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From: deb5@kimbark.uchicago.edu (Daniel von Brighoff)
Subject: Re: Acquisition of phonemes thfough foreign influences
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Date: Thu, 28 Sep 1995 15:34:06 GMT
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In article <446odb$28j@netsrv2.spss.com>,
Mark Rosenfelder <markrose@spss.com> wrote:
[much deleted]
>I'll grant you that the most likely source of [Z] is [zj]; but why would
>the [Z] become phonemic?  Very likely, I would think, due to the relatively
>recent importation of French words such as _mirage_; since [Z] can now
>contrast with [dZ] word-finally (cf. _raj_), the [Z] in words like 'measure'
>got reinterpreted as phonemic /Z/.

"raj" is not the best example.  Many native speakers I know pronounce it
[ra:Z], just as they call the former ruler of Venice the [douZ].  "Rog"
(a nickname derived from "Roger") is a better minimal contrast for American
English.

I've often wondered what drives this /dZ/ -> /Z/ shift.  Could it be that
/Z/ is still rather marked for foreignness in English, leading speakers to
prefer it to /dZ/ in lexical items marked as recent borrowings?  This might
also explain the common [bei'ZIN] for Beijing as well.
-- 
	 Daniel "Da" von Brighoff    /\          Dilettanten
	(deb5@midway.uchicago.edu)  /__\         erhebt Euch
				   /____\      gegen die Kunst!
