Re: [tied] Re: crows and the glottalic theory

----- Original Message -----
From: Miguel Carrasquer
To: cybalist@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, November 10, 2002 12:51 PM
Subject: Re: [tied] Re: crows and the glottalic theory


> Focusing on Polish now, and perhaps I asked about this before but have forgotten the answer, przepraszam, but I have noticed among certain Polish speakers a noticeable aspiration of unvoiced stops (perhaps only in initial position?), especially in careful or high-register speech. How wide-spread is this, and is this perhaps due to German
influence?


I think you're right. Some people aspirate voiceless stops (and even affricates) in stressed syllables to express emphasis (I don't, so introspective observation is not helpful and I'm not sure about the exact environment). It used to be associated with the accent of Polish Jews (which can still be heard from some elderly speakers), but nowadays it's simply an occasional stylistic affectation. I don't associate it with any particular region or social group.

Piotr