[l at C]

[Victoria Neufeldt]

The pron. [ri-l at -ter] for realtor is very common, among realtors themselves
and MANY other people.  I heard this first in Cleveland in the mid 80s (or,
I should say, I became aware of it first then) and I hear it a lot here in
Springfield, Mass as well.  I venture to say that it is the predominant
pron. for the word. The M-W Collegiate recognizes it, but marks it as a
controversial usage (although I don't recall ever hearing or reading
anything about it, either pro or con).

Victoria

Victoria Neufeldt, Merriam-Webster, Inc.
47 Federal Street, P.O. Box 281
Springfield, MA  01102
Tel. (413) 734-3134 ext 124
Fax  (413) 827-7262

> -----Original Message-----
> From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU]On Behalf
> Of D. Ezra Johnson
> Sent: Monday, October 04, 1999 10:15 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: [l at C]
>
>
> >From: Andrea Vine <avine at NETSCAPE.COM>
> >
> >For some dialects it seems there is a need for a transition from /l/ >to
> >another consonant and vice versa.
>
> I was on the phone with two people from Watertown, NY today and they both
> said [ril at tiy] in referring to the United Realty Management Co.
> One was the
> receptionist of said firm.
>
> DEJ
>
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