Re: [TUHS] Unix, eunuchs?

Andrzej Popielewicz scripsit: English is a vowel-reduction language, like Russian or Portuguese; vowels in unstressed syllables tend to be reduced either to schwa or to lax short i. Because the anglophone countries broke up politically before language standardization could take effect, there is no single standard pronunciation worldwide, nor any fixed hierarchy of standards. Therefore, one must consider both dialects in which the unstressed short i and the unstressed schwa both become schwa, and ones where they do not. In the former dialects, "Unix" and "eunuchs" sound exactly alike; in the latter dialects, there is a small difference. (As Tim Bradshaw notes, "unique" is stressed on the second syllable, so there is no vowel reduction on that syllable.) I am quite certain that many people have. It was perfectly obvious to me the first time I saw the word "Unix" written, and that was in 1976 or so. I am not a specialist, but I am a generalist with a good understanding of the domain. -- John Cowan cowan(a)ccil.org http://ccil.org/~cowan Female celebrity stalker, on a hot morning in Cairo: "Imagine, Colonel Lawrence, ninety-two already!" El Auruns's reply: "Many happy returns of the day!"