wheel barrel

[Dennis R. Preston]

As is the explanation complicated. Your wife is not a post-vocalic
/l/ vocalizer (or deleter), and her rendition is a "real" folk
etymology (there is no "barrow" for her but there is a "barrel"). For
us standard-speaking post-vocalic /l/ vocalizers (and deleters), the
temptation is greater since added to the folk etymological urge is
the phonetic evidence itself.

But I think you are right than we done did this.

dInIs

>---------------------- Information from the mail header
>-----------------------
>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
>Subject:      Re: wheel barrel
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>At 12:56 PM -0600 2/23/08, Darla Wells wrote:
>>Seen on the Acadiana Freecycle list:Looking for a small wheel barrel to do
>>yard work.
>>
>>------------------------------------------------------------
>>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>There should be an archived thread on this from a discussion awhile
>back.  As I mentioned at the time, my wife (from Fairfield County,
>CT) refers to "wheelbarrels", while I (from
>NYC/Rochester/California/New Haven) had never been aware of
>encountering the form, so if it's regional, the isogloss is very
>complicated.
>
>LH
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org


--
Dennis R. Preston
University Distinguished Professor
Department of English
15C Morrill Hall
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824
517-353-4736
preston at msu.edu

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org