Date: Wed, 29 Nov 1995 13:22:51 -0500
From: Wayne Glowka wglowka[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]MAIL.GAC.PEACHNET.EDU
Subject: Re: /w/ and /hw/ (and /hyu/ and "R")
The distinction between /w/ and /hw/ is alive and well in central Georgia.
Students are amazed that my pronunciation of "which" is the same as my
pronunciation of "witch."
They also favor aspiration in "humor" [hyum[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]r], aspiration that I don't have.
QUESTION: In other r-less dialects how do people pronounce the letter "R"?
My r-less mother-in-law was carefully reciting the alphabet to my amazing
two-year-old the other night and said "R" with two syllables as something
like [a-r[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]]. Do other r-less people share this pronunciation?
[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE] = schwa
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]mail.gac.peachnet.edu