Date: Wed, 9 Feb 1994 12:20:02 +0100

From: Peter Trudgill PeterJohn.Trudgill[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ANGL.UNIL.CH

Subject: Re: Sluff/Slough



No, there's no merger of /ow/ and /au/ anywhere. What has happened

is what John Wells calls diphthong shift, so that /ow/ is /aw/ in the

London region while /aw/ is /dw/ or /ew/ or /a:/. "Slow in Slough" is a

joke, but not a pun!

Peter Trudgill





P.J. Trudgill

Professor of English Language and Linguistics

Section d'anglais

BFSH 2

University of Lausanne

CH-1015 Lausanne

Switzerland



Phone: +41-21-692 4593 Fax: +41-21-692 4637/4510

Home Phone and Fax (CH): +41-21-728 1916

Home Phone and Fax (GB): +44-603-618036