Date: Wed, 26 Jun 1996 10:37:55 -0700

From: Peter McGraw pmcgraw[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]CALVIN.LINFIELD.EDU

Subject: Re: Fwd: Re: Chicago pronc



Interesting! I never heard a "ch" pronunciation from anyone except

foreigners who, I reasoned, could be forgiven for not knowing any better.



One question: Can either the "ch" or the "sh" pronunciation be followed by

either the schwa or the high front vowel, or are the combinations

restricted in any way? (Chi-, shi- and sh[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]- all sound plausible to me,

whereas ch[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]- feels awkward.)



Peter McGraw

Linfield College

McMinnville, OR





On Tue, 25 Jun 1996, Thomas J. Creswell wrote:



-- [ From: Thomas J. Creswell * EMC.Ver #2.5.02 ] --



Beth Simon,



I goofed and responded to your query about the pronunciation of Chicago

directly to you. I meant to post it on ads-l.



Herewith



Tom Creswell

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Date: Monday, 24-Jun-96 11:52 AM



From: Thomas J. Creswell \ Internet: (creswell[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]crown.net)

To: simon[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]CVAX.IPFW.INDIANA.EDU \ Internet: (simon[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]cvax.ipfw.indiana.

edu)



Subject: Re: Chicago pronc



Beth,



The pronunciation of _Chicago_ like that of many place names, is subject

to a

number of variations.



1. The initial consonant cluster is either "ch" as in _chew_ or "sh" as

in

_shoo_. The first Mayor Daley (Richard J.) was a consistent "ch"

pronouncer,

as were many working class people of Irish origin in his generation. For

instance, a Chicago cop would most likely be a "ch" pronouncer. Some of

the

descendants of this group preserve this initial sound.



2. The first syllable vowel may be either like the _i_ in _hit_, or a

schwa.



3. The second syllable vowel varies from "open o" as in _law_ and a short

"a"

as in _cat_. In this syllable, many gradations occur, anything between

the two

extremes. Old time native Chicagoans usually have the open o vowel,

unless

they come from a northwest side neighborhood settled by Swedes and Germans

.

Long time residents, whether white, African American, or Hispanic have a

strong

tendency to the _aw_ sound. Newer arrivals to the city tend toward the

short

"a" sound.



4. The initial consonant of the second syllable is, in some

pronunciations,

voiced, so that it sounds, in rapid speech like a hard g

rather than a k. The reason for this is obvious--preceding and following

voicing.



5. The final vowel varies between a long o as in _so_ or _go_ and a schwa

sound. Again, the first Mayor Daley had the schwa sound for this vowel.



No. You are not alone in the "sh" initial consonant sound. I, and many

others

share it with you.



Tom Creswell



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