Why do many women pronounce a short "e" as a short "a"?

Question

Example: Bast for best or axpert for expert. They describe their dogs and cats as their "pats instead of "pets" or "foraver" for "forever". This is very noticible with female tv or radio announcers and does not seem to be a dialect particular to a certain region. Some males do this also but far more rarely. Janice who does weather reports on Fox News is a perfect example and speaks of the weather in "Taxes" instead of Texas". Is this taught or just a cultural evolution?

Answer 1

The thing I've noticed about Texans' pronunciation is their apparent inability to distinguish between the short "e" sound and the short "i." My Texan wife, for example, announces she is going to the drugstore to purchase a "tent" for her hair when she wants to lighten it. However, she will ask for my "pin" when she wants to write a check. What makes me nuts is, she can say "pen" when she is referring to the corral for her horses, so I know she can make the sound, but she swears pin and pen sound identical to her! And it isn't just my sweetie who does it, either. A friend recently confided that his cardiologist placed two "stints" in his coronary arteries after my buddy flunked his last stress test. Hey, it's all good. It's just what makes us Americans--diversity.

Answer 2

I have no idea. I had a high school psychology teacher who I loved but drove me crazy by pronouncing 'pleasure' and 'measure' like "playzure" and "mayzure". She was from Texas, but so am I and I don't talk that way. Texas is such a large state, there are many dialects within it - like people from up in Tyler, Texas..... real heavy accents up there! (sorry, no offense, Tyler) almost like a Georgia- REAL Southern!

Answer 3

Are you trying to find an inteligent sounding way of making fun of peoples accents?

Answer 4

some guys do too.....i guess its just their accent or a habit

Answer 5

I don't do that.