Re: [tied] Oddity of English

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Piotr Gasiorowski <gpiotr@...>
wrote:

>
> Andrew Jarrette wrote:
>
> > -- But I don't see how /fa:D&r/ with a quite back vowel can

become a

> > compromise between /feID&r/ and /faD&r/, both with front

vowels

> > (even if you are implying with /faD&r/ the more back version

of /a/

> > that some dialects of English have).
>
> The "Jespersen compromise" would have been reached at a time when

the

> colour of both vowels was similar, hence my deliberate use of /a/

and

> /a:/ (rather than /A:/) in the transcriptions above. The dialects

of

> northern England may still have the same vowel quality in <father>

and

> <cat>.

19th century Danish (Copenhagen) had the varian /fä&R/ (now > low
standard /faR/ "dad") along with high standard /fä:D&R/ "father".
Jespersen might have taken his cue from that. Danish short /a/ in
some positions (excepting those before labial, velar and R) is
almost as front as its English counterpart.


Torsten