How to say "Boston"

[Tom Zurinskas]

Judging by myself I'd say that a lowered pitch vowel is made by lowering the tongue, and the reverse for a higher pitched vowel.  No?  Take the words see and saw.  As spoken naturally is there no pitch difference?  "I saw him" vs "I see him"?

Tom Zurinskas, Conn 20 yrs, Tenn 3, NJ 33, now Fl 9.
See how English spelling links to sounds at http://justpaste.it/ayk



> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster: Herb Stahlke <hfwstahlke at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject: Re: How to say "Boston"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Tom,
>
> When describing a vowel, "low" refers to the position of the tongue, not to
> the pitch produced by the larynx.
>
> The two are pretty much unrelated.
>
> Herb
>
>
> On Sat, Apr 20, 2013 at 3:23 PM, Tom Zurinskas <truespel at hotmail.com> 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: How to say "Boston"
> >
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > From the news of the bombings I'm hearing the pronunciation of Boston with
> > "ah" (~aa) over "awe" (~au) in reporters' broadcasts. To me it was always
> > ~Baustin rather than ~Baastin. I'm surprised but such is the trend,
> > nowadays.
> >
> > From the speakers at thefreedictionary.com I hear ~Baustin. The same at
> > m-w.com, but there even the word "awe" is mispronounced "awe" by the
> > speaker.
> >
> > It's amazing how "awe-dropping" is catching on. My cousin's wife has even
> > changed the pronunciation of her son, "Shawn" to ~Shaan. The only reason I
> > can find is that "ah" is easier to say than "awe'. I think females are
> > more susceptible because their voices are higher, and "awe" is a low vowel
> > sound.
> >
> >
> > Tom Zurinskas, Conn 20 yrs, Tenn 3, NJ 33, now Fl 9.
> > See how English spelling links to sounds at http://justpaste.it/ayk
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org