southmore

[Jim Parish]

Matthew Gordon asked:
> Do all of you who distinguish /a/ and 'open o' (cot vs. caught) have the
> former vowel in 'sophomore'? I'd expect some speakers to have 'open o' here
> by analogy to other pre-/f/ words (e.g. off, soft).

I use open-o in "sophomore". I'm not sure which I use in "sophist"; after
several repetitions, neither /a/ nor open-o sounds quite right any more.

Jim Parish
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