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From: rdd@usa1.com (Aaron J. Dinkin)
Subject: Re: Chain Shift (was Tendency of Inflections to Disappear)
Message-ID: <rdd-0708961734470001@dmn1-35.usa1.com>
Date: Wed, 07 Aug 1996 17:34:47 -0500
References: <4suk93$pob@carrera.intergate.bc.ca> <rdd-2607961343260001@dmn1-39.usa1.com> <31FE66AD.7824@qualcomm.com> <rte-3107961047100001@135.25.40.118> <4u4p0j$mef@shellx.best.com> <rte-0508961326490001@135.25.40.118> <rdd-0608960947340001@dmn1-67.usa1.com> <32075346.D14@eurocontrol.fr> <EIJKHOUT.96Aug6121549@jacobi.math.ucla.edu> <rdd-0608961803010001@dmn1-67.usa1.com> <4u8lio$kat@news3.digex.net> <EIJKHOUT.96Aug6175318@jacobi.math.ucla.edu> <rte-0608962153100001@135.25.41.185>
Lines: 37

In article <rte-0608962153100001@135.25.41.185>, rte@elmo.lz.att.com
(Ralph T. Edwards) wrote:

> In article <EIJKHOUT.96Aug6175318@jacobi.math.ucla.edu>,
> eijkhout@jacobi.math.ucla.edu (Victor Eijkhout) wrote:
> 
> > In article <4u8lio$kat@news3.digex.net> kcivey@cpcug.org (Keith C. Ivey)
> writes:
> > 
> > > >> "there might be a little dust on the bottle"
> > > >> or
> > > >> "there might be a little dust on the bible"
> > > >> . With a correct (:-) southern pronounciation those
> > > >> last words are almost homophonous.
> > > 
> > > >How do they manage that? I'm guessing something like ['ba?l-].
> > > 
> > > I think the key word there is "almost".  They do differ in the
> > > middle consonant, but that consonant might not be obvious on the
> > > recording.
> > 
> > Correct. Spoken the difference would be clear enough, even
> > with both 'o' and 'i' rendered as [a]. With teh rest of
> > the music going on, that consonant becomes quite hard to hear.
> > 
> > Victor.
> 
> The <i> is [a] and the <o> is [A].  Should be clear enough.

Not to people who don't have a phonemic distinction between the two (so
"bother" rhymes with "father", of all bizarre things), which I believe
includes those who record country music (or at least the southern accents
they affect for the purpose), and probably a fair chunk of those who
listen to it.

-Aaron J. Dinkin
Dr. Whom

