[Ads-l] Pronunciation

[Jonathan Lighter]

LIke my NYC grandparents, I say "fahrid."

JL

On Mon, Feb 27, 2017 at 1:29 PM, Salikoko S. Mufwene <s-mufwene at uchicago.edu
> wrote:

> Merriam Webster, 11th Collegiate edition, gives both pronunciations,
> although, like you, I have always heard that with "four." May this be
> related to the fact that in colonial English words such as /gone,
> going/,/oil, daughter/, and /lord/ were apparently (also) pronounced with
> the "far" vowel. Atlantic English creoles have been conservative in this
> regard.
>
> Sali.
>
>
> On 2/27/2017 11:41 AM, Shawnee Moon wrote:
>
>> I love both the nuances and the profound differences in pronunciation of
>> words, and I try to guess where people are from. I can tell bad faked
>> southern accents by actors, etc.
>>
>> There's a couple dialect pinpointing pages on the web that ask how you
>> pronounce words, and they have gotten my region and dialect influences
>> quite accurately, which was impressive to me.
>>
>> However, there's one word that I pronounce differently than anyone I know
>> other than immediate family:
>> Forehead.
>>
>> My family always pronounced it "far head" instead of "four head."
>> Recently I read that the pronunciation is Irish but very old.
>>
>>  From Bill Bryson's "Mother Tongue:"
>> "Often, however, the process has worked the other way around, with
>> pronunciation following spelling. We will see how the changes of spelling
>> in words like descrive/describe and parfet/perfect resulted in changes in
>> pronunciation, but many other words have been similarly influenced. Atone
>> was once pronounced “at one” (the term from which it sprang), while
>> atonement was “at one-ment.” Many people today pronounce the t in often
>> because it’s there (even though they would never think to do it with
>> soften, fasten, or hasten) and I suspect that a majority of people would be
>> surprised to learn that the correct (or at least historic) pronunciation of
>> waistcoat is “wess-kit,” of victuals is “vittles,” of forehead is “forrid,”
>> and of comptroller is “controller” (the one is simply a fancified spelling
>> of the other). In all of these the sway of spelling is gradually proving
>> irresistible."
>>
>> Has anyone ever heard anyone else pronounce forehead another way? I'm 55
>> and never have, and I've lived or been to nearly every state in the country.
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> Mailed from the Moon 🌜
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
> --
> **********************************************************
> Salikoko S. Mufwene                    s-mufwene at uchicago.edu
> The Frank J. McLoraine Distinguished Service Professor of Linguistics and
> the College
> Professor, Committee on Evolutionary Biology
> Professor, Committee on the Conceptual & Historical Studies of Science
> University of Chicago                  773-702-8531; FAX 773-834-0924
> Department of Linguistics
> 1115 East 58th Street
> Chicago, IL 60637, USA
> http://mufwene.uchicago.edu/
> **********************************************************
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



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