Date:  Thu, 6 Apr 1995 11:21:01 -0700

From:  David Harnick-Shapiro <david[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]BUCKAROO.ICS.UCI.EDU>

Subject: Re: Harassment



On Wed, 5 Apr 1995 16:19, jeffrey howard allen writes:



> Sexual Harassment has been a hot topic in the business sector for some

> time now. I have always heard Harassment pronounced /ha ras mEnt/ in the

> NW, in Indiana, and lately in Illinois in our section meetings about the

> topic.

>

> However, I heard it pronounced /hair Is mEntNT/ on CNN Headline news the

> other day by an American announcer. I recollect having heard it

> pronounced this way by British colleagues as well back in France.

>

> Are their regional variants of this word in the US? How about in the UK,

> English-speaking Canada, Australia, etc?



I'd always heard the first.



When newscasters started using the word frequently, in connection

with l'affaire Anita Hill, all of a sudden the second pronunciation

seemed much more prevalent. My assumption was (and still is) that

the newsies, self-conscious about the sexual content of their speech,

were trying to avoid saying (a word containing) "ass".



Are there records of regional variation which would contradict this

interpretation?



--------

      David Harnick-Shapiro   Internet: david[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ics.uci.edu

Information and Computer Science   UUCP: ...!{ucbvax,zardoz}!ucivax!david

University of California, Irvine