Hello, David!

> You suggested listening to HM the Queen, but I don't get to do
> that very often in New Mexico, hearing instead the bungled utterances, alas,
> of George Bush.

Well, he's certainly full of air :-)

Actually I don't think there's all that much difference
between Bush's air and that of Her Majesty. To me both sound
like SAMPA [E]. It's mostly the length of the vowel, rather
than the quality, that I think the Queen, speaking a non-rhotic
dialect, does better.

> Had the bright idea this morning of Googleing SAMPA to see
> what [E:] would be in the sound system of German. And what do I find as an
> example? 'Spaet' (Sorry to spell it thus; this gizmo produces an Umlaut only
> with the greatest reluctance.) Unfortunately, I've heard the a-Umlaut
> pronounced any where from a long e (Ger 'Beet' SAMPA [e:]) to an ash (Eng
> 'at' SAMPA [{]). If memory serves, I heard the [{] more often in the north.
>
>
> Any other suggestions?

Methinks you must be rather close :-) The sound [E] is simply
"something between [e] and [{]" so that's really all anyone
can tell you.

> And yourself? Surely an Icelander; search to wide world & there'll be not a
> single Albanian with a name like that.

This thing about Albanians must be a reference to some piece
of literature I have never read. :-) Yes, I am certainly Icelandic,
an humble engineering student interested in languages - and what
is found written in them.

Kveðja,
Haukur