dot-calm

[Joel S. Berson]

I distinguish [dot] com from calm -- the latter is (speaking as a
layman in phonetics) longer (but for me, without an L).  I also
distinguish cot from caught.  But I also distinguish both of the
latter two from either of the former two.

I don't know if these are phonemic distinctions for me -- I don't
want to search for minimal pairs from com and calm to cot (my caught
is sufficiently different) -- but at least I hear them differently
when I speak them.

Joel

At 12/31/2006 03:36 PM, you wrote:
>In a message dated 12/31/2006 2:26:00 PM Eastern Standard Time,
>db.list at PMPKN.NET writes:
>
> >Anyone know if
> >this advertisement reflects some sort of cot-caught merger incursion
> >into the South, or if it's just some LA (or wherever) ad agency being
> >clueless about what would work for a particular location?
>
>I don't have the cot-caught merger, but I do have com = calm.  (This doesn't
>shed any light on phonological change in the South, but I think it's relevant
>to note there are at least 2 different mergers being discussed here.)
>
>Doug
>
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org