Re: looking for a limerick

On 13 Feb, 21:25, "Ildhund" <jn...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"Paul" <paulmathew...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message

news:df3fcf65-3ddb-49cb-8850-46f8ebca5505@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

And the auditory difference between the 'o' vowel (sort of a 'flat o'
or an 'o' with a front vowel resonance) in 'for' and the 'deep
o' (with a back vowel resonance) in 'four' could only be lost on a
rock band desperately looking for a name for itself, sufficientlyf
shocking to those of us with finer sensibilities, as this difference
is well entrenched in standard international English (RP), British
English, American English, Canadian English and Australian English

I have been trying all afternoon, but I still cannot detect any difference
at all in the way I pronounce the syllable preceding 'arms' in
(a) He voted against 'Pygmalion' but for 'Arms and the Man'.
(b) My Thalidomide brother had four arms, but I have only two.
(c) My forearms are skinnier than my brother's.

There is a difference, of course, if the syllable is unstressed, but only in
the case of 'for'. As far as I can tell, the stressed syllable has exactly
the same vowel sound as in 'floor' and 'flaw' or 'or' and 'awe'. It could be
followed by a glottal stop in (a) and (b), but not (c).

Are my sensibilities less fine than others'?
--
Noel

The 'sensibilities' in question are those of a rock band that wants to
call itself 'foreskins'. Not those who prefer to pronounce the 'o' in
'for' exactly as the 'o' in 'four'. There are hundreds of dialectal
variants with regard to pronunciation, and each is as valid as the
other. So long as sense is conveyed, language stands absolutely
justified.
.

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