Date: Tue, 7 Mar 1995 08:36:39 -0800 From: Peter McGraw Subject: Re: AWFUL OFFAL "Offal" and "awful" are not homophonous for me, though the difference is in the syllable division rather than the vowel quality. As a result of juncture placement, the otherwise identical low back rounded vowel is lengthenable in "awful" but not in "offal". In contrast, "caught/cot" and "dawn/don" are distinguished by different vowels (low back rounded vs. low mid unrounded in both cases). I was born in Cleveland, Ohio, but grew up in Oklahoma, California and Oregon. One parent is from Iowa and the other from Texas and Oklahoma. Peter McGraw