Problems Switching between Russian and English Fonts in Windows X P

[Paul B. Gallagher]

Vladimir Benko wrote:

> (BTW, could you you please suggest what is the pronunciation for
> "tabbed"?)

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In principle, it should be /tæbd/, but most Americans will have a
diphthong whose onset is in the [ɛ] to [ɪ] region ([ɛ] as in "bed," [ɪ]
as in "bid") and whose offset is close to schwa, thus: [tɛəbd] ~
[tɪəbd]. I myself have [tɛəbd], and [tæbd] strikes me as stilted, though
I would still understand it.

This diphthong occurs allophonically for /eɪ,ɛ/ in words like "fair,"
"fail" throughout American English, but in Mid-Atlantic urban dialects
it may be phonemic as in
	/kæn/	"can"	(be able)
	/kɛən/	"can"	(container)
	/kɛn/	"Ken"	(man's name)
	/keɪn/	"cane"	(walking stick)
	/kɪn/	"kin"	(relative)
	/kin/	"keen"	(sharp)

Other words where /æ/ is lengthened and diphthongized here typically
have following voiceless fricatives or /m,n/: "pass," "ham," "cash,"
"math," etc. Many dialects have this treatment in words like "marry" and
even "merry," so they can all sound like "Mary": "Should I mary mary
Mary?" ("Should I wed the happy Mary?")

In Northern Cities (from western NY state to Chicago), the [ɪə]
pronunciation is typical for all /æ/, and there are no instances of [æ],
even in words like "back" and "match."

--
War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left.
--
Paul B. Gallagher
pbg translations, inc.
"Russian Translations That Read Like Originals"
http://pbg-translations.com

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