/Erjudait/

[V]

Palatal glide insertion depends on how the word is syllabified. For
instance, men-u  vs. av-e-nue. In menu, there is /j/; however in avenue,
there is no /j/. The condition is that both the alveolar and /u/ have to be
part of the same syllable.

This is operating in erudite: er-u-dite

Pedro V

On Mon, Feb 27, 2012 at 8:16 PM, Herb Stahlke <hfwstahlke at gmail.com> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Herb Stahlke <hfwstahlke at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      /Erjudait/
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 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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