dot-calm

[Beverly Flanigan]

Most SE Ohio speakers lack the open O/short o distinction, agreed; they
choose the midpoint between them, as we've discussed here before (the
"turned script 'a'" in IPA).  I heard 'John' said this way the other day;
it took me by surprise, since I associate that pron. with 'Jon' but not
'John'  (probably idiosyncratically).  But "mush" = "good" is not so common
here; "bulge" with /U/ is the shibboleth I listen for, and I don't usually
hear it here.  'Poosh', 'feesh', and 'meyzure' are of course common here,
as is 'spayshul'; I've not personally heard 'mesh' with /ey/ (not a common
lexical item), but I'll test for it.

Beverly

At 01:41 PM 1/2/2007, you wrote:
>For many speakers (like me) this is lexical; I have short e in
>/trezhr/ (treasure) but /meyzhr/ (measure). In SE Ohio (and adjacent
>areas), there is a better established rule, and it works as well for
>the voiced palatal as the voiceless, 'measure' and 'mesh' are both
>long, and for front and back vowels - fish is feesh,and push is
>poosh. In the mid-back, the tense lax distinction is not as well
>balanced, and there is considerable variation in the data I have seen
>for truly lax wedge (mush) - but note "mush" with the vowel of
>"good," often with a semantic distinction), funny lax open o
>(caution), and tense o (motion). If wedge is "lax o," "much" should
>be "mowsh" (but never is); "caution" as something higher and tenser
>is, however, common. Course we're also dealing with some speakers who
>lack an open o short o distinction, and that's part of this mix I
>reckon.
>
>dInIs
>
>
>
>>---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>-----------------------
>>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>Poster:       David Bergdahl <dlbrgdhl at GMAIL.COM>
>>Subject:      Re: dot-calm
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>On 1/2/07, Dennis R. Preston <preston at msu.edu> wrote:
>>>
>>>  ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>>  -----------------------
>>>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>>  Poster:       "Dennis R. Preston" <preston at MSU.EDU>
>>>  Subject:      Re: dot-calm
>>>
>>>
>>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>>  This works only for people who incorrectly pronounce "measure" with short
>>>  e.
>>>
>>>  dInIs
>>>
>>>  This pronunciation does not, strangely, predict "special" = "spacial"
>>although I don't why it doesn't--tensing E before ZH seems a natural
>>exension of E > e before SH!  Found throughout Ohio (help me w/this Bev)
>>even in the north (E > e ____SH found mostly in our [Appalachian] part of
>>the state)
>>
>>-David Bergdahl
>>Athens, Ohio
>>
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>>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
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