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DanielR Posted 18 years ago
Speech & Pronunciation
A 'fruSHtrating demonSHtration'
Hi!
Being a new member in this forum, I'd like to start with a specific question:
Only recently did I listen to an American lady, who I would have classified as a "Northerner" in the first place. But what struck and puzzled me was the fact that she pronounced the 's' in words like "frustrate" or "demonstrate" (thus before "tr") as if written "sh" (thus like "frushtrate" and "demonshtrate" respectively). Do you know whether this is specific to any regional accent of American English? Or did the lady simply have a minor speech defect?
Kind regards,
Daniel on the banks of the river Rhine
Being a new member in this forum, I'd like to start with a specific question:
Only recently did I listen to an American lady, who I would have classified as a "Northerner" in the first place. But what struck and puzzled me was the fact that she pronounced the 's' in words like "frustrate" or "demonstrate" (thus before "tr") as if written "sh" (thus like "frushtrate" and "demonshtrate" respectively). Do you know whether this is specific to any regional accent of American English? Or did the lady simply have a minor speech defect?
Kind regards,
Daniel on the banks of the river Rhine
Top answer
Hi, welcome to EnglishForward. I already read about such a feature, but I don't remember what and where. I think it might be connected to the realization of "tr" as something very similar to "ch" (so that TRAIN becomes CH-RAIN).
- Hi, welcome to EnglishForward.
- I already read about such a feature, but I don't remember what and where.
- I think it might be connected to the realization of "tr" as something very similar to "ch" (so that TRAIN becomes CH-RAIN).
- That feature, which is very common, doesn't seem to be commonly present when an S comes before (so STRAIN is ST-RAIN and not S-CH-RAIN anymore).
- That said, that's what seems to be true in general, but there exist lots of regional variations.
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9 Answers
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Hi, welcome to EnglishForward. 
I already read about such a feature, but I don't remember what and where. I think it might be co
I already read about such a feature, but I don't remember what and where. I think it might be co
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Thanks a lot for your reflection, Kooyeen, that's very interesting. 
Those of you who speak German will be aware that in Standard German "st" is also pronounced "sht"- when it is at the beginning of a word or a syllable, for that matter. This affects words like "Stein" ("stone") or "Tankstelle" ("petrol/gas station"), but n
Those of you who speak German will be aware that in Standard German "st" is also pronounced "sht"- when it is at the beginning of a word or a syllable, for that matter. This affects words like "Stein" ("stone") or "Tankstelle" ("petrol/gas station"), but n
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Hi again,
maybe I've just found an example of what you are talking about. Let me know if it's really like this... if so, it will be useful for others who want to comment, as an example.
At 2:10 - Or, in fact, loves that ice-cream cone so much, she is going to destroy it with her mouth. Which plenty of people probably wish that Kim Kardashian destroyed
maybe I've just found an example of what you are talking about. Let me know if it's really like this... if so, it will be useful for others who want to comment, as an example.
At 2:10 - Or, in fact, loves that ice-cream cone so much, she is going to destroy it with her mouth. Which plenty of people probably wish that Kim Kardashian destroyed
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Then now you just need to wait for someone to comment on that feature...
Unfortunately, this section doesn't seem very crowded
Unfortunately, this section doesn't seem very crowded
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The guy in the video isn't too bad. If you want hear some really egregious examples of this speech pattern listen to a Michelle Obama speech sometime. She has it to point where it's distracting... and annoying.
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RayHIf you want hear some really egregious examples of this speech pattern listen to a Michelle Obama speech sometime. She has it to point where it's distracting... and annoying.Amen, amen, brother! But George Bush does it too. -- although I don't think Barach does it. I noticed this as early as ten years ago, well before George became the prezz.
It'
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CalifJimIt's becoming more and more a feature of American speech, having started, I think, in the South and among blacks.Could be... That guy in the video seems to be from Atlanta.
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Some character actors in old films adopt this pronunciation sometimes: Walter Brennan, for instance.
MrP
MrP
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