Do phonologists mispell “Tatamagouche”?
Hello, this is basically avoidance behavior, but I thought some of you might like to know…
“Tatamagouche” is a small town in Nova Scotia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatamagouche,_Nova_Scotia). The similar “Tatamagouchi” appears in SPE (Chomsky and Halle 1968, 114) as an example word, as part of the data justifying a phonological rule that assigns secondary stress in long words.
A Google search on “Tatamagouchi” yields mostly works in phonological theory addressing English stress assignment. I conjecture, therefore, that Chomsky and Halle made a spelling mistake in SPE (or used an archaic spelling) which has since been carried forward by other phonologists, myself included. Cheers, Bruce Hayes
Thank you. These are all inspired suggestions! –Bruce
Comment by Bruce Hayes — August 5, 2008 @ 11:59 am
What I really want right now is a website where you type in text and you get an animation of Beavis saying what you typed. “Tatamagouche! Hehhehehehehehehe Tatamagouche! “
Comment by Ed Keer — August 7, 2008 @ 6:52 am
From what I understand, Tatamagouche was originally an Acadian settlement, with a French spelling of the name. And I’ve heard that it’s pronounced with a final [ʃ], no vowel following (like many neighboring towns). Maybe it’s possible the spelling was reinterpreted in the wrong way.
Comment by Jason Brown — August 8, 2008 @ 9:45 am