Dictionary entry: twang
Ciao. Dici che è parlata in generale? Perché sembrerebbe essere un certo suono particolare, nasale appunto come traduciamo noi.
Si', si riferisce anche a un certo tono nasale, ma nel modo in cui e usato nella frase citata da "Hillbilly Elegy" si riferisce inequivocabilmente al modo di parlare nel suo complesso. Un semplice tono nasale non puo' 'esprimere una identita' regionale' e ad ulteriore conferma, viene anche definita East Tennessee "brogue” che, Merriam-Webster definisce "a dialect or regional pronunciation", il che mi fa aggiugere come possibili altre 2 traduzioni: vernacolo, dialetto
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Let's bring the English team into the discussion then. If it can refer to a regional inflection in general, then we may need a new English sense.
Hello,
Thank you for your messages. Most dictionaries say this is a nasal intonation quality, but Lexico says it is "A nasal or other distinctive manner of pronunciation or intonation characteristic of the speech of an individual, area, or country." I had a look at the full OED, which splits it into two senses:
So, it seems the nasal sound came first, and then the meaning became broader. I'm in two minds about whether to add a new sense or whether to simply change the one we have to 'distinctive intonation' instead of 'nasal tone' (in line with the Lexico definition, which conflates the two senses from the OED). What would seem most useful/easiest from your point of view @MünchnerFax?
Thank you for your messages. Most dictionaries say this is a nasal intonation quality, but Lexico says it is "A nasal or other distinctive manner of pronunciation or intonation characteristic of the speech of an individual, area, or country." I had a look at the full OED, which splits it into two senses:
- The modification of vocal sound by its passage through the nose; nasal intonation, as formerly attributed to the Puritans; now esp. as characterizing the pronunciation of an individual, a country, or locality. More fully nasal twang, twang of the nose.; and
- A distinctive manner of pronunciation or intonation differing from that usual, or regarded as the standard, in a country; esp. one associated with a particular district or locality.
So, it seems the nasal sound came first, and then the meaning became broader. I'm in two minds about whether to add a new sense or whether to simply change the one we have to 'distinctive intonation' instead of 'nasal tone' (in line with the Lexico definition, which conflates the two senses from the OED). What would seem most useful/easiest from your point of view @MünchnerFax?