Lars:
> You might have heard something else: Most
> second-language English speakers have problems
> keeping /v/ and /w/ separate, [...]
I know what you're saying but I have a pretty keen
ear. At least, keener than most.
It was fullblown /w/ without a doubt. I've heard
/w/'s that were half-way between /w/ and /v/ in
other languages and I can distinguish it all very
well. My friend uses such a v-w hybrid in Mandarin
(when she says /wen2/ for example) and I notice it
clearly.
> You might have heard /werI/ for 'very', but did she
> say /wa:s/ or /weIs/ for 'vase'?
She was totally bilingual. She spoke English without
any detectable accent but sounded authentic enough in
Swedish at the same time. She would have said /'vEri/
and /vEjs/ in English like the average North
American. Unfortunately, my gramma never bothered to
teach her children Swedish because, erh well alas,
what are you gonna do with Swedish in North America?
At a smorgasbord perhaps <:)
= gLeN
__________________________________
Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005
http://mail.yahoo.com