Pronouncing Wisconsin

[Dennis R. Preston]

This is odd. My first impression (on going to Wisconsin for graduate
studies n the 12th C., was that Wisconsonites (i.e. Cheeseheads)
clearly divided the syllbales differently. I said wIs - kan - s at n;
they all said wI - skan - s at n.

dInIs



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>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       Scot LaFaive <spiderrmonkey at HOTMAIL.COM>
>Subject:      Pronouncing Wisconsin
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>I've noticed lately that many commercials played in Wisconsin seem to have
>people clearly pronouncing the /k/ sound in the second syllable, and it
>sounds odd to me. From what I gather from 31 years in Wisconsin, it seems
>that natives generally don't clearly pronounce the /k/; I think we tend to
>voice it as /g/, but I may be wrong in my analysis (my ears don't
>distinguish so well, the lazy fools). Just curious if anyone else has
>noticed this or can confirm or correct me.
>
>Scot
>
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--
Dennis R. Preston
University Distinguished Professor
Department of English
15C Morrill Hall
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824
517-353-4736
preston at msu.edu

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