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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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I just wrote a line of dialogue consisting of the single word "out." Since this is the only word uttered in the scene (making it a monologue, I suppose) I parked on it a minute. And then, I wondered. If I were to write the word phonetically (and, I admit to having an odd accent), I might write 'aut' (short 'a'). Which brings me to my question. To the extent that standard spellings represent pronunciation at all, do they reflect the current pronunciation of words at the time and place they were set, or standardizations of received spellings? I understand, for example (as I believe we once discussed) that (Amer.) Revolutionary War manuscripts contain good information on the pronunciation of Elizabethan English.
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veteran
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veteran
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Well, I'd heard the Elizabethan English still spoken in the Appalachian mountains factoid, but not the Revolutionary War one. I don't buy either. Orthography is just one dangerous swamp into which I try not to go. That having been said: our spelling totters between the phonological and the etymological. Spelling influences pronunciation and vice versa. What bothers you about out? Is it the 'u'? Stressed vowels becoming diphthongs is pretty normal in language change.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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<<What bothers you about 'out'?
Well, "bothers" is a bit strong. The spoken dipthong is 'a' (as in, yes, 'an') and 'u' as in 'blue'. But if I were just coming ashore, I'd read it like a Dutchman 'oh-u-t' -- or, pretty close to 'oat'.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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ouch?
edit it took me a while to realize what you were saying, but wow. we ought(!) to spell out owt, nowt?
formerly known as etaoin...
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Ah, but you're not a Dutchman. How do you feel about the 'o' in one? OTOH, ounce, our, and oust all go with with the {#ou} to /Aw/ mapping. There's really no rhyme or reason to English spelling—pausing to don asbestos suit—just a lot of post hoc rationalization.
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journeyman
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journeyman
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Well, this one is about as regular as English gets (ahem). Long u, respelt ou under French influence, then Great Vowel Shift to au.
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we ought(!) to spell out owt, nowt?but then we could be saying anything 
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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or nothing as the case may be
Bingley
Bingley
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chuckles appreciatively-e as Bingley rounds off nicely
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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formerly known as etaoin...
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