Re: [tied] Re: The role of analogy, alliteration and sandhi in coun

At 2:31:33 PM on Tuesday, May 8, 2007, tgpedersen wrote:

[...]

> Similarly English English-speakers tend to diphthongize
> long vowels even when speaking foreign languages,
> presumably because the low-status Scottish and Irish
> varieties of English don't diphthongize long vowels.

Most English and U.S. speakers tend to diphthongize long
vowels when speaking foreign languages for a much simpler
reason: they're doing what comes naturally. Many can't hear
the difference between, say, [e:] and [eI], and many who can
hear it can't reproduce it, or can't reproduce it reliably
without great concentration. Many U.S. speakers aren't even
aware of varieties that don't diphthongize long vowels, and
if they are, they're likely to find them attractive.

> I think this is a general priciple. Somehow you can't get
> your brain to accept that those foreigners really in
> earnest insist on speaking like the despised yokels of
> your own country so you want to help them along on their
> pronounciation.

Fails the most basic plauibility test, at least in respect
of the English example.

Brian