2.1.2. Raising and tensing of short 'a'

The other phonological variable that helps set the tone of American English is short 'a', the vowel of 'cat', 'bag', and 'laugh'. British RP divides these into two classes, the short 'a' of 'cat' and 'bag' and the broad 'a' of 'laugh'. Some dialects of British English do not distinguish these two classes and then all of short 'a' is low and front, though not as front as in the US, and, more importantly, it is not a candidate for raising. In the United States, short 'a' may be low, but it is definitely a front vowel. There is no broad 'a' class at all, except for some older speakers, in Eastern New England.

In many US dialects, some or all of the allophones of short Vundergo what linguists call tensing. This term is somewhat difficult to define. It is said that tense vowels are actually produced with more muscle tension, or more force of articulation, but it is perhaps clearer to say that tense front vowels are more front than their lax counterparts, and they tend to have offglides in the direction of 'schwa'.

Short 'a', if tense, can also be raised in the direction of short 'e', even as high as short 7'. It has been recounted that a New York family named their new baby daughter Ann, and they were criticized for giving their child a boy's name, because in New York 'Ann' sounds like 'Ian'. Similarly, in experiments on cross-dialectal comprehension, listeners from Birmingham, Alabama, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, misinterpreted a Chicago girl's production of 'that' as 'the act' about half the time when they heard the single word 'that' in isolation or in the phrase 'scared of that', and even in the full sentence.

The preceding description of a phonetic process is important because it accounts for the short 'a' that characterizes many American dialects and it is especially important because this vowel is one that speakers are aware of: they use it to label themselves and others and they disapprove of it. The stigmatization of this vowel varies from mild to powerful. Ageneration ago in Philadelphia, schoolteachers tried to change the speech of their pupils to reduce the use of extreme forms of tense short 'a'. Many Philadelphians will declare that they never say 'bee-id' for 'bad', but in fact all native Philadelphians say something along these lines, though not always to such an extreme. In the Midwest, people apologize for the 'awful' sound of their 'flat', 'as'. Phonetically, the Midwestern tense and raised short 'a'is about the same as tense short 'a' in Philadelphia and New York. This vowel is also described by non-linguists as 'nasal'. It is generally agreed that it is an 'ugly' sound, but speakers are generally resigned to accepting that nothing can be done about it.

Tasks and execises

1. What are the two most characteristic features of pronunciation of American

English?

2. Why has'r'-vocalization always been stratified along class lines?

2. St. Augustine, Jamestown and Plymouth Rock are connected with the early history of the United States - explain how. Name three other very well known American cities which were established at the beginnings of settlement.

3. Most democratic countries have some mechanisms safeguarding States. These mechanisms can be found in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and amendments to the Constitution. Discuss briefly the history of their creation and the role of each of the above documents.

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