Re: American o

Jordan Abel wrote:

On 2006-01-28, Robert Bannister <robban@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I think we have more or less agreed, that most American dialects do not contain the o sound used in rest-of-the-world English in "cot, dot, got, hot, etc."

Recently, while I was watching the tennis, I heard Jim Courier pronounce "Cypriot" with what sounded like a distinct o for the last vowel. For the rest of us, that would be a schwa.

Now, did I really hear an o or was it aw? Alternatively, does o exist in American, but only in certain words?


What exactly is the sound you're talking about? 

Hard to describe to someone who doesn't use it.

To an Australian, an American saying caught and one saying cot sound the same (and in many American varieties they are they same or similar). They are two very different vowels in Australian and British. The vowel in cot is shorter, more rounded, and with the back of the tongue lower. You have to hear it.

I remember talking about a shark attack to an American friend (remember Australian is non-rhotic; the r in such words is not pronounced). My friend was sure I was saying "shock attack". That is because the o in American English is a variety of the sound normally designated by a. It's why Americans can spell mommy that way because they say it with a variey of a but we spell it mummy because an o to us sounds wrong in that word.

When I say shock I'm using a vowel not used in American English.

Here's a site where you can hear some British pronunciation:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/

--
Stephen
Lennox Head, Australia
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: American o
    ... What exactly is the sound you're talking about? ... To an Australian, an American saying caught and one saying cot sound the same. ...
    (alt.usage.english)
  • Re: American o
    ... an American saying caught and one saying cot sound the ... >> same (and in many American varieties they are they same or similar). ... >> They are two very different vowels in Australian and British. ... >> When I say shock I'm using a vowel not used in American English. ...
    (alt.usage.english)
  • Re: American o
    ... What exactly is the sound you're talking about? ... To an Australian, an American saying caught and one saying cot sound the same. ...
    (alt.usage.english)
  • Re: Australian and American Accents
    ... we perceive Australian and British accents sounding rather ... Australian actors that show up ... > in (North American) TV shows and movies usually sound British (i.e. ...
    (alt.usage.english)
  • Re: American o
    ... >>same (and in many American varieties they are they same or similar). ... >>They are two very different vowels in Australian and British. ... >>in cot is shorter, more rounded, and with the back of the tongue lower. ...
    (alt.usage.english)