Three pairs of pronunciation

[Laurence Horn]

At 10:29 AM -0400 6/28/10, Dan Goncharoff wrote:
>In each case, if asked to pronounce the pair, I would say them the same.
>
>OTOH, I doubt I would ever use "mourning" in a sentence and make it
>sound the same as "morning" when I am greeting someone while in a good
>mood on a glorious day. Likewise, I would never stress the word "for"
>the way I clearly enunciate a digit while communicating a telephone number.
>
>So, while I confidently claim to pronounce them the same, I doubt they
>ever sound the same in context, except for "horse" and "hoarse", unless
>I am the one who is hoarse, and explaining my affliction.
>
How about

morning coat/dress/attire vs. mourning coat/dress]/attire?

[when someone is describing it that way and you don't have visual access

Or even "Mourning Becomes Electra"?  [I wager that this is frequently
misunderstood by those unfamiliar with O'Neill and/or the Oresteia
trilogy.]

LH

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