Boston/Worcester "cahn't"

[Randy Alexander]

On Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 9:38 PM, Amy West <medievalist at w-sts.com> wrote:
> I've probably asked this before, so if someone is patient enough to
> explain it to me again, very slowly, using small words, you can
> e-mail me directly instead of bothering the whole list.
>
> What rule is it that is governing the lengthening of  "a" in "can't"?
> I hear it out hear in some Worcester pronunciations and it really
> jumps out at my foreign ear. Why is it happening?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_short_A#Trap-bath_split

There's no rule governing the broad A, and there is quite a lot of
inconsistency among BrE speakers, let alone New England speakers.  It
often happens before [n].

--
Randy Alexander
Jilin City, China
My Manchu studies blog:
http://www.bjshengr.com/manchu

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