Haf and have

[David Colburn]

Incidentally, I also notice that OED lists "hafta" as a discrete entry
("repr. colloq. pronunc. of 'have to'. Chiefly N. Amer.") with written
citations going back to 1941. Presumably the pronunciation goes back much
earlier than the that.

-David


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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Enid Pearsons <e.pearsons at EARTHLINK.NET>
> Subject:      Re: Haf and have
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>
> Merriam-Webster's unabridged and the Random House unabridged show these
> pronunciations for the appropriate definitions.  They are also--at least
in
> my experience--deliberately taught to ESL students so they can sound more
> natural when speaking American English.
>
> There's also /s/ rather than /z/ in _used_ to meaning 'accustomed to', but
> not when it means 'utilized to'.  So it's not a purely phonological thing.
>
> Enid
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Kim & Rima McKinzey" <rkmck at EARTHLINK.NET>
> To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2003 5:02 AM
> Subject: Re: Haf and have
>
>
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> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Kim & Rima McKinzey <rkmck at EARTHLINK.NET>
> > Subject:      Re: Haf and have
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> -----
> >
> > >It seems that when "have" is used to mean "need" -- as in, "I have to
go
> > >to the bathroom" -- it is pronounced "haf". But the same speaker using
> > >"have" as perfect tense or when meaning "possess" the "v" is vocalized.
I
> > >have even heard, "I haf to have this."
> > >
> > >Am I imagining this?
> >
> > I don't think so.  After listening to myself say the various phrases,
> > I think I do exactly that.
> >
> > Rima
> >
>