cannot: OED pronunciation

[Dennis R. Preston]

arnold,

Well, I'm a datum (and one who probably even overbelieves in the
notorious unreliability of such). I'll see a bunch of such speakers
come end of January and try to remember to report.

dInIs





>On Jan 17, 2005, at 9:02 AM, Dennis R. Preston wrote:
>
>>If you shift the stress to the first syllable (as I have heard some
>>posh RP types do), the
>>pronunciation [kaen at t] works.
>
>i identify the forestressed pronunciation as specifically british and
>fairly posh.  but such judgments are notoriously unreliable.  we need
>data.
>
>arnold


--
Dennis R. Preston
University Distinguished Professor
Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic,
        Asian and African Languages
Wells Hall A-740
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1027 USA
Office: (517) 353-0740
Fax: (517) 432-2736