In Southern California (and I don't know how much of the rest of the  
West), there is a general lowering of certain vowels going on, among  
them the "short i" of "been." That "short i" is lowering to the sound  
of "Ben", so that "six" sounds like "sex", "milk" like "melk", and  
"been" like "Ben." This kind of shift is common in languages. Other  
vowels are affected, too, so "short e" is sounding more and more like  
"short a". It's a very interesting development.

Dr. Johanna Rubba, Ph. D.
Associate Professor, Linguistics
Linguistics Minor Advisor
English Dept.
Cal Poly State University San Luis Obispo
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
Ofc. tel. : 805-756-2184
Dept. tel.: 805-756-2596
Dept. fax: 805-756-6374
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
URL: cla.calpoly.edu/~jrubba

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