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Originally Posted by omk3
 I find languages and pronunciations fascinating, though I understand why others wouldn't. |
i find them fascinating as well ! i've luckily got several friends who share my fascination and we sometimes can go on for hours about some random point of etymology or similar.
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My relatively untrained ear cannot distinguish between related sounds very well, but her, fur, nurse, etc seem to all have the ɜː sound instead of the Ø, in both british and american english. (see here for example: http://www.oxfordadvancedlearnersdic...dictionary/fur).
There is a difference, but it is very slight, and anyway pronunciation mistakes are usually much less subtle than that! 
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ha yes, i think you are right about that. testing the two sounds myself, the Ø seems to be pronounced higher on the tongue and with the lips slightly in a different shape than the ɜː. but, i agree, it's a very slight difference and i think those words can still be a useful way to explain to people who might not have an obvious native example of Ø available.
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Originally Posted by poohbear_nc
We need to switch the name from liseuse to zombie!!!
This thread lives on & on & on & on -- you can't kill it with logic! you can't kill it with reason! you can't kill it with personal vituperation! you can't kill it with humor! you can't kill it by changing the subject! you can't kill it by changing your avatar! you can't kill it by hitting it with a dead mod! It won't die!!
[please alert me when the personal attacks resume!   ]
It's worse than the NBA play-offs! |
you might kill it by going away and not posting in it...
just a thought. as for personal attacks, i'll be keeping an eye for them with my moderator stick handy.
