LL-L "Phonology" 2006.03.04 (04) [E]

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   L O W L A N D S - L * 04 February 2006 * Volume 04
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From: Ian Pollock <ispollock at shaw.ca>
Subject: LL-L "Literature" 2006.03.04 (01)  [E]

From: Ingmar Roerdinkholder <ingmar.roerdinkholder at WORLDONLINE.NL>
> I am curious if and how native English speakers still distinguish
> <w> and <wh> in their pronunciation.  For me and other Dutchophones 
> they usually sound the same, and I pronounce both as <w>, so I 
> wouldn't tell e.g. whether and weather from each other.  But maybe 
> some regional pronos or sociolect still have <wh> ('hw')?

Dear Ingmar;
I don't have the knowledge to tell you about all of Anglophonie, but I 
can give you a pretty good picture of Canada. In Canada, voiceless w 
(wh) has almost died a death. Some members of the older generation 
still distinguish it. Schoolteachers often do as well, so everyone 
hears it at school at least and *can* pronounce it if they want.
However, chances are that if you hear a Canadian-born person below 60 
using it, they're putting on airs. I have heard some people doing this 
and hypercorrecting - a lady once asked me for a cold glass of "whater" 
when I worked in the local ice-cream parlour as a kid.
I don't know what the situation is in the states, but my impression is 
that it's critically endangered there as well. Too bad, it's rather an 
exotic sound, typologically.
All the best!
-Ian Pollock

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