the three "n" s

[Tom Zurinskas]

I'd say there are 3 ways of say the sound "n", the most often spoken sound of USA English.  For each, the tongue forms a dam so air is routed through the nose to make the "n" sound, but tongue placement differs, as per example in these three words; winter, finger, and danger.

1. the front n - Winter - (tongue tip contacts top gums)
2. the back n - Finger -  (back of tongue contacts the velum)
3. the middle n - Danger - (whole tongue rises to palate)

These "n"s are not noticably different in sound, and are allophones of each other.

Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL5+
see truespel.com



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> Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:35:36 -0700
> From: zwicky at STANFORD.EDU
> Subject: act of show
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Arnold Zwicky
> Subject: act of show
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> from the Palo Alto Daily News of 21 March 2009, "Palo Alto shooting
> suspect still at large", by Diana Samuels, p. 3:
>
> Police said Gil-Fernandez claimed affiliation with the Norteno street
> gang, though that claim may have been mostly an act of show in Palo
> Alto, where the Norteno gang doesn't have much of a presence.
> .....
>
> that's "an act of show" 'a show, display, pretense'. a few more cites:
>
> I remembered my fiancé’s first time to pay me a visit at home. I
> was listening to Metallica. At that time, he thought I was just
> playing it to impress him. Later as we knew each other better, he
> realized that it was not an act of show but simply my choice of music.
> http://www.anintimateconversation.com/2009_02_01_archive.html
>
> Gabby,Lynette,Bree,Susan and Eddie are all part of a clan that has
> secrets lies and webs of drama they all live in such a perfect area
> yet knowing all the perfection is just an act of show!!!
> http://www.tv.com/desperate-housewives/show/24641/reviews.html&flag=1&pg_rev=4
>
> Col. Gianfranco Cavallo of the Carabinieri paramilitary police said
> the bomb appeared to be an "act of show" rather than an attack planned
> to make victims.
> http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/bomb-damages-cars-in-downtown-rome-672350.html
>
> Actually it was our state governor, a female democrat (Ks) that
> ordered them sent! I am sure that it was more of an act of show than
> anything else.
> http://world-news.newsvine.com/_news/2009/03/12/2537681-us-plans-for-mexico-border-violence
>
> there are also hits for "act of show-off"
>
> do you think if I show up with my guitar it won't be weired? won't
> people think of it as an act of show off?
> http://id.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080421191749AAV8jNh
> [Yahoo! Indonesia]
>
> Again, McLeod depicts Ganda Singh as a shallow person of
> pretentious nature whose ego was inflated by the mere receipt of a
> book from McLeod and as an act of show-off, he carried it round under
> his arm, with the title prominently displayed for all to see.
> http://sikhspectrum.com/052007/mcleod/ch5.htm
>
> They dabble in esoteric themes like mysticism, sexual freedom,
> death, the after-life and such things, as an act of show off.
> http://ia.rediff.com/movies/2008/dec/01review-pakal-nakshatrangal.htm
>
> unlike the "act of show" examples, these seem to be from various asian
> varieties of english.
>
> arnold
>
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