >>  >has phonemicized Canadian Raising before /d/, /nd/, and in open
> >syllables,
> >>  >and I don't have the /O/  /a/ merger, your moral superiority is
trumped.
> >>  >Don't mess with native Michiganders.
> >>  >
> >>  >Herb
> >>
> >>  --
> >>  Dennis R. Preston
> >>  Professor of Linguistics
> >>  Department of Linguistics and Languages
> >>  740 Wells Hall A
> >>  Michigan State University
> >>  East Lansing, MI 48824-1027 USA
> >>  Office - (517) 353-0740
> >>  Fax - (517) 432-2736
>
> --
> Dennis R. Preston
> Professor of Linguistics
> Department of Linguistics and Languages
> 740 Wells Hall A
> Michigan State University
> East Lansing, MI 48824-1027 USA
> Office - (517) 353-0740
> Fax - (517) 432-2736
>