[Ads-l] "gawker" rhymes with "rocker"

[Tom Zurinskas]

Michael,  My take on the phoneme "awe" ~au is that it's hard to say.  The tongue drops, the jaw drops, and cheeks pinch in on the sides of the lips, the tone is low.  It's perhaps a baby error to say "ah" for "awe" that's lived on.  Like "bubba" for "brother'.I believe the "awe" vowel is necessary for clear English to avoid homonyms.  I think it ott be tot in schools.  And if I'm gunna tock that tock I need to wok that wok.And surely if m-w.com shows the "awe" vowel symbols in the notation for "awe" it should be spoken correctly when you click the icon.   No problem with on m-w.com words "law" or "bought"
Your "awe"full or "awe"some  friend

Tom Zurinskas,  Originally SWConn 20 yrs,  college Tenn 3,  work NJ  33,  now FL 12.The need for truespel phonetics - http://justpaste.it/truespelnow 


 > Date: Sat, 11 Jun 2016 14:48:48 +0000
> From: Michael.Newman at QC.CUNY.EDU
> Subject: Re: "gawker" rhymes with "rocker"
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> 
> Tom, you're really gonna have to stop stressing yourself over this, and move on through the stages of mourning. You seem to be in rage. Canadians, Bostonians, and Westerners have been doing without what is properly called the LOT/THOUGHT (see http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/wells/stanlexsets.htm) distinction for generations. It's coming to the rest of North America in an unstoppable march. I have to admit, that this makes me sad. I'm from NY. I have the classic NYC THOUGHT vowel in words like 'coffee,' 'talk' and yes 'awe.' I wish it would continue that way. It's beauty to my ears, but it won't, and short of mandatory minimal pair drills (probably only with about 6 pairs) for toddlers, it'll be gone. We're just going to have to face the facts. 
> 
> 
> 
> ________________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Tom Zurinskas <truespel at HOTMAIL.COM>
> Sent: Saturday, June 11, 2016 10:19 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: "gawker" rhymes with "rocker"
> 
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Tom Zurinskas <truespel at HOTMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "gawker" rhymes with "rocker"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> The problem is communication and standardization.  If someone said "We gock=
> ed but didn't tock"  I wouldn't know what they were saying. (We gawked but =
> didn't talk)I would think that a major news network would try to keep local=
>  accents down=2C especially one that is working to eliminate a phoneme from=
>  out language that we need.  It's not "shock and ah". It's "shock and awe".=
>   But if you listen to "awe" on m-w.com it's spoken "ah".  So I can't recom=
> mend m-w.com for pronunciation.
> 
> Tom Zurinskas=2C  Originally SWConn 20 yrs=2C  college Tenn 3=2C  work NJ  =
> 33=2C  now FL 14.The need for truespel phonetics - http://justpaste.it/true=
> spelnow=20
> 
> 
>  > Date: Sat=2C 11 Jun 2016 08:10:37 -0400
> > From: wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM
> > Subject: Re: "gawker" rhymes with "rocker"
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> >=20
> > > language changes and a lot of dialects don't have that vowel anyway.
> >=20
> > Plenty of reason to complain right there=2C if you ask me!
> >=20
> > JL
> >=20
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> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>                                           =
> 
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