ah/ awe

[Mark A. Mandel]

Tom Zurinskas <truespel at HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:
     >>>>>

I've no problem hearing "ou" and "oi" as diphthongs.  But long a and long i
as in "gate" and "might" as I hear them in m-w.com are one-phthong, not two.

  <<<<<

I have just listened to them. I can see how the vowel in their recording of
"gate" might be heard by a phonetic novice as a monophthongal high-mid front
vowel [e], but their example of "might" is unmistakable.

     >>>>>

   This is obvious.  Anyone saying they are two must be listening to some
other dialect.

  <<<<<

On the contrary, to any language professional -- such as the people you're
dealing with here on this list, in this conversation -- it is obvious that
you do not understand what "diphthong" means, and/or that you have no idea
how ridiculous you're making yourself.* It's as if you were telling a car
mechanic that he is obviously not looking at the carburetor, or telling a
botanist that his book about daisies is obviously not about daisies at all,
but really about dandelions. You're out of your depth, man; admit it, give
up, and move on.** Go tell your doctor what you think of his diagnosis.

* Merriam-Webster online: 1 : a gliding monosyllabic speech sound (as the
vowel combination at the end of toy) that starts at or near the articulatory
position for one vowel and moves to or toward the position of another

** (Not likely, I'm afraid. I've wasted too much energy already beating this
dead horse.)

-- Mark A. Mandel
[This text prepared with Dragon NaturallySpeaking.]

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