pronunciation advice

[Calgacus]

Yes I struggle too, because as I mentioned the two states I've lived in don't make that distinction. I became very aware of it being around my wife's parents, one from Chicago and one from New York, both of which do make that distinction.

Here's a very nice video demonstrating the cot/caught split

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsvwYWoKCw0

and this guy's pronunciation is not as pronounced as some! With some American accents cot/top are done with a very open mouth, caught/off/ball/dog with very rounded lips, making the two extremely different.

Ah, ok, got it now.
To me, his 'short u' is pretty much as expected. His 'aw' sound isn't so very far off from some English accents, though slightly farther from Scots, but his 'short o' sounds to my ears like 'ah', so "cat", "Gad" and "Tadd"! He even illustrates this himself by including the word 'father' in his 'short o' list.

Thank you for illustrating that.

[Skiballa]

Regional accents can be fun, I know a former marine that could fairly accurately identify which region of the States someone hailed from. I was born and raised in Western MA, my mother is from Philadelphia originally, and then I spent a few years in the US Army. I managed to get that neutral american accent in the test, but I find it's the words I use, and how, more than accent that gives away my origin than anything else.

I'd love to learn Gaelige, I think I'd have a much easier time if I could hear it spoken more frequently. And as long as I don't need to roll any Rs, that's a skill that's beyond me.

[MacKenzie]

That would be incorrect. As far as Gàidhlig is concerned, it's actually a rather simple and straightforward pronunciation.

We are in agreement.

[OC Richard]

To sorta blow your linguistic minds, over 30 million Americans are now in the midst of a "vowel shift affecting vowels which have been stable for a thousand years", the Northern Cities Vowel Shift:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UoJ1-ZGb1w

It's working its way through the language just like the Great Vowel Shift which distinguished Middle English from Early Modern English...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyhZ8NQOZeo

[Grouse Claw]

Och, what a stramash over Kin​loch!

if ye're no a Scot ye'll neverr manage it.

[Nathan]

Yes I struggle too, because as I mentioned the two states I've lived in don't make that distinction. I became very aware of it being around my wife's parents, one from Chicago and one from New York, both of which do make that distinction.

Here's a very nice video demonstrating the cot/caught split

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsvwYWoKCw0

and this guy's pronunciation is not as pronounced as some! With some American accents cot/top are done with a very open mouth, caught/off/ball/dog with very rounded lips, making the two extremely different.

His "short o" is a classic American give away here. For most (all?) Canadian dialects, all of the words in his middle list are pronounced with his "aw" sound.

I know it's not universal across the USA, but when I hear someone use that nasal "short o - cot, father, dog, tod" sound, I know the person must be from the US.

[Tobus]

To sorta blow your linguistic minds, over 30 million Americans are now in the midst of a "vowel shift affecting vowels with have been stable for a thousand years", the Northern Cities Vowel Shift:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UoJ1-ZGb1w

It's working its way through the language just like the Great Vowel Shift which distinguished Middle English from Early Modern English...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyhZ8NQOZeo

It would have been so much better if they had called it the Great Vowel Movement.

[OC Richard]

when I hear someone use that nasal "short o - cot, father, dog, tod" sound, I know the person must be from the US.

Sorry but I have to be clear about this stuff (somebody might be reading!)... the different vowels are created by having the tongue in different positions, and by having the lips rounded or unrounded, and by having the mouth more or less open etc.

Non-linguists invariably describe the way other people talk as being ether "nasal" or "guttural" but that's not actually what's happening.

Nasal vowels do happen in English, but not with those words. A nasalized 'a' happens before 'n' in words like 'hand'. (Carefully say 'hand' and 'had' and note the air being directed through the nose for 'hand' for the whole length of the vowel.)

Yes that guy in the video does 'cot' (etc) with the mouth very open (almost like it is for 'cat' but with the tongue placed differently) but 'caught' with initial rounding as if you're going to say 'coat' but then unrounding for the finish.

Many Americans (around 40%) do neither, saying 'cot' and 'caught' alike, neither rounded nor very open.

[MacLowlife]

It is interesting to me to hear the a Canadian "aw" sound, as in Dawlers, overtaking NPR. Cot and Caught (cahht and cawt) are entirely different to me. When teeangers in LA start saying aboot, it wil be time to revert entirely to written communication.

[Jawn]

Here's another one then. As someone who enjoys an occasional dram of whisky, it's often bothered me to hear bartenders pronounce the "ch" in Glenfiddich as you would in "church". But I've always thought the proper pronunciation was with a hard "ch" like I've just learned from this thread is the incorrect way to pronounce "loch". So am I to understand that it is in fact similar to the correct pronunciation of "loch"? And what about Sarah McLaughlin? Is her name pronounced differently because it's McLaughlin instead of MacLaughlin? Sorry if I sound ignorant, but I'm honestly curious, not trying to offend anyone.