Date:  Fri, 1 Dec 1995 12:51:35 -0600

From:  Natalie Maynor <maynor[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]RA.MSSTATE.EDU>

Subject: Re: I before E



> Does anyone know any other weird exceptions?



"Weird" isn't an exception if you think of the rule the way I do: i before

e except after c as long as it sounds like [i]. I say [wIrd], not [wird].

If you extend that rule to all pronunciations you're aware of, even if they're

not your own, you're left with almost no exceptions at all -- e.g., some

people pronounce the first syllable of "leisure" as [lE] rather than [li],

some people don't have [i] in "either" and "neither."

  --Natalie (maynor[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ra.msstate.edu)