On Sun, 05 Dec 2004 11:16:44 +0100, B Vaughan wrote:
> On Sat, 04 Dec 2004 07:33:23 -0600, mnc@admin.u.nu (Miguel Cruz)
> wrote:
>
>> Pan wrote:
>>> t_ravel_buff@yahoo.com (Travel Buff) wrote:
>>>> My favorite "education marker' (or "pronouncation marker") is the 't'
>>>> in the word OFTEN.
>>>
>>> Do you mean educated or uneducated people pronounce the "t"? A
>>> neighbor of mine when I was growing up is one of the few people I knew
>>> who always pronounced the "t." She's from the Pittsburgh area, I
>>> think, but her accent was an affected speech-teacher accent, mainly.
>>> Highly educated, for sure, as are many of the people who do not
>>> pronounce the "t". Pronouncing the "t" is a minority position in the
>>> U.S., but I doubt it has much to do with levels of education.
>>
>> I've always taken that (pronouncing the 't') as an affect. I've met a
>> handful of educated people over the years, and I can't think of them
>> who do
>> it (and I'd notice, because it does jar with me).
>
> I believe that people in Northern New Jersey pronounce the "t" in
> "often" and similar words. My first college roommate, from a working
> class Jersey City family always pronounced, as did the rest of her
> family, and they were not at all affected. They also pronounced "oil"
> as "erl".
OK, here's another one. How is "wash" pronounced where you all live? The
name of this state is usually pronounced closer to "Warshington" east of
the mountains and closer to "Wushington" west of the mountains.
FWIW, the city in the District of Columbia is usually called "D.C." but
the city name is normally pronounced something like "WAHshington."
I've noticed that people in California are pretty good about correct
Spanish name pronunciations, but there are a few exceptions. One of the
first I noticed was Contra Costa County; the proper spanish would use long
O's, but the common pronunciation uses short O's. (Los Angeles is another
obvious example.)
===
Steve
Shoreline, Washington USA
smdailey@seanet.com
5 Dec 2004, 1018 PST |