Thicknesse: Question on Pronunciation - All and Oil in Texas

[marion11111]

> Carol:
> Would "SIHR ree us" /"SEER ree us" work to indicate the distinction?
> I'm sure it's the r-modified accented vowel sound that's causing the
> problem (which I share). (I use the first pronunciation for both.)
> 

marion11111:
And I say the second for both.

> I don't think we've beaten the poor "hoarse" to death yet, in any
> case. No one has explained to me yet how the pronunciation of "faint"
> differs from that of "feint" in "Wronski feint"/"wonky faint."
> (Obviously, I can tell "Wronski" from "wonky" without help. <smile>)
> 

marion11111:
Feint and faint are identical for me too.  For me, the humor in the puns comes from seeing 
the different spelling and knowing that it means the character completely misunderstood 
the meaning.  I have no idea how this can seem funny to listeners of the tapes.  I suppose 
the reader "reads" them differently, but since I barely notice a pronounciation difference in 
the films I bet I wouldn't notice on the tapes.  To me, the British accent is the noticable 
part - the finer distinctions of words don't stand out.  I guess we really do hear what we 
expect to hear.  Since I don't expect two different vowel sounds, I don't hear them.

For what it's worth, I'm from Minnesota - always lived here, parents lived here - but there 
is a slight generational difference in people from the WWII generation who lived "up north."  
Kind of stereotypical Fargo-style accent that I hear in my older relatives.  I might have a 
touch of that.