[hw-] v. [w]

David Bowie db.list at PMPKN.NET
Tue Jul 31 06:15:58 UTC 2007


From:    Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>

> Tonight, on a TV cartoon show, "Family Man," I think that it was, the
> characters kicked around the [hw-] v. lw] pronunciations, with one of
> the [hw-]-speaking characters jokingly noting that, e.g. [wip] in
> place of [hwip] sounded "wheird" [hwird].

> [wip] in place of [hwip] doesn't sound "wheird," but it does sound
> weird. Well not really, though I'm a [hw-] speaker.

It makes sense that Stewie would use the hw, though, since that's
apparently marked now in American English, and his speech is nothing if
not marked.

When this episode first aired, i was in the middle of finishing up my
part of my ADS paper presentation which dealt with <ta-da!> (h)w in
Utah. The timing was very hweird.

--
David Bowie                               University of Central Florida
     Jeanne's Two Laws of Chocolate: If there is no chocolate in the
     house, there is too little; some must be purchased. If there is
     chocolate in the house, there is too much; it must be consumed.

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