/Erjudait/

[Herb Stahlke]

Here in the Midwest I've been noticing local TV newsreaders
pronouncing "erudite" as /Erjudait/, inserting a palatal glide between
/r/ and /u/.  I don't know if this pronunciation is found in Britain,
but the OED gives the pronunciation /ˈɛrədaɪt/.  I don't hear the
glide insertion in words like "rude" or "ruse," and I suspect that
/Erjudait/ is simply hypercorrection.  It just seems odd that these
speakers don't insert /j/ between other alveolars and /u/.

Herb

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