-body

[Dennis R. Preston]

Hmmmm. A deep question. If you say anyBUHdy my wife will accept it (she is
from Wisconsin), but I will kick you out of the house (Im' from Kentucky,
and a amyBODy speaker). Hmmmm. Come to think of it I may kick you out of
the house just becuase I'm from Kentucky and you aren't, no matter what you
say.

dInIs

>I'm new to this mailing list, so forgive me if this subject has been
>previously discussed ...
>
>This is a question of the pronunciation of the word "body" when joined with
>a prefix such as any-, some-, no-, etc. Growing up in North Dakota and
>Wisconsin, we pronounced "anybody" as any-BUH-dy. However, as I travel
>around the States, the pronunciation of any-BAH-dy seems to be more popular.
>Which pronunciation is generally more accepted?
>
>Amy Speed
>speed at paradigmtech.com

Dennis R. Preston
Professor of Linguistics
Department of Linguistics and Languages
Michigan State University
East Lansing MI 48824-1027 USA
preston at pilot.msu.edu
Office: (517)353-0740
Fax: (517)432-2736