Fw: Teenage speak and beyond

[Michael H Covarrubias]

Better points than anything I was trying to make. Well taken.

Michael

Quoting "Gordon, Matthew J." <GordonMJ at MISSOURI.EDU>:

> Both the lowering of /E/ and the backing of /ae/ are found in the =
> California Shift and the Canadian Shift. People inclined to believe in =
> chain shifting might chalk these movements up to the presence of the =
> low-back merger (cot=3Dcaught) in both these regions. But, feel free to =
> ignore such structuralist explanations and continue psychoanalyzing.
>
> Self-promotion: http://www.pbs.org/speak/ahead/change/changin/
>
> -Matt Gordon
>
> -----Original Message-----

>
> >  In what appears to be an attempt at speech sophistication, the =
> adolescent
> > girl (and occasional guy) characteristically distorts the vowel =
> sounds,
> > especially  the  "e" as in the word best.  Best becomes "bast" or =
> "bost" or
> > "bus."  Better becomes "batter" as the mouth opens wide to accommodate =
> this
> > apparently classy way of enunciating.  Other vowel sounds are =
> similarly
> > affected by the sophisticatedly wide open mouth.  Bush becomes "bahsh" =
> and on
> > it goes, endlessly.  What's more daunting, is that the individual =
> continues
> > this distortion into post adolescence and beyond when a young person's
> > apparent need for "fitting in" and peer pressure would seem to be
> > diminished.
> >
> > Television personalities and actors have generally been purged of it, =
> but it
> > maddeningly rears itself, wide-mouthed, in commercials.  What's =
> surprising is
> > that most listeners don't seem to notice the bend in pronunciation =
> until it's
> > pointed out to them....
> >
> > Richard Vallis
> >

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