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Home » Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

A Way with Words, a radio show and podcast about language and linguistics.

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Accent smell
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1
2014/03/21 - 8:28am
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"The Secret History," p.33 :
"I glanced at him quickly....about to walk into the hall when he said, "Wait." His voice was cool and Bostonian, almost British."

 

Really? From a single diphthong ?  

I suppose it is possible to tell from the flat Midwest and the rest, but only if you are paying attention.

What do y'all think ?

( But the answer is most definitely no, if accounting for the fact of the naive Californian just recently transplanted to Vermont.)

 

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2
2014/03/21 - 4:03pm
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I'm with you. No way. That word just wouldn't be distictive enough.

I just checked with a colleague born and raised in Boston. Not only didn't I hear anything in her pronunciation, but she also confirmed that she doubted there were any way she could tell if someone were from Boston based on that word.

polistra
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2014/03/22 - 3:18am
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Probably not Boston,   Despite its reputation, Boston isn't all that far from median.   But there are some dialects that include an overall constant shaping of the resonators and larynx.   A Lun-Guylan native or an East Texan can be spotted from one or two words.

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4
2014/03/22 - 9:55am
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Interesting locale !

 

About the accent, check out this audio (the 2 flags upper left)-- It does sound like an American woman next to an Englishman.

But a distinctive Bostonian "Wait" ? I'll believe when.

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