Date: Fri, 1 Mar 1996 10:13:29 -0400 From: Paul Fallon Subject: Query: Accent diagnostics I was wondering if the readers of this list could point me to some references concerning accent placement. I'm thinking of something along the lines of James Hartman's essay in DARE vol. 1 where he says on p. xlix 'For example, if the first feature in a set of full articulation of postvocalic /r/, the possible area is very large, excluding only parts of the East Coast and the South. If a fronted pronciation of /aU/ as [aeU] is added, the likely area has been reduced to the South Midland, the western part of the Midwest, adn much of the Southwest. If a lack of a contrast between /a/ and /O/ is added and the speaker is middle-aged or old, the area is further reduced to part of the high Plains and Rocky Mountain states...' I am familiar with some of the basic textbooks like Wolfram's _Dialects and American English_ and Davis' _English dialectology_ but they are not particularly helpful in placing someone's accent. Millward, in her _Biography of the English language_ gives a list which is somewhat helpful. JC Wells' _Accents of English_ is rather detailed, though he perpetuates the notion of General American, and his tape is somewhat disappointing. I'm just wondering if there's something that gives a systematic overview but does not go into all of the detail of the primary Linguistic Atlas materials. And if there's a tape that might be helpful for ear training, so much the better. Something like _Americans Speaking_ but with more detailed commentary accompanied by transcription. Or am I just dreaming? Thanks for any input you can give. Paul Fallon pfallon[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]mwc.edu