Date: Thu, 6 Apr 1995 11:21:01 -0700
From: David Harnick-Shapiro david[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]BUCKAROO.ICS.UCI.EDU
Subject: Re: Harassment
On Wed, 5 Apr 1995 16:19, jeffrey howard allen writes:
Sexual Harassment has been a hot topic in the business sector for some
time now. I have always heard Harassment pronounced /ha ras mEnt/ in the
NW, in Indiana, and lately in Illinois in our section meetings about the
topic.
However, I heard it pronounced /hair Is mEntNT/ on CNN Headline news the
other day by an American announcer. I recollect having heard it
pronounced this way by British colleagues as well back in France.
Are their regional variants of this word in the US? How about in the UK,
English-speaking Canada, Australia, etc?
I'd always heard the first.
When newscasters started using the word frequently, in connection
with l'affaire Anita Hill, all of a sudden the second pronunciation
seemed much more prevalent. My assumption was (and still is) that
the newsies, self-conscious about the sexual content of their speech,
were trying to avoid saying (a word containing) "ass".
Are there records of regional variation which would contradict this
interpretation?
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David Harnick-Shapiro Internet: david[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]ics.uci.edu
Information and Computer Science UUCP: ...!{ucbvax,zardoz}!ucivax!david
University of California, Irvine