LL-L "Language varieties" 2002.11.12 (03) [E]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 12.NOV.2002 (03) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: Ed Alexander <edsells at cogeco.ca>
Subject: LL-L "Language varieties" 2002.11.12 (01) [E]

At 07:19 AM 11/12/02 -0800, Gary Taylor wrote:
>  Recent talk about 'pseudo-British' pronunciation of
>'Harrassment' (with stress on the first syllable)
>spreading in the US is a surprise to me. There seems
>to be the opposite trend in Britain. I, much to the
>despair of my mother, and I'm sure many other Brits,
>tend to pronounce the word with the stress on the
>second syllable, which would be regarded as an
>Americanism. I also have the feeling that I'm not
>alone amongst 'younger' Brits using this
>pronunciation.

Interestingly, my Funk & Wagnalls 1913 dictionary only gives the
pronunciation <har' assment> and not <har ass'ment>.  This makes sense,
since the word comes from Old French verb <harasser>, from which is also
descended the English verb <harry>.  Since this is basically an American
dictionary (my grandfather was given this dictionary as he was consulted on
some legal terminology and he lived his whole life in Chicago), are (1)
Funk & Wagnalls made a mistake or (2) this was the only proper American
pronunciation in 1913.  Frankly, I prefer the second alternative, with the
more colloquial pronunciation slowly gaining more and more prominence to
varying degrees in all English speaking countries.  And despite our huge
cultural hegemony over the United States, Peter Jennings, Lorne Greene,
John Candy, Gordon Lightfoot, Anne Murray and other Canadians have been
unable to stem this tide.

Ed Alexander, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

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From: ANNETTE GIESBRECHT <beautyaround at email.com>
Subject: LL-L "Language varieties" 2002.11.12 (02) [E]

I hope you don't belong to the present idea in many Canadians that all
Americanisms are evil. I hope you are not trying to scold him for
pronouncing harrassment on the last syllable.  I hope you don't try to
persuade him to speak through the nose as a lot of Canadians do.  That is
just horrible. I lived most of my childhood in British Columbia and still
speak with a decidedly Briish way (interspersed with a bit of Danish,
Scottish, and German accent although I will probably add a little Dutch in
the way Í'm speaking because I tend to absorb accents.)
  I find the way they talk in Southern United States most enjoyable, and
even the peculiar way they talk in areas of New York city a delight.

Annette

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