Date:  Mon, 13 Nov 1995 09:11:03 -0500

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

Subject: Re: near rich



I'm sure Al was typing fast and didn't mean it, but this is one of my

favorite phrases yet:



'I don't think there was anything linguistic about his pronunciation,...'



Dennis Preston



>On Sun, 12 Nov 1995, David Bergdahl wrote:

>

>> Could it be that the senator's mishearing was due to a lenis glottal stop to

>> separate the two syllables of r-less NEAR: [ni?[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]] with ?=g.s & [AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]=schwa I'm

>> a hundred miles upstream from Louisville but that articulation isn't totally

>> foreign to my ear.

>>

>I guess it could be but when I heard the broadcast I think it was a

>simple matter of physical noise on the line. And the senator is over 70

>so maybe he just can't hear very well. I don't think there was anything

>linguistic about his pronunciation, but I think the fact that he used the

>taboo term is the issue -- sociolinguitic I would say.

>

>Al Futrell

>-- awfutr01[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]homer.louisville.edu

>-- http://www.louisville.edu/~awfutr01

>Dept of Communication -- University of Louisville