SS/PS question

[Carol]

Geoff:
> This is a difficult area to indicate what we mean. In general, I
would tend to agree with your list with the following provisos.
> 
> There is also 'a' as in 'hay'. Your choice of 'ate' is not a good
one as it is often pronounced 'et' - with a short 'e' sound in many UK
areas.

Carol:
I'd forgotten that. In the U.S., "et" is used only in dialects that
would, in a prescriptive dictionary, be labeled substandard. How about
"hate" (long) vs. "hat" (short)?

Geoff: 
> For 'i' there is also the sound as in 'machine'.

Carol:
Are you saying that, for you, the "i" in "machine" has the same sound
as the "i" in "pit" or "chin" or "shin"? For me, it doesn't. The "i"
in "machine" sounds like a long "e" (muh SHEEN, not muh SHIN).

Geoff: 
> Going back to 'Alice' and "Alicia', the point I am trying to make is
that the 'Alic-'' stem is said the same way. 

Carol:
With the accent on the first syllable? I don't recall the name
sounding that way in the films. Guess I'll have to watch them again as
I don't have access to the tapes.

Carol, now confused about the distinction between the British and
Spanish pronunciations of Alicia, which I suspect relate to the second
syllable ("ih" vs. "ee")