In message <bYydnQCDrLbh0jHVnZ2dnUVZ8tHinZ2d@posted.plusnet>, Marjorie 
 writes
>Mike McMillan wrote:
>> In message , Linda Fox 
>> writes
>>> Why is it particularly "that" (ha-ha) vowel that causes the problems?
>>> Any ideas, Enn? Or should I call you Gumrette?
>>  Could it be anything to do with the need to open the mouth fairly 
>>wide  to pronounce the 'a'? If one attempts to adopt the 'stiff upper 
>>lip'  when speaking, an open 'a' is going to be difficult to pronounce.
>
>Can't be that, because the same person who says "hend me the jem" will 
>also be able to produce a long "a" for "dance and "large".
>
>I've heard it suggested that the Royal House of Windsor may have

Ah, the formerly-Saxe-Coburg-Gotha house, you mean (-:?

>something to do with it. German-speaking Royals and their entourage 
>were unfamiliar with the English "a" as in "ham" and substituted the

I've heard a similar explanation for why we pronounce the (main) river 
through London the way we do.

>German ä, which is actually much closer to "e" as in "hem". This 
>wouldn't work for long vowels, so the longer "a" sound drifted away 
>from the shorter "a", whereas once they had differed only in length.

The thing is, German _does_ have a short a sound - "hat" (has=owns, or 
had), and Gasthof (guesthouse), for example. (Though I think "Gast 
[guest] on its own, while the same _sound_, is fractionally longer in 
_duration_. But only fractionally.)
>
>But I don't have an authoritative source for this.
>
That would spoil the fun ... (-:
-- 
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL(+++)IS-P--Ch+(p)Ar+T[?]H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for thoughts on PCs. **

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