Slang poster

[Michael H Covarrubias]

Quoting Beverly Flanigan <flanigan at OHIO.EDU>:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Beverly Flanigan <flanigan at OHIO.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Slang poster
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Where in Minnesota is your wife from?  My entire family lives in Minnesota
> (as I did for 25 years), and I've never heard [e] for [ae] before a voiced
> velar stop.
>

She grew up in St Cloud.

I have found it from the Twin Cities up to the ND border but most reliably in a
central to north-western strip.  In North Dakota in the northern/eastern
quarter. I mentioned it in a post a little bit ago. (Sorry about the title.)

<http://wishydig.blogspot.com/2006/09/oyah-good-fox-up-dare.html>

Several residents from these areas attest the difference in the vowel and just
recently a Wisconsin resident agreed with the alternation.  The most common
words in which I've heard it -- and on which the speakers report they get the
most reaction -- are "flag" and "bag."  Very different from "flack" and "back."

I have heard a very slight diphthongization in Michigan but never the complete
raising of the vowel.

Question: any suggestions for using IPA symbols in these pure-text messages?  I
hate to see my posts coming back to me with the bracketed html code instead of
the phonetic symbols I was trying to use.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > >
> > > Are the vowels in "slang" and "slant" pronounced the same in m-w.com?
> > >
> > >
> > > Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL4+
> > > See truespel.com and the 4 truespel books at authorhouse.com.
> >
> >
> >Although the pronunciation key uses the same symbol for both, in the
> >recording I
> >hear either a slight diphthongization or a raising in "slang".
> >
> >This is similar to the [e] for [æ] alternation I heard in North Dakota and
> >Minnesota.
> >
> >When I ask my wife to say "wagon" she says [wegən] and when I ask her
> to
> >syllabify it she says [wej - gən]. She claims the first vowel is
> >identical to
> >the vowel in "ray gun." And it's a true rhyme with "Reagan" she offers.
> >
> >I recently posted the claim:
> >"[A]pparently before a voiced velar stop or nasal (either [g] or [ŋ])
> >she raises
> >/æ/ to /e/. Adding the [i]/[j] diphthongisation is probably just a natural
> >effect when a coda is lost and the following onset is noticeably
> suspended."
> >
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    Michael Covarrubias
    Purdue University
    mcovarru at purdue.edu
    wishydig.blogspot.com

USA - MI4, OH3, MD3, MI13, ND5, MI3, IN1+

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