Like the th-fronting (realising /θ/ as [f]) in some speakers of British English, I've noticed a kind of s-fronting in some American English speakers where /s/ seems to almost become [θ] but it sounds as though the tongue just touches the back of the upper teeth. I've noticed this a lot, but it only struck me to look into it recently when watching an interview with Jon Favreau who does it almost exclusively with his pronunciation of /s/. I can't say I've noticed this in Brits.
Is this a real shift in articulation or am I noticing something else?
Hers's a Jon Favreau interview if you want to see what I mean.
S-fronting in English?
S-fronting in English?
Unsuccessfully conlanging since 1999.
Re: S-fronting in English?
What I have noticed here in southeastern Wisconsin is the opposite of that - where a plain sibilant becomes palatalized in a variety of environments, including not just environments that would palatalize any alveolar or postalveolar consonant (i.e. before /w u ʊ ər/), but also before /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/, /m/, /n/, /r/, /l/, or /w/ (but not /k/ or /g/) and after /k/, /g/, /r/, or /l/. (Note that final /st/ generally does not undergo this if the /t/ is elided.)
Yaaludinuya siima d'at yiseka wohadetafa gaare.
Ennadinut'a gaare d'ate eetatadi siiman.
T'awraa t'awraa t'awraa t'awraa t'awraa t'awraa t'awraa.
Ennadinut'a gaare d'ate eetatadi siiman.
T'awraa t'awraa t'awraa t'awraa t'awraa t'awraa t'awraa.
Re: S-fronting in English?
I think he may just have an unusually dental idiolect. His /t/ and /d/ sound dental to me, unusual for most English.Jonlang wrote: ↑Fri Dec 10, 2021 8:15 am Hers's a Jon Favreau interview if you want to see what I mean.
[ð̞͡ˠʟ] best sound