spelling pronunciation exercises

[James Smith]

Must be Utahn.

I'd call it a short oo; a closed, back, rounded vowel
- approximately IPA symbol u - which is maybe why the
letter that represents the sound I'm trying to
describe is called a double "u" in English.

But in the interim, I've listened (totally
objectivity, of course) to myself pronouncing these
words (whale, what,...) and I think I hear what Tom
has indicated: going from the "h" exhalation to the
following vowel, there is a glide through this same
(oo) or u sound, no syllable break.  With "who"
*(oo)hu*, it's impossible to escape :>)

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

> Thanks James,  Is that a Utah dialect?  Is that a
> short oo or a long oo?
>
> Tom (the troll) Z
>
> >From: James Smith <jsmithjamessmith at YAHOO.COM>
> >Reply-To: American Dialect Society
> <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> >Subject: Re: spelling pronunciation exercises
> >Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2006 08:20:31 -0700
> >
> >---------------------- Information from the mail
> header
> >-----------------------
> >Sender:       American Dialect Society
> <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >Poster:       James Smith
> <jsmithjamessmith at YAHOO.COM>
> >Subject:      Re: spelling pronunciation exercises
>
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > > > OK. I'll give it a try.  To get it straight,
> the
> > > "wh" is spoken "hw" not
> > > > "wh" right.  (hwich makes no sense hwatsoever.
> > > Hwy thy say it that I'll
> > > > never know.  But I'll do hwut you say for a
> hwile.
> > > >
> > > > Tom Z
> > > >
> >NO!  At least not to my ears.  To me, "w", as in
> >"whale", is (oo), the double "o" either weakly
> >volcalized, or not vocalized at all but a rounding
> of
> >the lips in preparation for the following
> exhalation
> >of the "h"!
> >(oo)hale
> >(oo)hy
> >(oo)hat
> >(oo)hile
> >
> >Tom Z's pronunciation would put the (oo) after the
> "h"
> >and create two sylabls; h(oo)-ich, h(oo)-ut,
> h(oo)-y,
> >h(oo)-ile.
> >
> >Also, we =>(oo)e,  similar to French "oui".
> >
> >At least that's the (oo)ay I hear it and say it!
> >
> >Maybe we should start calling it "double O'; it's
> >diffinitely not the "double V" of other European
> >languages.
> >
> >
> >
> >James D. SMITH                 |If history teaches
> anything
> >South SLC, UT                  |it is that we will
> be sued
> >jsmithjamessmith at yahoo.com     |whether we act
> quickly and decisively
> >                                |or slowly and
> cautiously.
> >
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James D. SMITH                 |If history teaches anything
South SLC, UT                  |it is that we will be sued
jsmithjamessmith at yahoo.com     |whether we act quickly and decisively
                               |or slowly and cautiously.

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