HUM: English is TOUGH stuff!

[Paul Mackin]

Thanks to Eric W for help in the pronunciation of
"Turn off that faucet, Dorset."

Needed to get a plausible rhyme out of it.

				P.
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 >I can only offer pronunciation for South-East England of
> the middle class variety, so this only applies to about 13
>  million persons, about 22.5% of GB's population. 
> 
> 1) Faucet would be faw-set, except tap is more commonly used.
> 
> 2) Dorset would be Door-sit, except older residents would
> retain the slight regional "Wessex" pronounciation associated
> with Hardy novels, rending -"sit" more like "-set", and extending
> the "oo" or "aw" sound. My grand-uncle Sid lives in Dorset, 
> but he spent his childhood in Hackney and his prime in
> Beverly Hills, so he doesn't count as much of a Wessex man.
> 
> Although British people seem to be sounding more 
> alike, it is still possible to hear real and distinct regional
> distinctions and variations by traveling only about ten miles
> or so, again especially among the poor and the old. So it
> may possible to hear different versions of the sound of 
> the word even within the county itself.  
>  
> >
> >
> Eric Alan Weinstein
> Centre For English Studies
> University Of London
> E.A.Weinstein at qmw.ac.uk 
> 
>