teaching awe-dropping

[Paul Johnston]

Tom,
Western PA had the merger at least as early as Canada.  Maybe the parts of Eastern New England that have it too.  Blame the Scots and Northern Irish who settled in the Alleghenys and in Canada.

Paul

P. S.  I've already been ~Paal, when I was working in the Scottish Borders.  But there, the merger isn't COT=CAUGHT.  It's CAT=CAUGHT, so that Paul = pal (and this vowel is roughly where an "awe-dropper's" pronunciation is.  This was quite funny at times, since "pal" is often used as a generic address (although sometimes when someone was about to start a fight with you, as in "See you, pal!  Yir aboot tae git yir heid kicked in!") and I always wondered how they knew my name.  The COT class = COAT if they're speaking broad.

On May 31, 2012, at 7:55 PM, Tom Zurinskas wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Tom Zurinskas <truespel at HOTMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: teaching awe-dropping
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> After 20 years in SW Conn, the old accent hasn't changed much. Incredibly it's a standard US accent not influenced by the close neighbors of NYC, RI, or Mass.  By standard I mean the accents of old movies and TV.
> The awe-dropping thing is the biggest accent change I hear in media.  I've heard it's from Canada.  It may be inevidible because the mouth has a mind of its own and tends to say things the easiest way, and "ah" is easier to say than "awe".  And Paul ~Paul pretty soon will be ~Paal (with ~aa as in "Saab")
>
>
> Tom Zurinskas, Conn 20 yrs, Tenn 3, NJ 33, now Fl 9.
> See how English spelling links to sounds at http://justpaste.it/ayk
>
>
>
>
>
>>
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>> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster: Paul Johnston <paul.johnston at WMICH.EDU>
>> Subject: Re: teaching awe-dropping
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Tom,
>> Putting frog in the COT group (which I would too) marks you as localized, even among speakers who do not merge COT and CAUGHT. I have the same pattern as you, since I'm from SE NY/NW NJ--all "og" words but dog go into the COT group. Here in MI, in N OH and most of the Great Lakes where COT and CAUGHT are still distinct (thus excluding the Lake Superior area and Erie, PA), all "og" words go in the CAUGHT group. John, too, goes into CAUGHT in non-merging midland dialects, as you should know from your time in S NJ. It's a shibboleth in NJ, in fact, along with the degree of /o/- and /u/-fronting and the presence or absence of the MERRY=MURRAY merger. You have those things, you're from cheesesteak land.
>>
>> Paul (with a definite [O:~O@~o@] in the middle)
>>
>> On May 31, 2012, at 10:03 AM, Tom Zurinskas wrote:
>>
>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
>>> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>> Poster: Tom Zurinskas <truespel at HOTMAIL.COM>
>>> Subject: teaching awe-dropping
>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>> Teaching mispronunciation - The words "cough" and "astronaut" contain "awe"=
>>> not "ah" phonemes in my book. The letter o makes several sounds. The most =
>>> common representation of the short /o/ vowel sound is in words where the vo=
>>> wel is in a closed pattern=2C such as in dot=2C hot=2C dock=2C frog=2C and =
>>> clock. There are other ways to represent the short /o/ vowel sound=2C such =
>>> as ou in cough=2C oh in John=2C and au in astronaut."
>>> http://www.readinga-z.com/book/decodable.php?id=3D7
>>> Tom Zurinskas=2C Conn 20 yrs=2C Tenn 3=2C NJ 33=2C now Fl 9.
>>> See how English spelling links to sounds at http://justpaste.it/ayk
>>>
>>>
>>> =20
>>> =20
>>>
>>>
>>> =
>>>
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>>
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