Date: Tue, 24 Jan 1995 09:10:40 EST

From: Wayne Glowka wglowka[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]GC3.GAC.PEACHNET.EDU

Subject: Re: poor and pour (was Re: TV and dialect)



But I'm confused as to the link with Merry, Mary, marry: may be something

more general is going on before /r/ even when it hasn't been dropped. Do

dialects which do this tense the vowel, I wonder?



If people are interested, I can describe what's happening in England as well!



Maik Gibson

University of Reading



I seem to hear this distinction among non-rhotic speakers ( and children of

non-rhotic speakers--students often say their r's around me, a non-native

in Central Georgia, so I can't tell what the students are at home). A clue

to the distinction is the inclusion of the /r/ with the following syllable,

not the preceding vowel. Ma + ry, etc. Similarly, non-rhotic speakers

here divide /po[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]/ into something like /po/ + /w[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]/. The result has two

syllables.





Wayne Glowka

Professor of English

Director of Research and Graduate Student Services

Georgia College

Milledgeville, GA 31061

912-453-4222

wglowka[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]gc3.gac.peachnet.edu

BITNET Address: Wglowka[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]USCN