That word "neen"

[Dennis R. Preston]

Yes, just yesterday I heard some one say "horse" when they meant
"hoarse." My ears almost fell off!

But seriously folks, on our distinguished colleagues' LinguistList, a
seeker of wisdom asked what sorts of features distinguish Finns' use
of English. In the summary, it was noted that Finns have considerable
difficulty distinguishing the appropriate uses of "who" and "that";
it was observed that one often hears Finnish learners of English
using "that" when the referent is human (e.g., He's the man that I
saw yesterday). Someone must straighten out the poor Finns before
they destroy English! I was just in Helsinki and Joensuu and missed a
golden opportunity to help in this worthy cause since I met a lot of
people that could have used some help.

dInIs

>Bethany,
>
>I found your message about the word "neen" very interesting.  I have
>lived in Appalachia my whole life and have NEVER heard that word,
>other than it's derivative "needn't."  I learned something today!
>Now, I will be sure to pay close attention to someone saying it.
>However, the word that continues to bother me the most is "heerd"
>for "heard."  It makes my ears cringe.
>
>Tori

--
Dennis R. Preston
Professor of Linguistics
Department of Linguistics and Languages
740 Wells Hall A
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824-1027 USA
Office - (517) 353-0740
Fax - (517) 432-2736