silent letters (was broadcasters)

[Bob Haas]

Exactly, as in "I gots to eats me spinnitch, cause the i-ron in it makes
me's strong!"  Or something like that.  Hmm, I just realized that Popeye and
Jimmy Durante sound suspiciously similar.  The sailor is not deflating in my
estimation.

> From: Beverly Flanigan <flanigan at OAK.CATS.OHIOU.EDU>
> Reply-To: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2000 12:26:48 -0400
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: silent letters (was broadcasters)
>
> I also say AI at RN (actually with Canadian/Minnesota raising to [^y at rn]), but
> I think Haas is referring to syllable-initial /r/, as in
> [ayr at n].  Hypercorrecting newscasters in southern Ohio pronounce the name
> of Ironton, an Ohio River town, as [ayr at nt@n]--I suspect to sound "better"
> than the locals who say [arn?@n] and [arn] (as Don Lance noted).  (? =
> glottal stop)