wheel-barrel

[Beverly Flanigan]

In some dialects /l/ is added after a vowel for liaison before another
vowel (as /r/ is in other dialects).  Our secretary regularly says "I
saw(l) it," for example, and many of my South Midland students say
"draw(l)ing."  When we talk about this in class, I always cite the guy on
Saturday Night Live who used to sit in his bathtub "draw(r)ing
pictures."  (Name?  All I can think of is Austin Powers!)  Interestingly,
when the word "drawl" (as in Southern drawl) is not followed by a vowel,
some of these same students spell, and say, the word as "draw"--vocalizing
the /l/, as is also common here, and then spelling the word
accordingly.  Since "drawl" is probably not often seen in print, they may
assume the word for the sound they're referring to is simply "draw," as in
"drawn out."  (My Webster's suggests that "drawl" is derived from "draw,"
which makes sense.)

Since "barrow" is no longer a common word except in this compound, I
suspect /l/-liaisers are spelling the word the way they pronounce it (the
opposite of spelling pronunciations like "often").  Or, more generally,
people may have come to think the word in the compound is really
"barrel."  Of course, there are also barrows and gilts--but that's from my
farming past.

At 09:28 AM 8/13/2003 -0400, you wrote:
>.... for "wheel(-)barrow". In email from friend of a friend. Context is a
>community yard sale.
>
>-- Mark A. Mandel
>    Linguistic Data Consortium, University of Pennsylvania
>
> > Please let her know that the items should be in working condition.  From
> > what I was told from the last event, we had a wheel-barrel and another
> > item that did not work and have to be junked. A donation slip is also
> > available, if she needs one.