[Sca-cooks] Pronunciation

[Jane Williams]

On 23 May 2002 at 10:20, Laura C. Minnick wrote:

> I don't think that
> it is _that_ likely your pronunciation is that near ours, though that also
> depends on where in England you live, Jane, and how standardized your own
> English is.

I'm about 50 miles north of London. Generic
southern English accent, like a slightly slovenly
version of BBC English. I *hope* I've got rid of the
Lutonian accent I had as a kid (that involves
replacing most consonants with a glottal stop, and is
more or less unintelligible).

> You see, there was this thing called the Great Vowel Shift,
> that truly did change vowel tones considerably.

Now that sounds fascinating! Tell me more?

> At any rate though,
> pieceing it out syllable by syllable is the best way to sort through
> possibilities, especially when you are working from a facsimilie that does
> not allow for interesting typescript- substitutions (especially for the
> thorn and yogh), then to confuse matters.

Yes: and then you have to guess how the transcriber
interpreted those chaarcters, because they never tell
you! Ah well, if it was easy it wouldn't be any fun :)