Date:  Sun, 28 Nov 1993 14:33:53 -0700

From:  Rudy Troike <RTROIKE[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ARIZVMS.BITNET>

Subject: Re: Mail Order / Pin-Pen / LAGS



Natalie--

    I've certainly done the same thing. <then> and <thin> are a minimal

pair, aren't they? I also used to confidently give <singer> and <finger> as

near-minimal pairs, until I once had a student from Long Island!

    It reminds me of the ESL teacher who was once dutifully drilling the

<cot>:<caught> contrast because it was in the book, and then came in to

complain to me that the students couldn't hear the difference. When I asked her

to pronounce the words, of course she did not have it. For students who are

linguistically disadvantaged in this way, it is a great object lesson in th e

nature of phonemic contrasts.

        --Rudy