lilac

[Wilson Gray]

I take it, then, that "potta mac" [paT at maec] is not an acceptable
alternative pronunciation of Potomac. One lives and learns.

-Wilson

On 11/1/07, Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at babel.ling.upenn.edu> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: lilac
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> It's ash for me. Not sure why this pronunciation is so surprising to
> some, given the pattern set by other "-ac" words ("sumac", "cognac",
> "ipecac", "cardiac", etc.) In fact, the only "-ac" word I can think of
> where I use a schwa is "Potomac".
>
> -- Ben Zimmer
>
>
>
> On 11/1/07, Charles Doyle <cdoyle at uga.edu> wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Charles Doyle <cdoyle at UGA.EDU>
> > Subject:      lilac
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > The only pronunciation recorded in the OED--and the first pronunciation given in Webster's Third and all the "collegiate"-sized dictionaries I have at hand--is [lail at k]. Until this discussion, I would have supposed that speakers who use ash or [a] in the last syllable were engaging in a spelling-pronunciation. You learn something (almost) every day!
> >
> > --Charlie
> > ____________________________________________________________
> >
> > ---- Original message ----
> > >Date: Thu, 1 Nov 2007 14:55:05 -0400
> > >From: Michael H Covarrubias <mcovarru at PURDUE.EDU>
> > >Subject: Re: Wilson's St. Louis vowels . . .
> > >
> > >I haven't heard the schwa. The only two I've heard are the 'ash' vowel and [a].
> > >
> > >I grew up hearing the ash vowel more commonly.
> > >
> > >The [a] showed up sporadically in various regions--midwest, dakotas, central plains, east...
> > >
> > >m
> > >
> > >Quoting Charles Doyle <cdoyle at UGA.EDU>:
> > >>
> > >> As for "lilac" with a schwa in the last syllable: isn't that pretty standard everywhere?
> > >>
> > >> --Charlie
> >
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