pronunciation of ALCOHOLIC

[Sonja L. Lanehart]

This feature occurs in my data from African American women who are
from the South. I recall hearing this pronunciation for as long as I
can remember.   --Sonja


>I have been making notes every time I hear the word ALCOHOLIC pronounced, and
>it seems to me that about 2% of the people I listen to say [aek at h)l at k]
>invariantently, even when others in conversation with them consistently say
>[aelk at h)l at k]. I'm not talking about vocalization of the [l], as in
>[aeuk at h)l at k]; it just ain't there at all. Those who do not have the first [l]
>do not seem to notice that they lack it, and those who listen to them speak
>do not seem to notice the absence of the [l] (at least, nobody comments on
>it). There does not seem to be any regional correlation (as there is with,
>say, [hEp] for [hElp], and very little social correlation.
>
>Anyone else notice this? Any explanation?


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Sonja L. Lanehart
Department of English                 706-542-2260 (office)
University of Georgia                 706-542-1261 (messages)
300 Park Hall                         706-542-2181 (fax)
Athens, GA 30602-6205                 lanehart at arches.uga.edu
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