w(h)igger

[Beverly Flanigan]

The blend makes more sense with the 'h' though, assuming it's sometimes
written.  I'm not sure I would have known where it came from with or
without the 'h', but now that I know, the spelling with 'h' makes the
origins more transparent.  (I thought it had something to do with wearing
wigs....)

At 12:12 PM 5/15/00 -0400, you wrote:
>Andrea writes:
>
>>>>>>
>> And since American pronunciation does not distinguish between the spellings
>"w"
>> and "wh", the "wh-" in the spelling can't be a transcription;
>
>Er, not entirely.  I have known Americans, myself among them, to continue the
>distinction, at least some of the time.
><<<<<
>
>I plead guilty to only the letter of the charge. The distinction is rare
and not
>always consistent, and I don't think it likely to have applied here.
>
>-- Mark
>