[Ads-l] Pronunciation of "faith" and "also" in parts of Alabama

W Brewer brewerwa at GMAIL.COM
Wed Mar 2 16:48:55 UTC 2016


  Well, looks like the dialectologists are hibernating, so this is my
opportunity to consult my trusty old Arthur Bonstein handbook.
  RE: <faith> ~ <fai[t]th>:
(1) Probably not an "excrescent [t]", that just grew in there as a
homorganic interdental t, for some unknown reason.
(2) Possibly, hypercorrection. Bronstein notes that "In careless or
indistinct speech, the /t/ or /d/ may be lost, especially when final or in
certain clusters, as in ... <eighth, width, breadth> ..." Note how
<eight+th> is even written <eighth>, but some people may feel it sounds
better to stick the plosive <t> back in; and, not only that, add one into
<faith> for good measure. Can't think of any better parallels offhand.
  Cute bow tie, Charlie.

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