aw-right

neil neil at TYPOG.CO.UK
Tue Jun 14 16:22:24 UTC 2005


on 14/6/05 5:18 pm, Dennis R. Preston at preston at MSU.EDU wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Dennis R. Preston" <preston at MSU.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: aw-right
>
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--> -
>
> arnold,
>
> Good point; the rules don't work at all for more general l-vocalizers
> like me (i.e., those who distinguish barbeque from grilling).
>
> dInIs
>

Is 'barbeque' the American spelling of 'barbecue'?

>> On Jun 14, 2005, at 7:46 AM, Larry Horn wrote:
>>
>>> At 6:36 AM -0700 6/14/05, James Smith wrote:
>>>
>>>> Anyway, the word is "awright".
>>>
>>> and only when it *is* a word.  So,
>>>
>>> "The kids are all right/alright/ = awright"  (= 'they're fine, no
>>> prob')
>>> "The kids are all right/*alright/*= awright" (= 'none of them are
>>> wrong')
>>>
>>> Which supports the utility of the non-standard but popular "alright"
>>> spelling indicating wordhood, especially given the parallel to:
>>>
>>> "The kids are {already/*all ready} gone"  [for me, opt. = "awready"]
>>> "The kids are {all ready/*already} to go" [for me, =/= "awready"]
>>
>> just to hammer home a point here:  this particular l-vocalization
>> occurs in the speech of people who are not generally l-vocalizers --
>> people like larry and me.
>>
>> a moment of entertainment: i little while back i got an indignant
>> message from a correspondent incensed at my defense of "trepidatious"
>> on Language Log some time ago.  the header of the message:
>> I assume you think "alright" is a word, too.
>>
>> (i've chosen not to respond.)
>>
>> arnold (zwicky at csli.stanford.edu)
>
>
> --
> Dennis R. Preston
> University Distinguished Professor of Linguistics
> Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic, Asian, and African Languages
> A-740 Wells Hall
> Michigan State University
> East Lansing, MI 48824
> Phone: (517) 432-3099
> Fax: (517) 432-2736
> preston at msu.edu



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