ah/ awe

[David Sutcliffe]

"<ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>

Tom

Mah-eat suggests a slower diphthong for long i than in most dialects. As in Australian in fact. But check out the dialects which have a monothong: as far as I know there is Southern US (for some speakers restricted to the knife fight words) some Black English, and traditional Somerset dialect in the West of England.

I suggest you look at the way you say long i and the other sounds you mention in the mirror, to see if there is any lip movement or alteration in closure.

David Sutcliffe

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