ah/ awe

[Laurence Horn]

At 11:57 PM -0400 10/1/06, Alice Faber wrote:
>Tom Zurinskas wrote:
>>>From: Alice Faber <faber at HASKINS.YALE.EDU>
>>
>>>But it *is* a merger, by the definition of a merger. One language state
>>>with two contrasting sounds develops into a state in which there is only
>>>one.
>>OK.  Special meaning.  The alligator ate the dog.  They had a merger:)
>>Seems to me a better term than merger here would be apropriate if its
>>really
>>a takeover not a merger.
>
>Well, I'd call it a technical term within the discipline of linguistics.

Right, but not that different from the discipline of traffic
patterns; last time I merged onto a highway, my lane disappeared.  Or
should we stop talking about merging traffic and talk about lane
takeovers instead?

LH

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org