Date: Tue, 7 Nov 1995 00:05:46 -0400 From: Jeutonne Brewer Subject: supervisor/coupon On "60 Minutes" I heard Mike Wallace say "supervisor" with /syu/ instead of /su/ as the first syllable. I had never thought of this word as one with this pronunciation. And I wouldn't think of Mike Wallace as being a /syu/ speaker. I remember some discussion earlier of words like "coupon" with /kyu/. I always use this pronunciation for "coupon" (and decided long ago not to change it) but would never use it for words like "supervisor" or "newspaper." If you use the /yu/ or /iu/ pronunciation, do you use it for "supervisor"? In NC I get to hear both pronounced /yu/ (more in the eastern part of the state) and /u/ speakers. It always provides a good subject for discussion in class. When I moved to NC in the late 60s, I had never thought about this pronunciation. As a graduate student in Chapel Hill, I very quickly learned an important (on campus) distinction. Every year there were signs on campus--"Beat Dook!" Of course, 25 miles away, the proper spelling and pronunciation for Duke had a /yu/. I wonder if the difference in pronunciation is still distinct and noted. ********************************************************************* * Jeutonne P. Brewer BREWERJ[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]IRIS.UNCG.EDU * * Department of English * * U of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27412 * *********************************************************************