On Oct 2, 2008, at 5:53 AM, dc wrote: > do we know how the ow in Dowland's name was pronounced? As in know > or as in how?
Good luck on this one. First off, pronunciation of "know" and "how" in modern will differ drastically in the mouths of Canadians, Mississippians, Australians and a dozen varieties of Londoner. Dialectical differences in England in the Big D's day were just as pronounced (no pun intended) but in smaller areas. Diana Poulton (who pronounced her name more or less as though spelled Polton) believed that Dowland rhymed with "dolens" which would indicate a vowel closer to know. But keep in mind that in Dowland's day, "love," "move" and "prove" rhymed, so the o in "dolens" could have been any of a number of dipthongs. -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
