Date: Mon, 29 Jan 1996 12:36:09 -0500

From: "Dennis R. Preston" preston[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]PILOT.MSU.EDU

Subject: Re: whoop



Dale,



All those pronunciations and you never got it right -- [hwup].



I have noticed that in my speech (and I am obviously a [hw] - [w]

distinguisher) that I have [w] in 'exclamatory 'why' ('Why, that's a good

idea') and [hw] in the 'real' one ('Why did you go there'). They are in

absolute complementary distribution.



Back to the topic: I have heard the [h] pronunciation of 'whooping cough,'

but I can't retrieve the details.



Dennis (good with [hw]-[w]; crappy with [I]-[E]) Preston









In a paper I'm working on, I discuss the pronunciation of whoop and find to

my amazement that I pronounce it three different ways depending on context.



1.War whoop /hup/, vowel as in food



2.They whooped it up /wUpt/, vowel as in look.



3.She gave a whoop /wup/ as in food.



4. whooping cough I could say all three in addition to /hUp/.





I'd like to find out if this is generally the case and would appreciate your

comments and personal usage. Reply to the list or to...



Dale Coye

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

Princeton, NJ



CoyeCFAT[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]aol.com